X

Filmmaker Ti West came bursting out of the gate in the 2000s as a critical player in the “Mumblecore” movement among the likes of Greta Gerwig and Joe Swanberg. The film that gained West the most acclaim was his 2009 film, the exquisite, The House of the Devil, which allowed West the opportunity to show off his skill for crafting a pastiche of 70’s atmospheric horror. After an 8 year gap since the filmmaker last dabbled in horror, the chilling The Sacrament, the filmmaker returns to the genre in this subversive, exciting new twist on the sun-drenched, southern-fried slasher roots of the 70’s and 80’s.

The premise is fairly straightforward; a small film crew looking to shoot their next porno film, Farmer’s Daughter, arrive to a secluded Texas property owned by a strange elderly couple. Greeted by the other end of a shotgun, the crew find the elderly couple is more than strange, with the booming echoes of a fire-and-brimstone preacher blaring on the television in the background, and the elderly man (Stephen Ure) warning to keep away from the house as his wife Pearl is not well and often forgets her surroundings. As filming commences, the crew consisting of wannabe superstar Maxine (Mia Goth), southern bombshell Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), suave leading man Jackson Hole (Scott Mescudi aka Kid Cudi), silver-tongued producer Wayne (Martin Henderson), ambitious director RJ (Owen Campbell) with hopes of making the “first good dirty movie” and his shy, naive girlfriend helping with sound Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) all find their idyllic stay turns bloody in classic slasher fashion.

West isn’t just creating a simple sendup of 70’s exploitation, but infusing the film with a deft sense of humanity and a willful sense of dedication to upend its many expectations. The filmmaker is really tinkering with the genre’s moralistic approach to sex and violence. West’s signature slow-burn approach is once again on full display here, making excellent use of his cast. We’re given time to sit and get to know these characters, so when blood starts to get spilt, the experience becomes more visceral. These are good-natured characters who all largely like each other and are having fun doing what they do.

Mia Goth has the grace and strength not unlike many starlets of the 70’s. The character is a unique subversion of the final girl trope; she’s the star of a porno, is introduced snorting drugs and is highly determined to live life on her own terms. Brittany Snow’s Bobby-Lyne is confident with identity and Snow brings a vibrancy to the role.  Scott Mescudi has the velvety swagger of a Fred Williamson-like sex symbol. Jenna Ortega, who further solidifies her status as a modern scream queen after starring in the recent Scream, Studio 666 and The Babysitter: Killer Queen, as the conservative good girl type, nicknamed “church mouse”. The character has an arc that cleverly side-steps the classic cliche.

Both West and cinematographer Eliot Rockett impeccably recreate the visual aesthetic of the era without overdoing it. There’s no overt winking at the audience with faux film grain and cigarette burns, but capturing the similar visual language and atmosphere, down to split-screens, zooms and static establishing shots. The influences of Tobe Hooper’s classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre are obviously present — along with likes of 70’s Wes Craven, even a shout-out to another Hooper film with a nasty gator straight out of Eaten Alive. West taps into the same thematic idea of dueling generations of middle America clashing, the old-school idea of the working class American citizen, versus the those darn, free-spirited hippies. However, West’s depiction of the films villains, the elderly duo, Howard and Pearl, is decidedly more layered and even vaguely melancholic.

The violence also has that grit that makes for a fittingly brutal endeavor. Cut by West and David Kashevaroff, X is edited with such precision, especially in how it emphasizes the most harrowing, wince-inducing moments. There’s a number of ruthless kills that are expertly crafted, with several suspenseful sequences building up to these explosive moments of carnage. Some of the imagery on display is just striking, with a notable sequence beautifully illuminated by the spraying blood over a car’s headlights.

X finds writer/director Ti West upending the many hallmarks of the genre he lovingly pays homage to. There’s an added sense of character that helps X become a more emotionally involving slasher that still delivers on the gruesome terror genre fans crave. It’s another fine addition to Ti West’s filmography and a top-tier throwback horror film.