X (2022)

As a huge A24 fan I was waiting for this to hit streaming and watched it as soon as I could.  But for a $20 streaming fee, it better be good.  So, was it worth it?  Yes, definitely!

I'd previously heard some hype surrounding director Ti West, but I haven't seen much of what he did other than a mostly forgettable segment in V/H/S. But I thought he did a fantastic job with X.  The score was great, with a few very memorable scenes with great backing tracks like Landslide (Fleetwood Mac) and Don't Fear the Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult). Cinematography was also excellent although it got a little dark near the end.  Particularly some of the daylight shots at the farm house were excellent, in particular the overhead shot of the gator in the pond.  

While I'm in no way shape or form a "prude," I'm not usually a huge fan of gratuitous sex (or gratuitous violance for that matter).  Considering the subject matter of the film - a group making a porn flick rents a rural farmhouse to make their next movie - the sex scenes were very well done: mostly shot through a grainy 4:3 aspect "70s" cam, and the group was very professional.  The content of their work did serve briefly as a plot element, which I thought was an excellent way to smoothly transition to the part where the maniacs start killing everybody.

The writing was believable and smooth, the acting was also good.  Casting actors to play actors is kindof a tropey hollywood cop out, but I don't mind it especially if it works with the plot, which it did in X. Mia Goth did a great job in a few scenes, particularly near the end when the old woman ended up in her bed and she had to final girl it the hell out of there. Also, I thought Kid Cudi did a serviceable job in his role as "Jackson" and was clearly having fun with the role.

But was it scary?  Yes!  Obviously TCM inspired, I cared about the characters and was scared when they started getting in trouble.  The first big jump scare of the film caught me off guard BAD, and particularly Kid Cudi's character's death was tense and scary if a bit predictable.Also the old nail-through-the-foot  makes me wince every time 😬.

The only downsides were that after the initial, legitimately shocking "twist," it was a bit predictable.  There was also a par-for-the-course amount of character stupidity.  Overall, we're not breaking any new ground here, but taken at face value I would rank it as probably the best Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel. I think Ti West shows that is in fact "possible to make a good dirty movie".

What this movie “horror” movie lacked plot or scare factor it made up (somewhat) in cinematography and acting.

I’ll preface this by saying that I have SERIOUSLY fallen off the SMT (scary movie train) in the last year. I think pregnancy and the immediate months postpartum we’re too raw and real to give me the mental bandwidth to handle anything, let alone scary stuff. I mention this because i am an easy scare- even the worst scary movies still make me jump (I plug my ears in every movie I watch). And even with being out of practice- I really wasn’t scared watching this. I think that’s my biggest issue with the movie. There were some real moments that they could have actually built something, but they all went nowhere. Ie. When the boyfriend is crying in the shower post having to film his GF doing a porno. He was vulnerable, heartbroken. We could have seen him go down a dark path from his heartbreak; or perhaps see him and his GF have to work through some issues while being hunted down by psychopaths- their very relatable issues at the center of real horror going on around them. And yet the shower scene ends and then we just see him drive off pissed and die immediately. Her character arc also ends quickly and without

there were some good cut back and forths between two separate scenes, happening simultaneously, which I liked. And the acting wasn’t bad. But, I still Wasnt Scared.

The main reason: horrible old people makeup and completely ridiculous “motive”. I HATE when movies cast young people to play old people. And While I could understand there being a vengeful toward beauty and lost youth angle, the old lady seemed to completely forget her obsession with the girl and her murderous craze after she had sex with her old husband once. Another example of a missed character arc opportunity. BUT, all that’s to say that it’s good to be BACK. Unto the next one…