X

I didn’t quite expect to find such an interesting, ambitious and not very often explored theme at the centre of a horror murder mystery from the backstage of the amateur porn industry, one that even made me sympathise with the main villain at several points (well, until she went into full psycho bitch mode, that is). The cinematography is great, West, like in The House of the Devil, convincingly imitates the 1970s, plays with editing and delivers more than one strongly creepy sequence. Unfortunately, the heroes aren't exactly my cup of tea – even though they are portrayed quite effortlessly and easily recognizable from each other – so the first half was more like waiting for the inevitable carnage to finally begin. But after the first stab, things get beautifully brisk and horror-packed until the end. I’m not as thrilled as I thought I’d be, but I’m satisfied. (2022-04-14)

Sometimes a movie ticks all the right boxes for you to enjoy, but it somehow leaves you cold. That was my experience with X. Yes, the subject matter is great. It features good directing and visual effects and has some superb acting performances. It has also got some cool subplots even though it played out predictably and unexcitingly. It simply elicited no better response in me than an appreciation of solid filmmaking, which is a bit of a shame in this case because I expected a bit more from it. (2022-05-07)

There hasn't been a horror film since It Follows that so creatively and intelligently pays homage to a single genre phase and, moreover, serves as a faithful commentary not only on the film culture of the time, but on the era itself. The return to 1979 on the hot Texas plains is not just a retro comeback of hixploitation (the clash of urban cool kids with Southern rednecks), of which there are many – and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre alone has eight futile sequels – X revives an entire libertine decade when censors increasingly had to grant the inaccessible X rating, with an emphasis on the most natural and at the same time the most taboo topic: sex. First of all, this is not a straightforward physical confrontation like in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to which Ti West deliberately refers in some of the stylistic choices (hunter-victim shooting), the opening gas station stop, the Texas setting, etc., this one builds on ingenious parallelisms between the two camps of characters, who have essentially the same needs and whose sexual options are separated only (and significantly) by their age. People don't change mentally, but the inexorable passage of time always shows itself. Whether physically on individuals or on the nature of society, which dictates what is in – and in the seventies, "tits and ass, and a big dick" were all the rage, to borrow an idea from the magical Jenny Ortega. And so it's only natural that this film’s final girl has to be a shameful slut to survive, facing another, very wrinkled shameful slut. It's brilliantly shot, perhaps just a little too posed and lengthy in places, the retro look is good and the level of brutality is not such that the violence draws attention to itself and distracts from the compelling and often quite true-to-life ideas: "one day we're gonna be too old to fuck", or a retired couple will come with pitchforks to deal with their mental issues the way, well, only rednecks can. 85% and the fifth star goes for the fact that this just turned out to be the film for me. (2022-04-15)

X is the most inventively directed seventies exploitation flick by a contemporary young filmmaker. Ti West knows what he’s doing as he plays with the viewers and genre techniques, mixes a bit of soft-core porn with a chunk of hard slasher, and doesn’t forget to be a little bit deviant. But mainly, he gives form to the classic slasher premise of “horny teens must die” in the craftiest way in recent decades. X won’t scare you, but the more you are at home in the genre and love a breath of fresh air in it, the more you’ll enjoy the story of unfortunate visitors to the evil farm. Also, bare breasts. (2022-04-21)

X brilliantly evokes the period feel of early slasher films with honest practical effects, while subverting their moral stereotypes and the idea of the immaculate "final girl". The killer this time is a sexually frustrated retiree who takes out her pent-up desires on the young, horny filmmakers and porn actors making a movie in a conservative rural area. But she kills them not to punish them for fornicating, but out of envy (her motivations are deepened by the excellent prequel Pearl). Ti West manages to harmoniously blend two often despised genres, porn and slasher, which share many common elements. The result is an unconventional mix of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Boogie Nights, and it is breath of fresh air among other recent slashers that only unsuccessfully attempt to emulate their illustrious predecessors. And Mia Goth is absolutely phenomenal in the central dual role. (2023-11-16)