In 1999, Cam (David Dastmalchian) gives his younger brother Abbie (Joshua Burge) an ultimate challenge. Abbie is not allowed to leave the couch until he goes beyond the level 256 of Pac-Man.
The film was shot in the garage of a house owned by production designer Mike Saunders' parents.[4] It took four months to build the set.[4] The film's premise was inspired by Luis Buñuel's The Exterminating Angel.[4]
As of October 2021[update], the film holds a 68% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 34 reviews with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Relaxer is bound to strike many viewers as unpleasant, but this thoroughly unique comedy will strike a chord with fans of defiantly unsettling cinema."[13] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[14]
Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a grade of A, describing it as "a grotesque downward spiral, both hilarious and mesmerizing, but above all elevated by its insights into the depraved final gasp of the analog age."[15] Calum Marsh of The Village Voice stated that the film is "funnier, nastier, and more abrasive" than Joel Potrykus' 2014 film Buzzard.[16] Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com said, "through its precise filmmaking and whirlwind script about one loser who never gets off the couch, it's a magnetic, five-senses experience for slacker cinema."[9] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter said, "the claustrophobic, one-set film clearly invites metaphorical readings — but its allegories will play best to viewers who can stomach the idea of spending eternity on a couch playing Nintendo."[17] Carson Lund of Slant Magazine gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, calling it "a showcase for [Joshua] Burge and his exceptional features, from his beady eyes to slender frame."[18]
