X

I liked it. It's a nice old-fashioned (flawlessly 70's styled) slasher horror-flick, with a fairly original premise. As in any comparable horror movie the motives for the killings are pretty farfetched, but who cares, when they are pictured so relentlessley gruesome, the gore here is definitely not for the tender-hearted. Another strong point is how the movie very gradually builds up the tension, this is a real slow burner, the apprehension of looming doom is palpable throughout the movie. This is helped by a strong direction, a very clever and inventive editing, and some great photography, see for instance the scene of one of the girls swimming in the lake, while... well, I won't give it away, but it's beautiful and hair-raisingly scary at the same time!

Add to all this some very funny dialogues and goings-on at the start, and you're in for a well made, old-school horror flick, maybe not life-changing but absolutely entertaining for those who can apprciate this kind of movie (like me!).

Ti West's movie really should have been called "E" for elevated. It sets itself up as a smart take on the slasher films of the 70s and early 80s. As a bonus, the film within a film has the filmmakers making an 'elevated' porn flick (as a bonus, actor Owen Campbell who plays the "Director" even looks a bit like Director Tobe Hooper).

Quite consciously taking it's set up from Tobe Hooper's 1974 TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, X has a group of randy pornographers renting a farmhouse from an elderly couple in the middle of nowhere in Texas (actually New Zealand). Writer-Director West's main idea here is to set up a contrast between the XXX filmmakers and the bible thumping civilians of the area. It's not an uninteresting idea, which, of course, plays off the the puritanical cliche in the slasher films of yore where the most sexually active characters are the most likely to g et killed off. In addition to MASSACRE, West includes nods to FRIDAY THE 13TH, Hooper's EATEN ALIVE and a very specific one to HALLOWEEN. X is set about 5 years after MASSACRE so that it can include a brief exchange about how home video will change the porno industry (adult films were already available on VHS for about 3 years).

The movie is very well directed, with savvy use of cross-cutting between the porn film in the making and the terrors that await the group. Mia Goth (in a dual role; actually a triple if you stay after the credits) and Brittany Snow are the two pornstars to be and each dive in with relish. Kid Cudi is the cocky stud, while Martin Henderson is solid as the confidant Producer. Jenna Ortega is the "crew" all by her lonesome (she manages to keep her clothes on - must have a better agent). Stephen Ure is the ornery old man who rents out his guest house.

As good as the filmmaking is, X ends up feeling too studied. The pacing is lugubrious even if it picks up towards the very end. Once the massacre begins (if not by power tools) it still ends up being fairly typical of the films it's commenting on, regardless of how well executed and 'elevated' it thinks it is. It's also too drawn out to satisfy some gore-hounds and once the blood starts flowing, probably too gross for the internet scribes dreaming of doing extended online essays dissecting it for it's elevated intellect. There are a couple of twists, but they aren't sufficient enough to compensate for the predictability.

In the end, it's not as clever as West thinks it is, and despite some good Directing chops and acting, it's simply too self-conscious to be much of a fun thrill ride.

Pros.

It has some decent gore Mostly good acting Lots of 70s horror Easter eggs/references Martin Henderson doing what has to be the best Matthew McConaughey impression I've heard in a long time (seriously I really expected him to say "alright alright alright) The early Eaten Alive nod and final payoff are both hugely effective Really solid soundtrack

Cons.

It's very slow to get started. And not in the gradual suspenseful build up of tension sense, but that very little happens for close to an hour.

Despite wanting to be a really smart horror, the film still falls into the standard tropes of characters being morons who make dumb decisions and doesn't really bring anything original to the table besides better quality (but not perfect) cinematography When the carnage begins, the lighting gets very dark and sometimes obscures the shots and detail which may be a creative choice but does somewhat reduce the enjoyment

Overall, very decent but not a game changer Worth watching.

A decent slasher, but does not deserve a 96% rating on RT. The kills felt conveniently cheap and honestly everything was underwhelming. I was hoping to to feel paranoid or scared, but didn't feel much of anything. Spent most of the movie hoping it would get better or surprise me a little but we've seen this all before.

I didn't know what to expect going into this movie. Some reviews said it was porn with some horror, some said it was a slasher B movie. Some said decent acting and a good gore fest.

It was all of the above, though I'd say less porn, there are some nude/sex scenes but they're really not the heart of the movie. The gore is well done, the acting is very good I think, and the overall slasher aspect is reasonable, though it could have been a little more creative.

Saying all of that none of it is what I'll remember this movie for. What really struck me in this movie was the portrayal of age and how it affects people and their relationships, I actually felt really sad for some of the characters in this movie, and that isn't usually how I'd expect to feel watching a slasher. It really did feel like the writers, directors,. And actors were trying to remind us of something whilst also making a decent slasher. I think it's to value our youth, and our lives as much as we can. I don't want to say much more as I don't want to spoil the movie. Needless to say if you're looking for a decent movie to check out I'd recommend giving this a go. It will entertain you and also make you think a little about the problems others have.