X (2022).
The Stage.
It’s 1979. A group of people rent a side house on a farm on the outskirts of Houston with the intent of filming an independent pornographic film, but when one of the elderly hosts catches them in the act, the crew finds themself in a world of pain.
The Review.
Ti West is a really interesting filmmaker. He jumped into the horror movie scene in 2009 with The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers in 2011, and then just kind of left mainstream big screen horror for a while. He directed some television and an underrated western in 2016, but when I heard he was coming back to his horror roots, I was excited.
X does a lot of things right. First, it gives us time to get to know the protagonists. It shows us different sides to them. The filmmaker isn’t just a filmmaker, he’s also an insecure, protective kid. The producer isn’t just a producer - he’s a businessman with big dreams and very liberal ideas. The porn actors are more than just that - they all have legitimate hopes and dreams. We get to know all of this because Ti gives us the chance to just hang out with them. The first kill doesn’t happen until just after an hour in, and because of that, you really do care about the film crew. There are a few standouts in the cast, most surprising of which was rapper Kid Cudi. He plays Jackson, a porn actor who did two tours in ‘Nam. He’s just a guy who believes he was born for the screen, but he’s always ready to help a fellow Marine. There’s a scene in which he opens the front door while naked at night and you just see his giant, floppy dingus swinging in the wind. Brilliant. The ladies are all really fantastic but I’ll be damned if I didn’t leave this film with a huge crush on Brittany Snow, who plays Bobby-Lynne. She’s like the motherly figure of the bunch, someone who completely understands the business she’s in and really just treats it like a job.
The villains are really interesting as well, and I’m not going to reveal who it is or what their motivation is, but it seemed oddly sweet at first. That feeling fades pretty fast, because the antagonists are unbelievably fucked up. The overall theme of X seems to be the juxtaposition of sexuality in film vs. what it looks like in real life. The beautiful bodies we see in the act of passion live off screen as well, in a world where there are jealous benefactors and at some point, the beauty - and ability to even have sex - fades. I also liked that the villains weren’t unstoppable killing machines and the way some of them are dealt with is riotous.
The filmmaking is top notch. The very first shot is framed by a square window as we see what appears to be a peaceful farm house. As we pull in through the window, we begin to see things we couldn’t - police cars parked on both the right and left, bodies, blood. It’s a really effective way to get us right into the action and the craft remains exquisite throughout. The score by Tyler Bates and Chelsea Wolfe is unnerving and adds to the tension.
The End.
X checks all kinds of boxes I’m looking for in a horror film. It’s horny, it’s gory, it’s smart, it’s got interesting protagonists, and it’s got equally interesting antagonists. If you’re a student of horror films, Ti West is the class president, and you’ll definitely be rewarded for your studies, as this feels like a spiritual sequel to Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the films inspired by it. Right now, this might be my favorite film of 2022. If you like horror films, this is extremely recommended.
