Synopsis
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.
Review
X is the next in a long line of films distributed by A24, the art house company responsible for such hits as The Witch, The Lighthouse, and Uncut Gems. Directed by Ti West, who has underappreciated gems The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers under his belt, this should have been a perfect unison. However, it is anything but.
The story sees a group of adult filmmakers renting an old boarding house of an elderly couple within which to shoot their latest pornography picture. But, as expected, not all goes as planned.
The Cast
The cast includes Jenna Ortega (Lorraine), Mia Goth (Maxine), Brittany Snow (Bobby Lynne) and Kid Cudi (Jackson Hole). That last one is not a typo, and I didn’t actually realise it was him until I googled it afterwards. Jenna Ortega is the youngest of the cast and is best known for her role in this year’s Scream film; she’s also had minor roles in Iron Man 3 and Insidious 2.
Mia Goth you may know from A Cure for Wellness, Suspiria, High Life, and, most recently, Emma. Brittany Snow you’ll recognise from the Pitch Perfect trilogy and Kid Cudi needs no introduction – ‘Day n Nite’. Don’t act like you don’t know that banger of a song.
The Comparisons
The film starts with our group making their way along an abandoned stretch of highway in Texas, pulling in at a decrepit gas station. There’s some chit chat along the way but immediately you get Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibes which, in my opinion, scared me a little because I am not a fan of that film.
After some grocery shopping the group then makes their way to the place they’ve agreed to rent for next couple days, a patch of land owned by a disgruntled old man and his wife whom we only catch a glimpse of spying on the group from the upstairs window.
Their place of residence while they shoot the film (which is unbeknownst to the couple) is a boarding house within the estate that immediately gives off Evil Dead vibes. There’s clearly been inspiration taken from classic horror films and, given its 1979 setting, should prove excellent for the mayhem that’s to come.
Patiently Waiting
Herein lies one of X’s many problems – its pacing. In an age where the internet did not exist yet and the only way to watch content of an explicit erotic nature was to see it in theatres, our group is working to create one of the first porn straight to video releases.
And for the first hour that’s all this film is, just an erotic one, as we’re made to sit and watch the guys shooting their various scenes with one another. The only break from this is Maxine taking a walk outside to the nearby lake for a skinny dip. She’s then invited inside the home of the groups tenants by the wife, whose clearly infatuated with her.
I didn’t pay an admission fee for this, I paid to see blood and guts.
After the days shooting, Lorraine then voices her opinion on the film thus far and expresses her interest in being a part of it, much to her boyfriend RJ’s disapproval. As he’s the cameraman, after her scene has been shot he’s distraught and tries to leave in the middle of the night before we finally get our first kill, as RJ succumbs to being stabbed in the throat multiple times after the old lady tries to seduce him.
There’s a nice little Halloween reference in this scene as ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’ by Blue Oyster Cult plays from the van radio.
In Brief
The remainder of this film sees the rest of the group being slowly picked off one by one by the estranged couple. Basically, the plot of this entire film is that this elderly couple are enraged because they can no longer share in intercourse together and when this group of young, good looking men and woman come onto their land, whose sole intention is to have intercourse together, they decide to kill them off because it angers them.
There’s one particular scene which I’d very much rather leave for you all to discover for yourselves than spoil it here, but all I will say is that you may wish to wash your eyes with acid afterwards. The closing scene of the film tries to give us some shock value by offering a possible insight as to why Maxine has a cocaine addiction and has such a rebellious attitude, but it doesn’t work in my opinion.
Verdict
As outlined above, the main plot is just ridiculously stupid, even for an A24 film. I go to see an A24 film for their originality, uniqueness, and ability to tell an enticing story. And whilst that’s exactly what X is, for me isn’t a good thing this time round.
I feel they’ve dropped the ball on this one. There’s plenty of better films out there distributed by the company, go check out one of them instead. This won’t happen often I promise, but on this occasion I’ve nothing positive to say about this film. It’s a 1 star review from me.
Written by James Oliver | BanterFlix Contributor