“X” is a 2022 horror film directed by Ti West. It stars Mia Goth as she plays two roles, Maxine and Pearl. Set in 1979, a group of adult film stars and filmmakers leave Houston, Texas to go to a rural farm to shoot their next movie.
They spend their day filming their smut and by nightfall, things take a turn for the worse. Howard and Pearl are the elderly couple who own the farm and act in increasingly unsettling ways toward the group.
Partially because they are old and because of how they act, the film crew is creeped out by them. The leering stares and unwanted touches from Pearl scare Maxine but she puts her fears aside and films a scene for their movie.
Pearl is drawn to Maxine as she reminds Pearl of herself when she was younger. As night falls, Howard and Pearl begin to kill the film crew one by one as Pearl searches for Maxine. In a pond on their farm, Pearl has befriended an alligator as she is always willing to clean up Pearl’s messes and dispose of evidence.
One character has an extremely unfortunate encounter with an alligator after Pearl pushes her into the pond. Maxine searches for the others and quickly discovers their mutilated remains throughout the property.
Determined to save herself, Maxine defeats Harold and Pearl and drives off as the sun rises.
“X” is full of references to other horror films, but the most clearly referenced are “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Psycho.” It’s a slow-burn movie that expertly builds up the tension and every kill from the first to the last is sudden, bloody and terrifying.
The beautifully mixed digital and practical effects make the gore in “X” come to life and I have never seen kills so disgusting in the best way possible.
The characters are well-written and fleshed out, so it’s a dreadful feeling watching them die in such violent and graphic ways.
This was a rare occurrence where I felt bad for the killers, this in no way excuses what they have done, but I understand their motivations to kill.
Pearl and Howard are jealous of these youthful adult film stars who have come to their farm to do what they can’t do anymore.
The fear of aging and longing for your youth is hammered home even more because of Mia Goth playing both Maxine and Pearl. Pearl is jealous of what she has lost and what Maxine still has.
Horror movies are the perfect medium to explore what scares us and provide an opportunity to examine more complex and abstract themes. “X” is no different, and getting old is scary, maybe not as scary as being hacked to pieces or getting eaten by an alligator, but scary, nonetheless.
The cast and crew did an amazing job, and you can see that their hearts and souls went into every part of this movie. “X” 2022 is the start of an amazing trilogy and I can’t wait to see what gruesome stories Ti West comes up with next.