OBEX

Play trailer

1:48

OBEX

In Theaters Jan 9

1h 30m

Sci-Fi

Fantasy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

Popcornmeter

0 Ratings

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.

Coming Soon

In Theaters Jan 9

Reserve Tickets

Albert Birney

Director

Albert Birney

Conor

Callie Hernandez

Mary

Frank Mosley

Victor

Albert Birney

Screenwriter

Pete Ohs

Screenwriter

Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Feb 11

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.

Go to Full Review

Carlos Aguilar

Variety

Jan 31

A miniature epic of melancholic whimsy endearingly conceived in black-and-white with a lo-fi aesthetic.

Go to Full Review

Ryan Lattanzio

IndieWire

Jan 31

B+

A warm yearn for simpler times, told by a distinctive cinematic voice.

Go to Full Review

Mike McGranaghan

Aisle Seat

4h

3/4

The love for ‘80s gaming shines through in this delightfully quirky indie.

Go to Full Review

Laura Clifford

Reeling Reviews

7h

B

Albert Birney ("Strawberry Mansion") rewinds to 1987 to explore the roots of isolating computer culture within a delightfully retro technological adventure...invites us to reengage with lif

Go to Full Review

John Stark

Mac the Movie Guy

8h

65/100

Albert Birney might be a genius auteur in the making, and Obex is definitely one of the weirdest films, in all the right ways, of 2026 and we’re just getting started.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

OBEX: Trailer 1

1:48

View more videos

View more photos

Ink

100%

81%

Ink

Watchlist

Sorry to Bother You

93%

70%

Sorry to Bother You

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Sorry to Bother You

The Second Age of Aquarius

100%

80%

The Second Age of Aquarius

Watchlist

The Animal Kingdom

83%

75%

The Animal Kingdom

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Animal Kingdom

Superman

83%

90%

Superman

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Superman

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Synopsis

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.

Director: Albert Birney
Producer: Emma Hannaway, Pete Ohs, James Belfer, Albert Birney
Screenwriter: Albert Birney, Pete Ohs
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Production Co: Cartuna, True Friend
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 9, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 30m

Most Popular at Home Now