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X Movie Review

X is a 2022 slasher film directed by Ti West and starring Mia Goth and Jenny Ortega. It is one of the best horror movies of the year and a hugely entertaining ride.

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“Must be one goddamn fucked up horror picture“

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The story follows a cast and crew who gather to make a pornographic film on an elderly couple’s rural Texas property, but find themselves threatened by a killer. This is another strong A24 horror film and a great case that this studio is almost the sole producer of high-quality horror features recently. This is independent horror cinema in its finest form and an undeniably fun movie that is difficult not to enjoy tremendously.

The highlight is the execution of the premise itself. Unlike most slasher flicks, this one has more on its mind and in its heart as it explores aging and how it affects sex life. This older couple was very disturbing, but we get to see glimpses of their past passion and how much it means for the woman to rekindle it and those scenes were actually quite touching. Some may say the film is ageist and I can see that, but I personally found its treatment of old age realistic more than anything else and that really worked for me.

X is also surprisingly funny at times. The humor is subtle, but it is superbly executed and some moments did make me chuckle. But they did not forget to include the truly creepy elements as this is a horror movie after all and the kills are phenomenally executed and actually grounded in reality. These two old people do not have any powers or anything like that. Each and every murder is believable in how it was executed and that was crucial in making the movie more sophisticated, not to mention disturbing.

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What is also admirable about X is the strong character development on display. It would have been easy for West to just include disposable characters, but he actually went above and beyond in making them seem real and giving them all specific goals. The pornography storyline was interesting as the film cleverly showcased how it’s not easy to make these movies as they are films after all and they require a lot of equipment and strong execution.

The men getting killed so easily was a bit silly, but still somewhat believable given that it’s easy not to doubt these extremely old people. The boyfriend being against her girlfriend performing in porn was well juxtaposed with another couple with the exactly opposite views on that matter. But the highlight acting-wise is Mia Goth in this dual role of both Maxine and Pearl.

Yes, the make-up team actually made her look old using prosthetics, which wasn’t all that convincing, but this was a brilliant choice for this script as it led to even more intimacy and strangeness in the scenes where the two shared the screen. Pearl longing to have her body was very disturbing and highly tragic in equal measure.

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The editing in X is also exceptional. The film uses interesting techniques of quick edits, fading screens and also connecting two sequences in theme and setting, which all made it look immensely professional and even artistic. This countryside setting with the alligator river and ancient houses from the Civil War made for a beautiful to look at movie. The production design and the costumes are also great. Ti West is a terrific director and his eye for detail is commendable. The movie can be too silly at times and overly conventional in its conclusion and some kill scenes, but for the most part it represents indie horror scene at its best.