X

Over the last couple years, the Ti West horror-soon-to-be-trilogy feels like one of the bigger things I've missed in theaters. Both Pearl and X were movies that, for whatever reason, I skipped initially and have found myself interested from the sidelines as the upcoming Maxxxine comes soon. 

I started with X, given it came first (it's on Netflix now) and I have to say...it's fine. But just fine. I believe Pearl will likely be the better film both from what I've heard and my pulse on it, but X is a serviceable horror film that feels pretty common. 

A group of young adults are driving to a farm to rent out the guest house/shack so that they can film a porno. Set in the late 70s, they're an inexperienced bunch, trying to make it big. Once they arrive on the farm, they quickly find the old man and his equally-as-old wife are a bit odd, but think nothing of it. 

As it would turn out, that crusty old wife is Pearl (of whom the prequel is about) and she's horny AF so her husband and her must kill the group outside of Maxine (Mia Goth) because that's who she has picked to be obsessed with. 

X is entertaining, even if it's not anything special. Some decent star power helps it to have more intrigue with the likes of Goth, Brittany Snow, Kid Cudi, and Jenna Ortega. The killing doesn't start until probably ~2/3rds of the way through, so in that sense it's a bit too long, but the group has some worthwhile interactions (and sex) before that point even if I found it all that hard to care about any of them. They're not bad people, just none of them feel all that deep with the exception of Maxine. There's some humor to be had - and old Pearl killing because she's thirsty is a weird/dark/laughable premise - but there's also parts where I had to ask..."really?". Once we get to the killing, they range from pretty straightforward to gruesome, and Ti West does a solid job with editing and camerawork along the way. 

Despite the fact I merely "liked" X instead of loving it, I stand intrigued enough to continue with Pearl largely because it serves as a prequel and I gotta know how this little old lady was so damn desperate!

Retro Rath's Review Score | 6.5/10