I just knew I was going to love this film! I’m always one of the first ones in line to see any new film out that A24 is behind. There’s always something unique and creative about their films and I’ve been really impressed by the vast majority of their films. They do particularly well with the horror genre and X is certainly no exception. This film is able to come up with an intriguing story to follow that at first you may think you’ve seen before but soon find out you have not. And the cast they’ve assembled is very talented and commits 100% to telling this wild story in a fun entertaining way.
I really admire the script they put together for this film because of the way it’s able to: scare you, make you chuckle in isolated moments, and present you with decent characters that aren’t the stereotypical one dimensional slasher roles. This film is definetly looser and less serious than past A24 horrors like Midsommar or Hereditary and I was okay with that because they made it work and it was in context.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a comedy horror but rather a horror film with some comedic scenes. A couple of the things that made the horror of this work is both environment and the sound. The set and location they used brought a Texas Chainsaw-esque vibe with the Texas country setting and the old creaky farmhouse. And while there aren’t a lot of songs used, they use a certain sound every now and then that gives off an uneasy feeling and I thought achieved what it set out to.
I found the actual plot to be satisfying as well, I thought the villains and what motivates them to do what they end up doing was interesting and different from other motives we’ve seen in past films of this nature.
Sex is used to both tantalize and frighten you in this film. The protagonists are pornstars and a couple of filmmakers just starting out. We see and hear a lot of sex positivity from these main characters and that actually ties into the villainous characters in a frightening way.
Aside from the horror aspects, I do want to praise the non judgmental more free attitude this film has in regards to sexual expression. These characters could have been really deplorable nasty caricatures but instead they’re fresh and have admirable qualities to them. I was very pleased to see that they didn’t make these adult film stars depressing tropes.
The cast members all give admirable performances and I love that all of them are given moments to shine. Brittany Snow was my personal favorite and was the standout in my opinion. I’ve of course seen Snow is past films and she usually plays a tidied up nice character so it was nice to see her get to play something different. I really love how they wrote her character. The character of Bobby-Lynne is a funny 70s sex goddess that actually has some intelligent things to say and is actually not a bad person.
That character could have easily been completely vain and insufferable. I’m so glad they didn’t go that route. Mia Goth is another standout that really commits to her role and turns in a very impressive lead performance. I’ve like her in past films but here I felt like she really broke through.
And I loved the guys too! Kid Cudi does a very nice job playing the male pornstar that plays opposite Snow’s character. He was very sexy and funny and just gave an overall satisfying performance. I hope to see him in more!
Martin Henderson is another that I really liked a lot as the older man who’s producing the adult film they’re making. And while he’s older than the rest he sure does look good!
And that’s another thing, this film has eye candy for everyone, no matter if you like men or women. The camera very much relishes in both the female and male bodies and I don’t see anything wrong with that. I mean they are in the porn industry for gods sake and there’s nothing wrong with some bodily appreciation.
Speaking of the camera, the filmmaking and direction is very high quality. There’s an old school feel to the overall look of every frame which I couldn’t have loved more. This takes place in 1979 and the style with which this was filmed fits that. You can tell that Ti West (the director) really took his time to make sure the look and feel was fitting for both the time period and the setting.
X is a well crafted horror film that provides audiences with a unique experience. Highly recommended!
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