When you’re someone who regularly partakes in alternative and arguably extreme entertainment, be it gory horror movies or heavy and abrasive music, you often start to think that you’ve seen it all. Desensitization is all too real, especially in the digital age where you can find any number of insane things at any given time with the tap of a finger.
And then a movie like X comes along; something that gleefully cuts through the jaded, sanitized dystopian muck of today’s media landscape to shake things up. It’s one of those movies you finish in either utter disbelief, bewildered delight or pure repulsion. Maybe a bit of all three. Writer and director Ti West has delivered something truly special here - a no holds barred, take no prisoners horror flick that possesses that magical ability to still genuinely (and delightfully) shock and astound you.
Set in 1979, X follows a steamy, messy and horrific sequence of events that unfolds over the course of 24 hours out in the rural backroads of Texas. A charismatic entrepreneur named Wayne (Martin Henderson) has big plans to get in on the upcoming boom of the home video market, particularly in the realm of adult entertainment. That’s right, Wayne is intent on putting together an amateur porno to get rich off of, and has enlisted the help of wannabe stars Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) and her sometimes boyfriend Jackson (Scott Mescudi AKA Kid Cudi), as well as Wayne’s young fiance Maxine (Mia Goth). Roped into the trip is cameraman RJ (Owen Campbell) and his girlfriend and boom operator Lorraine (Jenna Ortega).
Courtesy of A24
Perhaps the most obvious comparison to West’s latest film would be Tobe Hooper’s original Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Besides the same setting and time period, West and cinematographer Eliot Rockett also evoke that same undeniable feeling of dreadful anticipation that made Hooper’s landmark film as unsettling as it is. From the menacing way the group’s destination (your standard large white farmhouse in the middle of nowhere) is framed, to the foreboding nature of shots like someone simply stepping onto the porch, standing in the doorway, or walking across the field - something feels off. You’re on edge even if you don’t quite know why.
But while X certainly takes inspiration from that benchmark film, it’s more interested in pushing itself forward rather than settling for sheer homage. Wayne’s posse arrives at the farmhouse to a not-so-hospitable greeting from their hosts, a reclusive elderly couple who haven’t exactly been informed of the true nature of the group’s stay. Howard (Stephen Ure), a disgruntled combat veteran armed with a shotgun and saddled with an overworked heart, lets his young guests know that he doesn’t much care for them, but that everyone should be fine so long as they steer clear of the main house and his often “confused” wife, Pearl.
Naturally, things end up going awry and bloodshed begins, but unlike most other slasher flicks with similar setups, X wisely takes its time before unleashing havoc and makes it all the more impactful because of it. In addition to its excellent buildup of tension, the film’s outstanding cast immediately manages to imbue the characters with genuine life and dimension. You like the lively bunch of amateur filmmakers more and more as the story progresses, and their earnest desire to make a good dirty movie is enjoyably admirable even if their deception towards their hosts is less so.
Courtesy of A24
This is West’s first film in six years and his first horror film in over a decade, and the time has seemingly worked greatly in his favor. So much of what happens on that eventful night is refreshingly unpredictable and thus all the more thrilling. The film’s provocations - involving sex, age, violence and others - feel more inspired than cheap and exploitative. Its gory kills are impressive on a practical and artistic level, at times surprising enough in their swift brutality to elicit genuine gasps, and at one point perversely and grotesquely beautiful.
For all of the wildly entertaining carnage and chilling scares, X is also exceptionally bright and clever in exploring its ideas of youth vs old age, fading beauty, and sex positivity among others. At times admirably progressive, other times tragic, and often darkly hilarious, West and his team juggle and switch between various tones with expertise, sometimes within mere breaths of each other. The real secret here is the film’s amazing editing done by David Kashevaroff (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Underwater) and West himself. They say all movies are really made in the editing room, but in this particular case the film truly doesn’t work without the distinct style that the editing is going for.
X is all about juxtapositions and comparisons, so the film often directly cuts back and forth between opposing sequences and perspectives, whether it’s between the young stars in the making with their whole lives ahead of them versus their elderly hosts whose lives have passed them by, or tantalizing sexiness versus horrific violence. It’s a standout stylistic choice that’s deployed frequently and poignantly.
The less you know going into the film the better. It’s an authentically wild ride that’s some of the inspired horror to come around in quite some time, and undoubtedly the first contender for the best new original to grace the genre this year. This one’s gotta be seen with other people.
‘X’ is now playing on demand - HERE
