(Note: this Ryview contains spoilers)
After sadly missing it in theaters and frankly putting it off for far too long, I finally sat down and rented 2022’s X, the latest horror film from director Ti West.
X tells the story of a group of aspiring pornographers that travel out to a farm in rural Texas to film their latest masterwork, The Farmer’s Daughter. Our group of creatives include Maxine Minx (Mia Goth), an aspiring adult film star, her fellow performers Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Show) and Jackson Hole (Scott Mescudi), producer (and boyfriend to Maxine) Wayne Gilroy (Martin Henderson), as well as director RJ Nichols (Owen Campbell) and his girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega). Things quickly sour, however, as they find the elderly farmer hosting them (Howard, played by Stephen Ure) is ornery, conservative, and prone to brandishing a shotgun, and his wife doesn’t seem quite right in the head.
X is a through-and-through slasher film, with some truly thrilling violence throughout. Let’s break things down and review the three essential parts of any film: Aesthetics, Story, and Vibes.
X Ryview Part 1: Aesthetics: 10/10
X absolutely nails the look from start to finish. The film is a love letter to classic slashers from the 70s and 80s, and everything from the costuming to the cinematography draws heavily from that well. The film’s strongest influence is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and it shows in the best way.
X takes the classic slasher formula of sex and violence and turns it up to 11, with lurid scenes of the protagonists filming their porno directly contrasted with the disturbing and strange. The elderly couple that make for our antagonists also bring plenty of grossness, and they both don exaggerated prosthetics that turn them into the most gnarled and ugly geriatrics you’ve ever seen. This of course is in direct contrast to our beautiful young protagonists, and this theme of age and beauty is core to the film overall.
With such a great look that beautifully captures the classics, X scores 10/10 in Aesthetics.
X Ryview Part 2: Story: 9/10
X brilliantly interacts with the classic slashers that it imitates. Everything feels familiar: a group of pretty young people show up to a rural farm, and things unravel from there. But X is constantly in conversation with the greats, both textually and, at the midpoint of the film, literally.
At the midpoint of the film, while lounging after their first day of shooting, the protagonists have a conversation about film making, pornography, and horror films. This includes a brilliantly 4th wall breaking line about how a film can’t just change suddenly in the middle, followed by the film aggressively pivoting to violence and getting very bloody.
The whole thing is a thrill, and deeply clever. But, it is a smidge slow to get going. Because of this, X earns a 9/10 in Story.
X Ryview Part 3: Vibes: 10/10
The final and most essential part of any Ryview are the Vibes. And X’s vibes are absolutely immaculate.
This is a film that knows what it’s doing, and it does it incredibly well. This film exudes confidence and cleverness, and pulls clever turns left and right. A small detail I love is that both our final girl, Maxine, and our slasher, the farmer’s elderly wife Pearl, are played by Mia Goth. You almost don’t notice at first, but it really does a lot to strengthen the movies themes of age and beauty.
Also: this movie has some truly great kills. If you like slashers, you’ll love X.
I could go on for hours, but I’ll save you the blabbering. Go watch it yourself; as the great David Lynch says, “the movie is the talking!” Point is, X cleans house in the Vibes department with a full 10/10.
X Ryview: Final Verdict: 10/10
X is one of my favorite horror films of the year, and I can’t recommend it enough to anybody who’s a fan of the genre. It’s also my first horror film of October, and I can’t imagine a better choice to start the spookiest month.
To sum things up, X is a lurid and clever love letter to classic slashers, especially The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Thrills, chills, and some truly nasty old people are guaranteed. That’s why I give X a final Ryview score of 10/10.
