OPENING IN THEATERS JANUARY 9, 2026
“Though OBEX, too, is a fantasy, it’s also a work of meticulous realism — but the realities that it dramatizes are so unusual and so finely observed that they outshine the imaginative speculations to which they give rise.”
– THE NEW YORKER
“‘Eraserhead’ Meets ‘The Legend of Zelda’ in a Black-and-White, Cicada-Plagued Sci-Fi Trip”
– INDIEWIRE
“OBEX wants you to fight demons and save your dog. Albert Birney’s feature is fantastical and weird enough to convince me to do just that.”
– DREAD CENTRAL
In pre-internet 1987, Conor and his dog Sandy live a life of seclusion, lost in the slow-rendering graphics of early Macs and televisions aglow with late night horror movie marathons. But when he begins playing OBEX, a new and mysterious, state-of-the-art computer game, he finds himself trapped in a low-tech, but high-stakes analog hellscape as the line between reality and game blurs.
Audacious and uncanny, writer-director Albert Birney’s OBEX is a delightfully skewed lo-fi fantasy. Shot in striking black and white, this surreally nostalgic nightmare revisits the dawn of personal computing to reflect on the loneliness of our always-online present day.
Directed by ALBERT BIRNEY
Written by ALBERT BIRNEY and PETE OHS
Produced by EMMA HANNAWAY, ALBERT BIRNEY, JAMES BELFER, PETE OHS
Cinematography by PETE OHS
Starring: ALBERT BIRNEY, CALLIE HERNANDEZ, PAISLEY ISAACS, FRANK MOSLEY, TYLER DAVIS
Music Composed By: Josh Dibb (Deakin, Animal Collective)
Run Time: 90 minutes
Festivals: 2025 Sundance
