It’s a shame David Lynch passed away before he got a chance to see Albert Birney’s film Obex which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. He would have liked it. As with Lynch, Birney’s brand of storytelling is part surreal, part avant-garde, wrapped in an experimental yarn.
This is one of those films that you need to “get” early on to enjoy fully or else your logical mind short circuits from lack of a straightforward narrative. Hang in there for an hour and your patience will pay off.
Set in the black and white era of the 1980s, Conor Marsh is an RPG video game player and recluse who lives with his dog Sandy. He also has a penchant for horror movies and emerging Cicadas. His latest game Obex contains a demonic villain who comes through the screen one night to kidnap Sandy. End of Act I.
Start Act II: Conor has somehow and without explanation been transported into Obex where he goes on a Zelda-like adventure to save Sandy from her captor.
What happens along the way is a Wonderland adventure where he makes friends with Victor, a humanoid with an old TV set for a head. They make their way through the Valley of Chrono on their way to the Nightmare Realm.
Birney plays our hero. He lives and plays among the 640 resolution era of the MS DOS computer games of the time. He is perfectly happy keeping to himself even when his grocery delivery girl seems to have an interest in him. He speaks to her through the front door and only emerges to grab his groceries when she leaves.
Obex is a film that is going to appeal to nerds and nerds at heart. Unlike Lynch, Birney doesn’t baffle the viewer in the narrative, instead he only warps reality a little bit: Why does he have three TVs stacked on top of each other? Why does his over-protective mother visit him in lucid dream sequences? And those Cicadas; what’s the deal?
While the narrative — like a good RPG adventure — is linear, there are some bizarre, but interesting choices that Birney makes along the way especially in the third act. I wish we could have spent more time there, it’s far more interesting and adventurous than the trodding development of Conor in the first hour.
As far as acting, Birney is fine. You never get the feeling that he is not playing himself, but maybe that’s his genius. The real star here is Victor the “televison man” played by Frank Mosely.
Obex is a comfy Lynch-esque fantasy. Thankfully we don’t have to think too much about what it’s trying to say. But that doesn’t mean it’s not complex. It has its moments and much like the computer games in the era in which it takes place, it’s fun, uncomplicated and ultimately rewarding.
Obex was shown at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Release dates and future showings have not been established yet.