Lenore (2026) Review

Perfect Blue meets Spree in this Aussie thriller delight all about the perils of parasocial relationships in the digital age. Lenore follows Max, a recluse and self-called filmmaker making a documentary about Lenore, an online personality and artist, infamous for publicised struggles and recent disappearance.

The film’s title and plot are inspired by the works of Edgar Allen Poe, a man who needs no introduction for horror fans and whose name just hearing likely conjures clear ideas for the direction Lenore will follow. Yet the film’s strengths lie not in its premise but its execution; playing its cards smart for an independent thriller by restricting itself to a mainly single location and incorporating portions of found footage.

The aforementioned term parasocial relationships gained traction online a few years ago in this case referring to the phenomenon wherein people develop one-sided attachments to celebrities feeling a palpable connection despite the relationship bordering into obsession and the celebrity having no idea of the person. It is by no means just a product of social media with cases of celebrity stalking existing for decades, sometimes with direct documentation like the infamous tapes of Ricardo López who became obsessed with and targeted the singer Björk in the mid-90s. However, with the growth of social media, the borders between fans and direct contact with celebrities has blurred.

It is this blurring that the film is preoccupied with as it delves into the hallucinations and warped reality Max has with Lenore. I highlighted a case like Björk’s as a real-world reference since the gender dynamics at play are integral to understanding Max’s paradoxical relationship with Lenore and the celebrity’s own persecution. Without delving into spoilers, the film ventures into dark topics gradually peeling away the polarised extremes the media and her art present Lenore as to unveil a deeper humanising truth about her. It’s no secret that women in particular have historically been more sexualised and scrutinised by wider society and through representing Lenore via Max’s delusional view she is stripped of agency allowing audiences to better see her through a parasocial lenses before rightly getting deconstructed. There are eerie similarities between how Max describes Lenore to how López described Björk that whether intentional or not really shows how imbedded misogyny is into the treatment of female stardom.

I compare the film to Perfect Blue for its impressionist approach to similar subject matters. In both films recorded material are inexplicably drawn into reality, challenging us as audiences to deduce where the fiction ends as well as question our own standing when it comes to what degree media imagery determines our own reality. A particular moment that I loved was a subtle moment early in the film wherein Lenore appears to be staring directly at Max through the monitor and although later more direct blurring was still effective, I personally found this more grounded quiet moment to be the most powerful moment in the film. Conversely, I see muted similarities to Spree, the 2020 Joe Keery satire about social media fame. Although Spree took a more playful approach to lampooning the vapidity of fame, both it and Lenore take their critique directly to social media, the new frontier for communication. While social media can often be misrepresented in film, and Spree admittedly feels more accurate, Lenore effectively the captures the disconnect of social media, the feeling of real time interaction with something recorded days if not weeks before. Many of her videos displayed on the monitors feel like they’ve been directly ripped from a real YouTube channel.

Yet my praises wouldn’t be possible without stellar performances from its central three characters; Nicholas Jaquinot, Ruby Duncan and Samuel Macdonald are able to sell what could otherwise have been a forgettable thriller and I’m sure could have great careers ahead. There’s a particularly ugly side to Jaquinot and Macdonald’s character that they are able to effectively capture without eclipsing into parody while Duncan communicates her characters growth incredibly well in the limited contexts she is restricted to.

With all that, Lenore is an entertaining thriller that feels like it has more substance than many of its peers. It’s light on innovation but more than makes up for it with ambitious performances, compelling narrative and a strong thematic underpinning.

Movie Rating:

Lenore trailer