TL;DR: A fun DIY sci-fi indie that gets a little too esoteric, but which has a heart that wins the day.
There is something endlessly appealing and charming about low-fi. The idea of low-fi is not use the cutting edge to create something. It goes back to the idea of stripping away things so that the work has more of a human touch than a machine touch. Low-fi reminds us of a time when we all were creative and had dreams of making things.
As teenagers, a friend and I made movies with a PXL 2000, a “toy” video camera that recorded on cassette tapes. It was a wonderful time that really made us stretch our imaginations and know-how. Having made movies with the PXL, a video camera, and more modern equipment, I have to say that it was way more fun shooting on the PXL. There is something visceral about low-fi that connects us to the purity of creation and imagination.
OBEX is a low-fi science fiction movie that captures the charm of a bygone era and uses it as the platform to tell a story of loss and absence.
OBEX tells the story of a loner. The main character is a man who hides away from the world in his small home with his dog and creates computer art as a mail-order business. The man lives vicariously through his televisions, recording movies and shows on the three sets he has and watching them with his constant companion. When he sees an ad for a new game in a computer magazine, he sends away to have himself included in it. The ad offers to put you into the game, and this is an exciting idea. When the game comes, it does just that, to a degree. But not a large one. Unimpressed with the game, the man quickly moves on. What he doesn’t realize is that the game lives beyond the disc it was sent on, and suddenly, the man is drawn into the game to save his dog.
The film is very low-key, with the action packed into the back third, but this is a story about loneliness. The main character is a man who has been separated from the world. He dreams of his mother, driving her in her car, but never looking her in the face. He fantasizes about the woman who delivers his groceries, but has no consistent view of her. He has no direct interaction with people and keeps himself away from the world.
When he is pulled into the game world, there is only one person he interacts with: the others are creatures, the demon “boss” from the game, and a television set. His most meaningful interaction is with the television-man, and it’s a melancholy friendship when we learn who the television is.
OBEX is a very good, understated film. The effects, as with everything else, are very low-tech but work well. The film focuses on the story and the man’s desperate loneliness. When faced with losing his closest companion, he is willing to go to any lengths and take on any odds to get his dog back.
The movie gets a little TOO weird for my tastes during the climax and loses itself a bit, but the movie’s charm shines through.
If you are into low-fi movies and DIY sci-fi, you’ll love this charmer.
3 out of 5
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 