New/Next Review: “OBEX”

OBEX (Albert Birney, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars

The films of director Albert Birney—be they of the live action variety (Strawberry Mansion) or animated (Tux and Fanny)—are always loving tributes to the meticulous process of artistic creation. Each shot within each scene is composed with great consideration, the visual components beautifully coming together while also advancing the story. Such is very much the case with his latest, OBEX, in which Birney also stars in the lead role, ably assisted by his dog, Dorothy.

Conor Marsh (Birney) leads a peaceable-enough life in 1987 Baltimore, comfortably alone in his rowhome with Sandy (Dorothy), a rescued canine who showed up one day and never left. An introvert who prefers not to interact directly with others (he has hired a woman, Mary, to shop for groceries once a week), Conor passes the time hanging out with Sandy, watching VHS tapes, and crafting recreations of photos sent to him by clients who want their likenesses typed on his Macintosh and exported to his dot-matrix printer. For $5, it’s a cute gimmick.

But in the same magazine where he advertises his services, Conor sees a notice for a new video game, OBEX, that promises a new level of interactivity. Players will be inserted directly into the game, where they will do battle with the demon Ixaroth. All they have to do is send videotaped scenes of themselves, along with additional personal information, that will then be used to create their likeness.

The game, when it arrives, is not much to look at, though perhaps the technical limitations of 1987 are less disappointing to someone living in 1987. Still, Conor is not impressed. Until, that is, the line between game and reality blur, Ixaroth emerging from the screen to kidnap Sandy and force Conor to overcome the obstacles of self-imposed isolation. If he wants his beloved pet back, he has no choice but to act.

Callie Hernandez (Alien: Covenant) and Frank Mosley (Freeland) join the small ensemble, she as Mary (who also appears in the game) and he as Victor, a walking-talking television, both of whom provide invaluable aid to Conor in his quest. The result is a moving, fanciful hero’s journey with big Aristotelian character arcs layered within a black-and-white,  lo-fi, DIY aesthetic. The result is a testament to the power of independent filmmaking, as well as a loving tribute to 1980s technology.

There’s a good chance that not all aspects of the script, co-written by Birney and his cinematographer/co-editor Pete Ohs (director of Love and Work), will prove equally engaging to all viewers, given the leisurely pace at which much of this unfolds, but it’s impossible not to admire the love and care of the enterprise. Plus, it has a dog. What more could you ask for?

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Chris Reed is the editor of Film Festival Today. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.