Our take
Though it isn’t the groundbreaking slasher movie that it initially seemed to be marketed as, X simply knows how to do its job very well: the gore is plentiful and the build-up to the inevitable kills is just loaded with anticipation. But where the film becomes much more interesting is in the palpable sadness that seems to follow all of its characters. Innocent or murderous, each of these people is just trying to cling to an idea of personal freedom and beauty that never seems to last. It’s a horror movie that takes its portrayals of sex and sexuality very seriously, exploring the limits of sexual liberation in a country that actively tries to punish it.
The story
In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives.
Elsewhere
"Sweaty, sexy and extremely fun slasher."
— Anna Bogutskaya
"Like most of West’s films, X is not particularly ambitious in its psychology or storytelling. It’s his technique that makes his work feel like it has one foot in the arthouse..."
— Alison Willmore
While shooting at a secluded farm in Texas, a group of pornographic filmmakers incur the wrath of the vengeful elderly couple who live there.
Mia Goth may have garnered practically universal acclaim in the title role of X's prequel, Pearl, but don't forget how great she already was in this film. Goth plays both hero and villain here—the latter role involving heavy prosthetic makeup to make her look unrecognizable—but her performance isn't just about physical transformation. As two sides of the same desire to be loved, Goth's characters become chillingly similar in more ways than one, so much so that any confrontation between the two really takes on a more surreal quality, as if this one woman is looking at both her past and her future at once.
Good movie and all, but I'm begging someone to give these horror movies more searchable titles. Please.
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Emil Hofileña is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. He also writes as a theater critic, with work published in Rogue and Out of Print, among others. He’s probably crying over a movie or an episode as we speak.
