A24 entertainment company and director Ti West presents “X,””, a film that asks the question: What if old people were horny too?
“X” stars Mia Goth, Brittany Snow, Kid Cudi and Jenna Ortega. The film follows a group of young filmmakers that hit the road to make an X-rated movie in 1979 rural Texas.
West made late ‘70s Texas porn filmmaking exciting and aesthetically fun, but horror occurs when their elderly hosts find out what they’re creating and the film then turns into a bigger, bloodier, slasher bedroom rodeo.
Many audiences went into this movie expecting a classic slasher film, but may have left uncomfortable with the porn aspect of the story. But the movie was more than just a porno.
It was about the idea that once you grow old, you lose an image of beauty. Mia Goth as Pearl, the terrorizing old lady, wasn’t the most attractive bag of bones but she wanted to feel desired and loved.
A montage showed her getting ready to make herself feel pretty again, which on the outside was disconcertingly creepy as she dragged a brush slowly down her few strands of gray hair.
Then Brittany Snow’s character, Bobby-Lynne, sings “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac and it’s edited in these 70s swipe transitions and boxes with Pearl getting ready on one side and a young group of people hanging out on the other.
The film presented an unexpected tone. It showed the contrast between young and old people who all shared the same feelings of desire and longing for stardom.
Then when Pearl’s husband wouldn’t get frisky because of his heart condition she became sad, and it honestly made me sad too.
West made these characters so relatable and likable. I never questioned when the horror would happen because I liked learning about the characters. I was rooting for them to not die, but it’s a slasher movie so I knew only one would survive.
At the same time, I never mourned one death for too long because I liked all the other characters and would wonder where the movie would evolve.
Now, the meaning of the one letter title, “X” could mean two things: the movie is X-rated, but more importantly, that the people in it have a special X-factor.
It was nice to see an ensemble where each character has their own set of particular goals instead of each one being used for a specific plot device.
When the cast was announced, I was excited to see Snow in such a different role. Most know her from “Pitch Perfect” and to see her in something so provocative was a fun contrast.
She was moaning and acting in the film within the film and I leaned over to my roommate and said “I guess you could say they found her ‘Pitch Perfect.’”
She was one of my favorite comedic relief characters and she played the “pin-up” role so well.
Mia Goth, who was in Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 “Suspiria,” was the most captivating character. From her appearance with freckles surrounding one eye to her attitude of “I will not accept the life I do not deserve,” she was who I walked out of the theater talking about.
I was amazed to find out that Goth played both Pearl and Maxine which made me applaud the editing more than I already had.
Everyone in this cast made the movie likable, fun and seducing.
I was excited for “X” because I am a huge A24 fan, especially when it comes to horror. This movie did not disappoint, I’d rate it five out of five stars.
“X” landed fourth at the box office as of Sunday, making it a quieter start, according to a Sunday Variety article. People need to stop complaining about there being too many sequels, reboots or franchises and then not show up for something original and creative like this.
It’s rare when we get a well-done weird movie in theaters so when we do, we have to support it.
“X” is now playing only in theaters.
