X (March 2022)

 

X

(March 2022)

“That's right. The deviants are already amongst us, waiting for our sons and daughters. So heed dire warnings and repent before it is too late.”

Less than 24 hours in rural Texas in 1979 turns out to be enough time to build up to a disturbing and horrendous bloodbath in Ti West’s thunderous Iguana return with X.

As intimated by its title, X follows the cast and (minimal) crew of the, ahem, “adult” film, The Farmer’s Daughters, as they shoot on the sly at an isolated Texas farm.

Dreams of wealth and fame all come crashing down though, because this is “one G*ddamn f*cked up horror picture” from Ti West, after all…

“We shouldn’t disturb him. It would only make him angry. You wouldn’t like Daddy when he’s angry.”

West has been messing about on the TV front for the past few years (stray episodes of The Exorcist and Wayward Pines among his small screen work), so his return to silver screen horror is most welcome.

The fact that X comes not just with a soon-to-follow prequel (Pearl) but also a planned sequel, makes things all the more (heh) X-citing, even though this does look like the beginnings of the dreaded “F” word.

(Uurrmm… franchise?)

Still, West does remind us, “You can’t make a slasher movie without a bunch of sequels.”

And the fact is, X does position itself as a slasher, albeit one with other things on its mind aside from gory kills.

Prominently, it takes cues from cinema (and cinematic movements) at large to inform its narrative approach.

X is also juuuust self-aware enough so that West can occasionally remind us that there’s some grindhouse fun to be had here as well.

“Everybody likes sex. It’s a gas. We’re just not afraid to admit it. Queer, straight, black, white… It’s all disco.”

While there is an actual drug that’s showcased in X, the addiction that ultimately proves to be the most dangerous here is our very human attachment to youth (with the promise of ever-elusive fame coming in a close second).

Most of the film’s characters (played by familiar genre faces like Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, and Brittany Snow) still have their youth and are quite brazen about that; a couple of other characters don’t, and it’s the friction between those two groups that sets off X’s slasher powder keg.

So, come in for readily on-display “f*cked up horror,” but stay for all the substance beneath the bloody celluloid skin that West manages to explore here.

“Porn ain’t only gonna be for perverts no more.”

“Awww… Toast to the perverts. They’ve been payin’ our bills for years.”

“Hear, hear. To the perverts.”

Parting Shot:

Previous Ti West Iguana appearances may be found here and here, while mentions of TV’s The Exorcist may be found here and here.

(X OS’ courtesy of bloody-disgusting.com & twitter.com.)