I’m late to it, but I’m here to review it. X, marks the spot.
Maxine Minx (Mia Goff) is an exotic dancer, off to make a porno movie in the summer of 1979, with her producer boyfriend Wayne (Martin Henderson), fellow performers Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) and Jackson (Kid Cudi), aspiring director RJ (Owen Campbell), and RJ’s girlfriend/boom-mike operator Lorraine (Jenna Ortega). Wayne has rented remote lodging on a farm across the border in a neighbouring state, where an air of conservative Christianity rings out in opposition to the flaunted sexuality on display by its visitors. The elderly farm owner Howard (Stephen Ure) initially, and aggressively, forgets the arrangement he’s made with Wayne, and Wayne deliberately fails to mention the nature of their visit, so the cast and crew sneak around the farmlands having sex, and filming their movie. As night approaches, with their seedy deeds discovered by peeping eyes, hellish retribution promises to break loose.
First of all, the production value is excellent; let’s just get that out of the way. X looks absolutely gorgeous as a modern-day film, whilst capturing a nostalgic depiction of a late ’70s time-period. It’s pretty common for a horror movie to start with a group of young hopefuls off on some frivolous road trip, or renting a getaway in the woods, but I love how this movie gives this gang a purpose, putting weight in their dreams and characterisation, whilst adding detail to the setup and setting as a consequence. It helps the first half feel alive, while the dead cow blocking the road feels like a mic-check for the gore that’s incoming. I’ve heard X pays homage to horror movies around since the 1970s, and whilst, as I’ve admitted before, I’m not completely verse in horror history like some, there are musical cues and certain shots that certainly feel like they harken back to filmmaking of yesteryear. There’s clear Psycho, The Shining and Halloween references that I caught; I hope I get points for that. I’m also aware that it’s a deep tradition that the people having sex in horror movies are usually the first to go, but with X, it’s the biggest prude that cops the first blade to the throat, as X expertly explores themes of youth, freedom, and sexual empowerment.
I did feel like X sags a little in the middle; it staggers with its momentum, but I don’t think it’s due to indulging itself either, providing more movie than necessary – it’s just that, I can’t recall ever seeing a slasher movie that gives so much sympathetic motivation to its killer before the murdering starts, and it’s a little unexpected. By the time things get bloody, you understand who these people are, and how they live – unfortunately, for me at least, it meant that the tension that usually comes from an unknown menace stalking it’s victims, was gone. But I don’t think the movie minds too much, sacrificing a certain amount of traditional rote non-characterisation to tell the story it wants to tell. It’s not like Wolf Creek, where the killing comes out of nowhere, and where the point of that story is that you never know if you might be talking to a lunatic. It’s not like The Hills Have Eyes either, where the family know their enemies are a serious threat, and a gripping tension comes from the protagonists feeling outmatched on the killer’s home soil. No, most of these perverted porn stars try to be decent citizens, going out of their way to help an old lady back to bed, even when she seems strange or rude. And this old lady is just horny! And fair enough too, I reckon.
Mia Goff 😱 I’m sure I said in my Emma. review that I could see Mia Goff blowing up in a big way soon enough, and this might be it. I thought she struggled to hide the natural tones in her voice, as this southern belle, in the early stages of the movie, but she grows into the character perfectly; she’s got the look, and Maxine isn’t a really wordy character anyway. It wasn’t until halfway through the movie that I realised that this old lady, Pearl, might be played by Mia Goff as well, but it makes total sense for the symbolism of fading sexuality that this movie is striving for, and makes the scenes they share together all the more impressive technically. I want to make some grand link between the premise of Maxine’s porn scene, where she’s milking a cow, and the male prisoner Pearl has in her basement, to ‘milk’ for leisure; the dead cow, run over on the road, and Pearl getting her head caved in under the same tire, but I’m not quite there yet… Anyway, I hope the people who wonder what Brittney Snow’s tiddies look like watching Pitch Perfect find X, because here they are! I’m feeling more inspired to say crass things like that when this movie is all about sex and youth, and finding purity in lived experiences everlasting. More politely, it may feel silly to say because it’s ‘only Brittney Snow’, but I really thought her performance added a seniority to this assorted cast, even acting as a guiding force for the rest, so kudos to Snow. Martin Henderson reminded me so much of Luke Wilson, and as for Kid Cudi, I must’ve been one of a handful who watched How to Make It in America, and I haven’t seen him in much since; I’m happy that his acting talents are on show again.
This is a movie I can see myself enjoying again and again, and is definitely a movie I’m so very happy to have in my repertoire for when it comes to, not just discussing horror movies in the future, but storytelling in general. I’m going to have to go back through director Ti West’s filmography one of these days now; I’m a completionist – there’s so much content in the world, and my oil spill keeps on spreading. I’m going to have to catch up on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise too, as a set of movies I’ve always avoided because they just seem gross, but I feel I may have missed a few references in X due to my ignorance there. Scream (2022) made a point of standing proud as a simple slasher, within a cultural surge of ‘elevated horror’ that explores deeper themes, but X feels like it’s figured out the combination; an elevated slasher if you will, and it’s super creepy without having to rely on jump scares. I’m thinking of Run, and other horror movies I’ve seen in recent years, and this may be the best – oh, I may still like The Night House more actually, but they’re different beasts. But despite really crazy subject matter, X never feels nonsensical (yes, that’s a dig at you, Malignant, although I think absurdity was your point), and it just goes to show you can explore any outlandish premise with a sense of tact, and deliberately. More and more, I should just mention that this movie is a lot of fun! It’s certainly another one of those slow-burners where I’m so glad I was able to avoid trailers and spoilers, because I was never sure where the killer would be coming from, and I enjoyed every bit of it.
4.5
P.S. I wasn’t feeling Pearl’s short dance after she killed her first victim; from Joker to Spencer, I feel like dancing as a release in horrific circumstances is already played out as a storytelling element. But that could just be me, and it’s a personal nitpick, for the record.
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