X

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. (16/11/2023)

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. (21/04/2022)

After a hiatus of almost 10 years, the overrated Ti West returns with his best horror film to date, and it is already attacking second place. X is a great homage to 70-80s slashers and hixploitation horror with a beautiful retro look, a downright rarity nowadays and as a lover of the subgenre I of course applaud and salute, this film does a lot things right. The film has an interesting premise about a bunch of young filmmakers who want to make an adult film in a remote Texas location owner by a creepy retired couple, who of course don’t approve of what the youngsters have in mind. I like that Ti West goes about it a little differently, and rather than watching a bunch of teenagers drinking and then having it out as is customary in films like this, this style suited me better. Anyone expecting a NC-17 rating was naive, it really wouldn't pass muster in the US, but at least the girls show up topless, which in itself is brave these days (the 80s were better at that). The introduction to soft porn is a substantial and entertaining spectacle that soon turns into uncompromising and fine carnage (as weak as the previous three years were for gore, I'm very happy with this year). Ti West additionally took advantage of the fact that creepy old people are in vogue, but why should they just haunt when they can murder too, right? The main villains are really fucking sleazy and nasty (we may not see better horror baddies this year). A grandma with a knife and a pitchfork, with a smile on her face while the blood splashes, I dig that! The characters are likable, the are girls attractive (Jenna Ortega!), the gore is very good (the cow scene in the opening act really got me off my chair and on my feet), and that crocodile, well he played two awesome and uncomfortable scenes right there. X is a very essential horror film for this year as well, it came at the right time and gives horror fans more or less everything they would expect from a solid horror film. One funny and apt line from the film: “Nobody's comin' to see this film for the plot. They're comin' to see tits and ass” and Gore! Fucking A- Right. Story 3/5. Action 4/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 8.5/10. (14/04/2022)

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. (14/04/2022)

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. (07/05/2022)