Directed by Ti West, X is a 2022 horror movie. In 1979, Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) is hoping to become the world’s most famous porn star, alongside her boyfriend and producer Wayne (Martin Henderson, Grey’s Anatomy), fellow actors Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow, Pitch Perfect) and Jackson Hoyle (Scott Mescudi, aka rapper Kid Cudi) and director RJ (Owen Campbell) and his girlfriend, Lorraine (Jenna Ortega). Upon arriving at a remote Texas farmhouse for filming, the team soon find themselves threatened by a killer.
+ Mia Goth and Jenna Ortega are both really good, and I enjoyed the limited roles of Snow and Mescudi, as well. Mia Goth certainly steals the show for a particular reason that might not be immediately apparent, which I won’t spoil here
+ especially before the gorier side of the film begins, there are a lot of long, tense scenes that I found very effective at building up to an inevitable something. Whether that’s drinking lemonade with the home owner, or a dip in a lake where an alligator lives, I found myself waiting with baited breath a few times, never quite sure of what was going to happen
+ frankly, there is a really enjoyable mix of sex and violence; sometimes the sex is scary and the violence is beautiful. Not only young and gorgeous people should get sex scenes, and not only the creepy old people inflict horrendous violence
+ there are a lot of comparisons to be made to classic horror movies, most obviously the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Psycho (the latter of which gets a nod in the film itself). I enjoy watching horror movies by fans of horror movies
> upon my viewing of this film, I’ve now seen movies called X, XX, and XXX. If they ever make a “XXXX”, someone please let me know.
Should you see this film: This was a really good movie. For fans of horror movies, there won’t be much here that you haven’t seen before but great acting and some tonal whiplash keeps things fresh. This is well worth a watch.
MoshFish Reviews 