X

An attempt at ambitious horror that doesn’t quite work. For the first hour or so, up until the first murder, it's a great directorial ride with an imaginative composition of shots, a witty timing of scenes (the crocodile from a bird's eye view!) and a top notch casting, all original characters and I loved it all; that long wait for the peak was a five-star job. But then, as the spiral of violence begins, the story winds clichédly along predictable paths, the murders are anything but interesting, though in one West recalls Fulci, and it all culminates in scenes you really don't want to see (gerontophilic sex). It's a film of two halves, and the first one, where it escalates, paradoxically outweighs the second one by a head; sometimes less is more. (16/04/2022)

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)

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)

Despite a rather tepid pace in the first half, the creative skill of the filmmakers makes this an extremely atmospheric affair that cleverly references the greatest horror classics. Horror is of course what it is, yet it's not just superficially scary, and impresses more with its powerful visuals (the alligator chase shot is simply divine and the split-screen guitar sequence is an absolute treat), including the simple yet perfectly effective and believable motivations of the two main bad guys. A strong (non-)mainstream piece of work that feels old-fashioned and innovative at the same time. [80%] (23/05/2022)