LEXI – found footage review

I have to admit that it’s interesting running across movies like LEXI, which are found footage but which I have never even read about. It makes it all the more thrilling when the film is pretty good, and friend, this one is pretty good. 

Huzzah. 

I think it’s weird when I don’t see anything because with content SO eagerly gobbled up by blog/news sites these days you’d think that the genre ones would write about any horror movie they could just to keep news fishies in that big old stream they all seem to serve. 

Maybe some site has a story on it. 

I just didn’t see it.
(I did a search and there are reviews out there at least, so that’s SOMETHING!).

LEXI fits into that fun space of pseudo-doc films where it’s footage presented with talking heads that are telling you about the person, and putting the ‘case’ into perspective. For this film the story is about ‘Laughing Lexi’ a vlogging personality that had gotten some traction online and had a following for her video content giving life and beauty tips and her generally positive and upbeat demeanor. She was an inspiration to some. As we see through the footage though, and via interviews and analysis, something changes for Lexi after she moves into a new house and it appears as if someone is digging into her life and stalking her. Through the footage we start to see her fraying around the edges and getting more and more frantic as she searches for answers and help but finds she is alone. We are left asking then – what happened to Laughing Lexi, and who…or what…made her disappear. 

First of all, props to the director/lead actor here for putting it all out there, literally and figuratively. Too often you see filmmakers who want actors to do nudity and the director on has no ‘skin’ in the game, they just want what they want. Here the director IS the actor and it’s gutsy to just do a nude scene as she did it because the film required that sort of ‘rawness’. Good on ya for doing what needed to be done for  your film. 

Anyway, I did enjoy LEXI. The interesting thing here is that it’s almost equal parts horror and comedy, as there’s a nasty satire about influencer culture and the sort of fandom it can create. Some of the ‘commentary’ you get from the talking heads is overplayed but it all works and creates a layer of confusion in the film where you have to question – What DID happen to Lexi? This is a question that will frustrate a lot of viewers but I loved it. I have my theory but you can really argue for it being a natural OR supernatural issue she’s dealing with. We just don’t know for sure. The acting here is all really well done and for an indie, low budget film, they got good acting and pretty solid writing. With so much of the film on Lexi, actor/director Vertuga does a nice job keeping things moving forward and compelling. Some of the ‘vlogging’ scenes are cringey but that’s part of that lifestyle – cringey videos that are meant to feed a hungry fanbase. This is a film that knows its limitations and its story so they keep things focused on Lexi and let her build the terror and creeps. 

Some of the writing doesn’t work. It’s hard to imagine ANY dogs as chill as these ones are, especially when Scary Business is happening. Like, come on dogs, do some dog stuff, for the love of Pete! Some folks will dislike the ending, though I didn’t have a huge issue with it. Those same people will probably want more answers than we are given but, being that this is meant to be a What The Heck Happened sort of story I don’t think it’s fair to knock it for giving you exactly what it set out to. 

LEXI is a lower key found footage horror that is about the actors and how well they can portray the horror they are facing. Think BLAIR WITCH, where you may not SEE the witch but know she’s out there. You either dig that sort of horror or don’t. I did, and while it’s not a perfect film, it’s a darn fun one with some genuine creeps and well worth your time. 

3.5 out of 5