Project MKHEXE, on Screambox

Most of the conspiracy theories involving the CIA are complete nonsense. Sadly, they have proved so bad at keeping their secrets, most of the crazy stuff they get blamed for would have been exposed long ago by “whistle-blowers” or deep-cover moles. After all, we know all about Project MK Ultra. MKEXE is sort of like that embarrassing project cranked up to eleven. Yet, somehow, the CIA kept this one secret. Apparently, they had a lot of help from a shadowy someone or something in director-screenwriter Gerald Robert Waddell’s Project MKHEXE, which premieres today on Screambox.

“Freelance” photographer-filmmaker Tim Wilson was always the unstable one. That is why he took his younger brother Sean’s suicide so hard. Compounding the guilt, he ignored his brother’s bizarrely unhinged final call the night he died. Hoping to make sense of it all, he unlocks Sean’s fun and steps through the looking glass, into his conspiracy theory obsessions. He seemed to be researching MKEXE, which was apparently another mind-control experiment, but with almost supernatural overtones.

Whatever it is, it covers its tracks. In fact, as soon as the Brother Tim starts cataloging Brother Sean’s evidence, it mysteriously disappears. Even the tormenting voice message deletes itself. It sounds crazy, but Tim’s not-quite girlfriend Nicole saw enough to agree to help his brother investigate further—or maybe she is just prospecting for a good story. Regardless, their resulting “documentary” became a notoriously lost item of internet lore, somehow preserved here for your viewing pleasure, according to Waddell’s found footage gimmick.

In a way, MKHEXE represents an unusually effective found footage film, but not because it is scary. Frankly, this is a profoundly sad film that illustrates the destructive power of the obsessive conspiratorial mindset. It also viscerally shows how tragedy and trauma can poison a family. Waddell presents a highly distinctive vision, but it is not an enjoyable viewing experience. It might just drive you to drink.

Nevertheless, Jennifer Lynn O’Hara and Dwayne Tarver are absolutely devastating as the brothers’ long-suffering parents. They are so believable and realistically down-to-earth, it is painful to watch them. Ignacyo Matynia and Will Jandro have plenty of good freak-outs as the brothers, but they do not connect emotionally the way their on-screen parents do.

Periodically, Waddell breaks the dark mournful spell incorporating deliberately kitschy retro footage of a urban legend-themed retro TV-show obviously modeled on Unsolved Mysteries, right down to the trench coat the cheesy host keeps compulsively buttoned-up, even while in-doors. These sequences are somewhat amusing, but that is precisely why they so jarringly clash with the rest of the film.

This film boasts several unusually strong found footage performances, but it does not stay true to the format and MKHEXE revelations are just of hodge-podge of recycled conspiracy theory greatest hits. Not recommended, Project MKHEXE starts streaming today (4/29) on Screambox.