X

Ti West's movie really should have been called "E" for elevated. It sets itself up as a smart take on the slasher films of the 70s and early 80s. As a bonus, the film within a film has the filmmakers making an 'elevated' porn flick (as a bonus, actor Owen Campbell who plays the "Director" even looks a bit like Director Tobe Hooper).

Quite consciously taking it's set up from Tobe Hooper's 1974 TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, X has a group of randy pornographers renting a farmhouse from an elderly couple in the middle of nowhere in Texas (actually New Zealand). Writer-Director West's main idea here is to set up a contrast between the XXX filmmakers and the bible thumping civilians of the area. It's not an uninteresting idea, which, of course, plays off the the puritanical cliche in the slasher films of yore where the most sexually active characters are the most likely to g et killed off. In addition to MASSACRE, West includes nods to FRIDAY THE 13TH, Hooper's EATEN ALIVE and a very specific one to HALLOWEEN. X is set about 5 years after MASSACRE so that it can include a brief exchange about how home video will change the porno industry (adult films were already available on VHS for about 3 years).

The movie is very well directed, with savvy use of cross-cutting between the porn film in the making and the terrors that await the group. Mia Goth (in a dual role; actually a triple if you stay after the credits) and Brittany Snow are the two pornstars to be and each dive in with relish. Kid Cudi is the cocky stud, while Martin Henderson is solid as the confidant Producer. Jenna Ortega is the "crew" all by her lonesome (she manages to keep her clothes on - must have a better agent). Stephen Ure is the ornery old man who rents out his guest house.

As good as the filmmaking is, X ends up feeling too studied. The pacing is lugubrious even if it picks up towards the very end. Once the massacre begins (if not by power tools) it still ends up being fairly typical of the films it's commenting on, regardless of how well executed and 'elevated' it thinks it is. It's also too drawn out to satisfy some gore-hounds and once the blood starts flowing, probably too gross for the internet scribes dreaming of doing extended online essays dissecting it for it's elevated intellect. There are a couple of twists, but they aren't sufficient enough to compensate for the predictability.

In the end, it's not as clever as West thinks it is, and despite some good Directing chops and acting, it's simply too self-conscious to be much of a fun thrill ride.

I liked it. It's a nice old-fashioned (flawlessly 70's styled) slasher horror-flick, with a fairly original premise. As in any comparable horror movie the motives for the killings are pretty farfetched, but who cares, when they are pictured so relentlessley gruesome, the gore here is definitely not for the tender-hearted. Another strong point is how the movie very gradually builds up the tension, this is a real slow burner, the apprehension of looming doom is palpable throughout the movie. This is helped by a strong direction, a very clever and inventive editing, and some great photography, see for instance the scene of one of the girls swimming in the lake, while... well, I won't give it away, but it's beautiful and hair-raisingly scary at the same time!

Add to all this some very funny dialogues and goings-on at the start, and you're in for a well made, old-school horror flick, maybe not life-changing but absolutely entertaining for those who can apprciate this kind of movie (like me!).

An interesting slow burn, but without enough to make it stand against the countless other slasher films, X is a fine film and another tribute to the iconic genre that made horror so popular in the first place. Granted, I do enjoy myself a slasher film from time to time- I'm quite fond of films like Nightmare on Elm Street and My Bloody Valentine, but where X faults among the others is through using a rather familiar formula without any true unique purpose. Throughout the film the characters often talk about an X factor, something that makes Mia Goth's character special and starworthy- but unlike its mentionings- this film just doesn't have that. The acting is really good, I love the underrated Mia Goth as always- as well as Brittany Snow, Martin Henderson, and even Kid Cudi did a rather impressive job. The cinematography is fantastic and perfectly fits the amitpshere and tone the film is going for. The music is enjoyable and tense, and its pacing can be a bit slow at times, but does allow for an interesting point of view. Its main problem lies solely in its script, which revolves largely around a smut film production- but takes too many elements and formulaic tendencies from other horror films like Evil Dead, Friday the 13th, The Visit and most obviously Texas Chainsaw Massacre to really stand out on its own and become its own thing. In the end, its not a bad watch, I wouldn't watch it again, but I certainly didn't mind watching it. It isn't the most memorable, but I certainly don't have any disdain for it. It just could have been more, especially given the talent involved, but ironically it settled for less.

My Rating: 5.8/10.

A decent slasher, but does not deserve a 96% rating on RT. The kills felt conveniently cheap and honestly everything was underwhelming. I was hoping to to feel paranoid or scared, but didn't feel much of anything. Spent most of the movie hoping it would get better or surprise me a little but we've seen this all before.

I didn't know what to expect going into this movie. Some reviews said it was porn with some horror, some said it was a slasher B movie. Some said decent acting and a good gore fest.

It was all of the above, though I'd say less porn, there are some nude/sex scenes but they're really not the heart of the movie. The gore is well done, the acting is very good I think, and the overall slasher aspect is reasonable, though it could have been a little more creative.

Saying all of that none of it is what I'll remember this movie for. What really struck me in this movie was the portrayal of age and how it affects people and their relationships, I actually felt really sad for some of the characters in this movie, and that isn't usually how I'd expect to feel watching a slasher. It really did feel like the writers, directors,. And actors were trying to remind us of something whilst also making a decent slasher. I think it's to value our youth, and our lives as much as we can. I don't want to say much more as I don't want to spoil the movie. Needless to say if you're looking for a decent movie to check out I'd recommend giving this a go. It will entertain you and also make you think a little about the problems others have.