“X” is a Pristinely Brilliant and Gory Slasher | SXSW 2022 Film Review

The movie you’ve all been waiting for: Director Ti West and A24’s latest film, X, is finally coming to the big screen. A group of friends in the 70s determined to make pornographic home videos the new thing venture to a remote barn location on an elderly couple’s property. Although their intuition tells them something is wrong when they arrive, these foxy filmmakers are driven to produce the cinematic masterpiece they know they can create.

First and foremost, we need to talk about what sets X apart from other A24 films, and what marks still remain. In most movies from the A24 company, there’s a level of intricacy and vagueness in the scenes, usually to symbolically represent an underlying theme. For some viewers, it can feel like ‘too much work’ during a movie to put all of the pieces together. If you’re this person, please know that X is not written in this way. Sure, there are absolutely bizarre frames, and the standard A24 score signifying danger, but this is probably the most straightforward one from them yet. X is *exactly* the slasher you are hoping for.

I’m sure many are expecting Brittany Snow’s southern bell, Bobby-Lynne, to be our center-stage, but the spot X marks is really Maxine (Mia Goth) – a porn actress awaiting her big break. More than anything, she wants everyone to know her name, to be loved and desired in a unique way. Her boyfriend and porn director, Wayne (Martin Henderson), reaffirms her upcoming position in the industry, so long as she listens to him and makes the best movie possible. Their dynamic is bizarre to me because Wayne acts so affectionate and loving towards Maxine, telling her she has the “X factor”, yet, their relationship calls into question the power dynamics in a work environment. Regardless, this film gives us a Martin Henderson in tighty whities; something I had no idea I needed, but In Ti We Trust.

Our main porn duo, Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) and Jackson (Kid Cudi) are absolute powerhouses in their sexual prowess, completely captivating the screen whenever they’re on. Amusing, provocative, demanding – they know exactly what they are doing and they’re having a good time all the while. Their connection is probably my favorite because they are so comfortable and confident in who and what they are. I’ve always wondered if the judgment of being a porn star ever gets to these professionals, and how demoralizing it might feel to have people call you a whore and look down at you for your career, but Bobby-Lynne and Jackson respond opposite my expectations. Instead of internalizing others’ feelings, because they are so confident in not just their abilities but the work they’re doing, the opinions of others don’t phase them and they instead seek to normalize. Of course, this film is set in the 70s where public viewing of sex was much more commonplace, but it’s still fantastic in our current world to see these characters responding this way.

Bobby-Lynne is beyond the sexy actress you might think her role is. She is so damn smart and knows her work better than anyone else, to the point she operates more like the director than Wayne does. I’m in awe of West’s decision to write Bobby-Lynne in this way, because he gives so much autonomy to the hot, naked blonde that is so often portrayed as dumb and naïve. None of that exists and hallelujah for it. And let’s all take a moment to praise how PERFECT Snow is as a southern belle in her delivery, going from sweet and charming, to dominatingly hot, to “bless your heart”.

Speaking of naïve, enter Lorraine (Jenna Ortega). I’m going to do my best to be as unbiased as possible, but Ortega is an absolute queen on the big screen and if you don’t know that by now, get your life together. Nothing is different in X. Lorraine begins as this quiet, mousy assistant to her boyfriend RJ (Owen Campbell), the porn film’s cinematographer. I’ll get to him in a minute, but we need to talk about Lorraine. When you were young and experiencing your sexual awakening, did you ever have that one friend who was smart, focused, kept to themselves, but always curious? Someone who you expected to stay a virgin until marriage but would always listen to your sex stories – sometimes with a hint of denouncement in their voice or eyes? Yeah, that’s Lorraine. When she enters this road-trip adventure, it is clear RJ never told her what was really going to occur. She’s essentially the boom operator in it all, which doesn’t require her to look, but man, she can’t take her eyes away after the second time she sees Bobby-Lynne and Jackson ridin’-and-grindin’. This experience awakens her own sexual curiosity and she begins to ask the actors questions.

Lorraine’s questions invite the audience to consider their own responses, with intentional seconds of silence before they respond. How can you watch your significant other have sex with someone else? Does that not bother you? What is monogamy? What is the intention behind sex? All of these are questions we’ve likely all pondered ourselves, and if not, Ti West is gonna make you think about it. RJ’s discomfort – and hypocrisy – becomes clear as we progress through the film.

While the moaning commences, the elderly couple next door, Howard (Stephen Ure) and Pearl (Mia Goth in lots of prosthetics), are quite clearly bothered. I’m a big fan of the uncertainty that West produces in his audience around who to fear. Should we be concerned about Howard and Pearl? Just Howard? Just Pearl? What exactly is their relationship? Is there more that lingers in these open fields? The answers become apparent by the end, hence the aforementioned unusual straightforwardness of an A24 flick.

Ti West has managed to capture the essence of 70s horror films combined with advanced filmmaking techniques of modern day. Aerial shots produce tension and show the vastness of the area, and the texture is gritty with subdued colors. There are clear visual transitions between the traditional shots and the sex scenes composed by our on-screen acting filmmakers, which introduces a level of humor as we watch where RJ’s eyes and camera go.

What I adore about X is how masterfully West introduces subdued thematic topics while maintaining the feeling of a traditional slasher film. He cleverly explores what consent means, hypocrisy of male control, and, most significantly, the topic of beauty as we traverse Pearl’s obsession with youth and beauty. Each of these are poignantly topical for the 70s, yet remaining relevant to our current day. I’d argue the infatuation with beauty is even more significant now than it ever has with how influencers and social media have distorted what it means to be beautiful. Sure, you don’t have to think about these things at all during the film and it won’t affect your enjoyment at all, but adding a layer of depth to what appears on the surface to be a traditional slasher is what makes West so unique as a filmmaker.

Don’t get me wrong, though. The kills are gory, visceral, and “fist-pump as you cheer and your friend picks your jaw up off the floor” fun. This film is everything and more that I desired when sitting down with my popcorn and alcohol in a sold out SXSW screening. West is a masterclass in producing thrilling horror experiences. X is a uniquely chilling slasher horror with pristine gore, a brilliant cast, loads of fun, and will make anyone scream out loud.

Follow our further discussion on this and over 25 other film and episodic premieres screened at SXSW 2022 via this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast: