Movie Review: “X” peers into the kinky, kooky crevices of sex and violence
Stalked by crazed killers, a porno film crew winds up on the cutting-room floor in Ti West's harrowing "X".
Possibly the strangest mainstream slasher flick to come lunging out of the shadows in a long time, Ti West’s creepfest X (★★★☆☆) peers into some kinky, kooky crevices of sex and violence.
Set in 1979, and shot and styled to evoke films of the era, from Deep Throat to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, X doesn’t upend, but leans into, the tried-and-true formula of nubile young things fucking and screaming their way to bloody deaths. It ups the ante with a self-aware wit, and a set of eccentric killers we’ve never really seen in the genre.
The porno film crew led by producer Wayne (Martin Henderson) and director RJ (Owen Campbell) certainly doesn’t anticipate what’s in store for them at the remote farm compound of grizzled, gun-toting Howard, and his decrepit, white-haired wife Pearl.
The porn-makers and their stars — stud Jackson (Scott ‘Kid Cudi’ Mescudi), girlfriend Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), and Wayne’s girlfriend, Maxine (Mia Goth) — are all admirably focused on making their production, The Farmer’s Daughters, the hottest adult flick of their careers.
In fact, their shoot is so steamy, that the film’s timid sound recordist Lorraine (Scream queen Jenna Ortega) feels inspired to join the cast. Unfortunately, creepy hosts Howard and Pearl, who had been kept in the dark about what kind of film was shooting on their property, also can’t seem to keep their eyes off The Farmer’s Daughters. Once the couple becomes aware of the so-called “sex fiends” in their midst, the night quickly takes a weird and deadly turn for the worse.
Writer-director West stages sex scenes and death scenes with a piquant sense of humor. Alongside the grisly impalements and stabbings, the movie actually manages to be at times hilarious, including one death that takes even the killers by surprise.
Good for more than a few laughs, the movie is still disturbing, and brutal, favoring the stab, stab, stab-stab-stab technique popular of late with Michael Myers and his ilk on the cinema slasher circuit. The sound of every slash, squish, and sudden gunshot induces dread, supported by the eerie score from composers Tyler Bates and Chelsea Wolfe.
We’re still saddled with a bunch of dumb bunnies, making very obviously dumb decisions, but the ensemble are all uniformly entertaining, with especially noteworthy turns by Ortega as stealth free-spirit Lorraine and Goth as coke-snorting ingenue Maxine.
Stephen Ure is deeply menacing as crotchety coot Howard, and the fact that one of the younger actors also disappears into their terrifying portrayal of old Pearl is a tremendous testament to their talent, West’s direction, and really effective makeup.
Ultimately, Pearl and her odd reaction to seeing these kids have sex is the main trigger to mayhem, making an elderly woman’s sexuality the most frightening thing these folks encounter. That and the fear of old bodies underlie the film’s dark mix of sensuality and horror, resulting in an edgy, but still juvenile trip to the ’70s slaughterhouse.
X opens Friday, March 18, at theaters everywhere, including Landmark’s Atlantic Plumbing Cinemas in Washington, D.C. Visit www.landmarktheatres.com or www.fandango.com.
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