XX

I don't know where to begin with my thoughts on this anthology. I would more or less refer to them as proof of concept ideas that filmmakers give to production companies.

The first concept 'The Box' started creatively enough with the mystery of a boy seeing "something" in a box and then it went no where. This wasn't horror, it wasn't scary, and it came across like it was alluding to a message that I couldn't decipher. It does remain true to the Jack Ketchum short story of the same name, but it failed to capture the narrative style the book delivers. If they retold the story from the mother's POV I would add another star to my review, but she's a background character until the very end. Disappointing.

'The Birthday Party' would be better listed as a dark-comedy. I didn't like it at all. Don't know what else to say about it, but it was a waste of time. I wanted to find hidden meanings behind what was happening and I kept expecting something to relate with. It delivers nothing. This isn't even something to share over a campfire.

'Don't Fall' was a straight forward horror genre without any real content. It seemed to be making fun of such stories rather than trying to be plot or character driven. It was as derivative as most"monster chasing a girl" movies can be and just as lifeless. Terrible acting, no pacing and not even a claustrophobic element with the small camper. It's like the director didn't want the job or didn't bother trying.

'Her Only Living Son' was actually the closest to being watchable. It was this short that helped keep it above 1 star for me. The plot was ... conventional ... is a kind word. The acting was sub-par, but I did like Kyle Allen as Andy. I thought this could have been broader and more illusive about the surprise mystery. It's a clichéd tale (probably should say a throwback) from 1970's flicks based on devil-worship. I never liked those things. It's just people acting creepy or weird and I'm certain today's audiences are fully desensitized by their nightly news to give 2 cents about this garbage.

All in all; I wish I had paid attention to the warnings of other reviewers. Because the focus was on women directors, I didn't want any negative influence from misogyny or patriarchal leanings. I watched with all the hope in the world and it was very disappointing.

Well that was quite a waste of time. To be honest I wished they had focused on a full length feature of The Box and just forgotten about the other 3 stories. The Box was so mysterious and intriguing, I really didn't want it to end. The other 3 were tedious, and badly acted.

I don't judge people based on their gender so I really didn't care if this movie was directed by women or not. But I do care about cinematography and storytelling aspects and for that reason I have to cast a somewhat harsh judgment.

So, the movie consists of 4 equally long parts, each explores a different type of horror. There is no coherency between the stories, all of them are fully independent.

The first story was obviously the best one. I really liked it and would have liked a full feature movie about it. There was a lot of untapped potential there. Considering how the first scene ("The Box") established some sort of norm on which I started forming expectations. It suffices to say that what followed didn't quite live up to these expectations. The second story ("Birthday Party") was in fact the exact opposite. It wasn't scary, it was just weird. Since I don't want to spoil anything I'll just leave it at that. It was by far the weakest link in this anthology. "Don't Fall" was also pretty scary but a little too one-dimensional for my personal taste. There was virtually no character development in that story. And last but not least there was "Her Only Living Son". This story was clearly an homage to Rosemary's baby. And while Rosemary's Baby is in my opinion one of the greatest Horror movies ever made this story was rather comical in nature. The reason why this story didn't quite manage to instill fear and true horror can probably be attributed to the fact that the protagonists physical transformation/metamorphosis was just too stereotypical to be considered horrifying/scary.

When the very poster draws heavy focus to the fact that the shorts are directed by women, one assumes that you will finally be able to see film through a female lens. Those in the film industry are frequently excited by the prospect of having the stories and viewpoints of women shown as it opens up stories that previously have been masked. Female characters frequently are left underdeveloped and masked in the backgrounds of features. You can imagine my disappointment to read that tag line on the poster, just to find that 3 of the 4 shorts are as generic and soulless as the dregs of the horror industry.

The first 3 shorts are as uninspired, uninteresting and cliché as imaginable. 3 of the 4 stories feature white, middle-aged stay-at-home mothers, of which are the manifestation of what most people complain about when a female character is given minimal attention and effort from a male director.

The 1st and 3rd short offer absolutely nothing we haven't seen before, and the 2nd short isn't even remotely within the horror genre. The director of the 2nd short has somehow managed to convince herself that adding loud, eerie music to a regular scene creates a horror short.

The 2nd of the 4 shorts is vastly the worst, followed by the 3rd and then the 1st. The 4th short however is an interesting, if not still un-creative piece of horror. Whilst the 4th short feels reminiscent of films like The Babadook, it still manages to differentiate itself enough to warrant at least a 7/10.

Ultimately generic, uninspired and frustrating. The intermission, stop motion segments are the pinnacle of this feature. 3/10

Proposing a collection of original shorts in a horror landscape over-saturated with remakes and old recipes is a daring proposition, with or without gender twist. XX delivers four 20 minutes works with an episodic animated sequence as interlude. While the animated part is simply masterful, the quality of the shorts varies.

1st Short: The Box. This short seems to draw an illustration of how a dysfunctional family would end up if closeted drama and shouting exchanges were replaced by a supernatural element. Rather ambient, it lets you wonder what to expect. Unfortunately, the conclusion misses the target and leaves you wanting something more elaborate.

2nd Short: The Birthday party. Expedited premise and hardly believable character behavior make this short rather weak. It seems to be intended as a joke and it sort of, kind of work if you're a good audience. Good material for fan theory, but nothing memorable.

3rd Short: Don't fall. Typical monster story, with all the clichés of the genre packed into way too little time to deliver any kind of tension. A success if you want to watch absolutely every (bad) monster film in 20 minutes, a failure if you're looking for anything else.

4rh Short: Her only living son. The best of the lot, with a tense ambiance from early on, and the only one with enough background to establish a more solid story line. The female lead knows how to act, and the dramatic arc is built better than in the 3 other shorts. Nonetheless, some of the narrative is expedited and make the story fall a bit flat.

Ultimately, the bundle gives the impression that none of the stories were meant for the short format to begin with, and try to follow the same formula as full feature films while condensing it in 20 minutes. As a result most of the shorts rest on interesting ideas but none seems to know whether to be a trailer or a feature film, to the detriment of tension and narrative.

It remains that there are far worse movies around. "The box" and "Her only living son" have a compelling second level of reading and can push your empathy buttons just right, and "The Birthday Party" might make you smile ("Don't Fall", though is a total miss). Funnily enough the 20 minutes format, as ambiguous as it is, also makes sure that no story overstays its welcome.

I'll give it a 5 for effort and for the animation. Watch it if you want something a bit different, and for some good starting ideas if you're a fiction writer. Give it a rain check if you're looking for a mind-blowing work.

The good: Interesting ideas + Good metaphors + Refreshing formula + Masterful animated intermezzos

The meh: - Average acting - Narrative doesn't fit the format well - Soundtrack could be more subtle

The bad: - The whole 3rd short (Don't fall). - The mood lapse between the 1rst and 2nd short.