Lexi Review: Victoria Vertuga Smashes It!

We get our hands on a screener of a mockumentary horror directed by and starring Victoria Vertuga. Let me introduce you to this Lexi review.

Motivational influencer “Laughing Lexi” has gone missing. As the tale unfolds, the story of what really happened becomes stranger than fiction. Starring Victoria Vertuga (Dexter, Days of Our Lives), Thomas Hobson (Ghosts of the Ozark, NCIS: LA) and Susan Louise O’Connor (Orange is the New Black).  

Comprising of various pieces of found-footage outlets such as CCTV cameras, doorbell cameras and footage from the archives of our missing influencer Lexi certainly plays around with familiar found-footage tropes.

This time the film lies within the self-help community as we see a rather captivating Victoria Vertuga performance carry this rather linear story.

Intertwined between our happy, bubbly and positive influencer footage are documentary-style quotes that hint at supernatural forces that lead to Lexi’s demise.

There is also a rival influencer who has nothing but bitchy things to say acting on behalf of the toxic social media community then we had another gentleman commenting on the disappearance.

This faux-documentary set-up mixed in with ‘fan’ social media posts certainly made for unusual viewing as we take a mini-tour of the internet to try and unravel the story that’s been told before our eyes.

With moments of genuine tension that made me writing this review at home feel a little uneasy Lexi does have hints of real tension and that found-footage grip was firmly on hold.

Victoria’s performance carries the film, she really should set up a YouTube page in real life and do that full-time, it was very impressive how well it came across.

Whilst at times Lexi succumbed to its low budget there are other moments of real class and the uncertainty of what would happen and when was apparent throughout.

In the latter of the movie, we have this monologue build-up of footage in advance of Lexi’s disappearance but as the film draws to a close there are more questions than answers.

Lexi seems to struggle on deciding what it wants to be.

Is it a paranormal movie?

Is it an abduction thriller?

It just doesn’t quite seem to be able to make its mind up constantly crossing between the two genres and making us guess every step of the way.

A little slow in terms of the pacing here and there but I can get through Lexi and certainly not be disappointed.

It’s a one-woman show and she carries the film rather easily with a wonderful and believable performance.

Her show was called Laughing Lexi but that laughter quickly faded as living on your own, isolated from friends and family and disillusioned with subscribers and fame that otherworldly forces decided they wanted to be the star of the show.

Lexi review by Sean Evans