X

A new Ti West film is always a cause for celebration. He's a horror director who loves the genre, who isn't afraid to stir the pot a bit. His new film X doesn't reinvent the slasher movie wheel but it has fun fucking with the formula and goddamn if the man isn't afraid of the red stuff. X is a film that earns it's 18 certificate and wears it with pride. In an age of tame that always feels refreshing. Let the head squashing commence.

Texas. The 70's. A woman runs screaming through a field from a rural farmhouse. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre vibes are undeniable. Leatherface isn't inside though. No, there's something far weirder than any bloke with a power tool. There's someone who wants to be loved and frustration can be a terrible thing, especially when temptation abounds. The gang have arrived at a farmhouse outside of Houston and they've pornography on their mind. The performers are Pearl (Mia Goth), Jackson (Kid Cudi) and Bobby Lynne (Britanny Snow). The crew are Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) and RJ (Owen Campbell) and directing the action is Wayne (Martin Henderson). RJ and Wayne have high hopes for their production, RJ's are artistic and Wayne's are financial. Texas though....morality's a strange thing in the hinterland, sex is the root of all evil but violence, well violence is just a way of life.

In the state of Texas a law exists called the Castle doctrine which means using force is reasonable and justified when another person: unlawfully or with force enters or attempts to enter your habitation, vehicle, or work-place. The back guys of X have technically done no wrong, especially when one of the good guys has encroached on them without permission and yeah Tobe Hooper riffed on this lawful madness back in 1974 with TCM but Ti West leaves the primal, terrifying side of horror to him and goes down a more enjoyable path . There's a lot of fun here before the blood starts to spill and even after it's rusty essence fills the air he still finds way to make you grin at the unfolding carnage. Sometimes you can guess how someone will bite the dust; one nature assisted death is telegraphed early in a beautiful overhead shot, but when it happens you'll still leap out of your chair. 

Other times you won't see it coming at all because of that aforementioned formula fucking. Slasher films can often be accused of slavishly sticking to genre rules but all it takes is a little spin here and there to turn a story towards unpredictable. X does has it eyerolling moments when a character wanders off into the night by themselves towards certain death but it shakes things up enough to stand out in a packed field. It's imagery will stick in your mind too, often not in a nice way. A stunning birdseye view of aquatic danger, a view that's mirrored in a nightmarish escape from a bedroom late in the movie, a reverse zoom shot of a woman on a pier that feels so authentically 70's that you'll forget you're watching a film made in 2021 and fatal encounter by the lights of a car that goes full Dario Argento when blood splashes across a headlight. 

There's substance behind the style too, a story set in the tail end of the era of free love in a country still haunted by it's involvement in the Vietnamese war, where sex feels wrong but violence is the answer. Our protagonists just want to have a good time but in the eyes of others they're sinners. Even amongst their own ranks there's dissent and posturing with West using one scene where a crew member decides to join in the onscreen fun as an excuse to poke fun at male hypocrisy when it comes to matters of the flesh. X's well crafted cast has fun here with Britanny Snow and Kid Cudi being the stand outs as the startlingly confident main performers but it's Mia Goth's strong, believable turn as Pearl who gives the film it's impetus. It's very late in the day when we find out why she is the way she is and mere moments later the whole thing finishes with a kiss off line that will ensure you leave the cinema laughing.

X is showing in cinemas now. It's great fun if you can handle it.