OBEX
Oscilloscope Laboratories | Release Date: January 9, 2026 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
RogerEbert.comZachary LeeJan 9, 2026
Even though we can pick our flavor of digital numbing, Birney brings his DIY mentality and a host of collaborators who are in sync with his sensibilities to craft a project that shakes us out of the tempting lull and urges us to live life as an NPC. Read full review
83
IndieWireRyan LattanzioJan 31, 2025
OBEX is a warm yearn for simpler times, told by a distinctive cinematic voice. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleJan 16, 2026
What’s surprising is how ethereally effective Birney’s DIY gestalt is as a reverse state of consciousness: an outside where before there was only inside. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithJan 9, 2026
Mr. Birney’s exotically low-fi imagination makes for a freaky and feverish trip. Read full review
80
VarietyCarlos AguilarJan 31, 2025
More contained than “Strawberry Mansion” but with similarly expansive ideas, “Obex” feels opportune for the modern era. Read full review
80
IGNChase HutchinsonJan 31, 2025
OBEX is a lo-fi stunner of a video game movie, merging a deeper understanding of the way games work with playful and creative sequences that also pack a deeply emotional punch. Read full review
75
Film ThreatBenjamin FranzJan 9, 2026
OBEX is an earnest, strange, and delightful adventure. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubJacob OllerFeb 1, 2025
This blend of genres, aesthetics, realities, and virtual realities doesn’t all add up—or adds up a bit too neatly, as the script makes Conor’s hazy backstory unmistakably clear—but OBEX is still endearingly contained, passionately executed, and impressively unique. Read full review
75
The Film StageJordan RaupFeb 1, 2025
With its cohesive black-and-white cinematography from Pete Ohs, a dedicated performance from Birney, and a plethora of crafty homespun special effects, OBEX is an inherently likable journey that should appeal to more than just those whose childhood was similarly, inextricably linked to this early era of computing. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJan 30, 2025
Albert Birney knows that fantasy is a potent force, that it can lead you deep into the worst parts of yourself, or, with the right influences, lead you back to life. Read full review
70
The New York TimesBeatrice LoayzaJan 8, 2026
There’s something smarter between the lines about the way technology warps our (self-) perception, but maybe that’s giving too much credit to a film so giddy about its warping. That’s not totally bad: Some films are like dreams whose meanings never materialize. Read full review
70
ColliderJason GorberJan 31, 2025
With fun production elements, a goofy storyline, discordant yet effective sound design, and enough oddness to keep things captivating, traversing through the world of OBEX makes for quite an entertaining journey. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJan 29, 2026
Its gentleness and incremental increases in weirdness are a feature, not a bug. Read full review
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