Exists Review
It is never wise to declare something incapable of originality, even when that something is attempting to syphon from a silo that has long run dry. As such, I am fighting my urge to factually state that there is nothing left bigfoot or its likenesses can provide us in the horror genre. Exists did its darndest to prove me right. I've refused to admit that found footage has also met its limitations despite its ongoing production. Exists attempts to prove this true again.
Frankly, I wasn't expecting much from Exists, and I received about that amount of expectation met. Bigfoot has always been at the bottom of the barrel of intriguing cryptids to me. I'd much rather see Nessie flip a boat in the Loch or the Chupacabra suck down a field of goats. Yet, bigfoot fascinates people, and it has led to a slew of horror films based on the creature. And so we are given yet another found footage film on yet another killer bigfoot.
Exists isn't a bad film. It just isn't original in the slightest. It brings nothing new to the table (not even the helmet cam bike ride attack, which has already been done much more creatively in the VHS films), and supplies nothing to the bigfoot mythos that is remotely interesting. There aren't any creative camera uses and no exciting creature elements. This film was devoid of originality.
The "big reveal" at the end was more of a "duh" moment. Even if you didn't see it coming, your reaction isn't surprise it's, "well, that makes sense" and you move on before the actor gets over his gasping. There is no "wow" moment, no image-burned-to-the-brain scene, nothing to recall later a year from your viewing experience. You'll have watched the movie, had a mundane experience, and qualify it as fun because it never really screws up or slows to a crawl.
It was good. It was entertaining. It rhythmically delivered on every horror trope in almost sequential order, but it did it in a method that was fluid and well-paced. I wouldn't watch it again, but I'm not upset at wasted time necessarily either. The film accomplishes horror, but at the expense of accomplishing nothing new. The film merely exists. So you watch it.
Horror Qualifier: 9/10
Horror Quality: 4/10
Film Quality: 3/10