X
Directed by Ti West
When the whole planet is a horror movie, watching it at home for entertainment can seem redundant. Why pay to be scared when you can just walk into any Walmart or political rally for free? Personally, I always found horror flicks to be incredibly therapeutic, but after being cloistered, crazy, and widowed for the last two years, my tolerance for extremity has been a little exhausted. For months, all I’ve wanted to do was watch reruns of old Michael Schur shows and play Animal Crossing. Any new Horror coming out was completely off my radar. Like, did you know there was a Chucky show on Peacock? And it’s really fucking good? I had no idea.
Anyway, there comes a time in everyone’s quarantine when decisions have to be made.
Eventually, something comes along that challenges your curiosity enough to push you back out the door and back into the chaos. Ti West’s new “erotic horror” film, X, was my catalyst.
I first saw the trailer in the beginning of the year and was instantly drawn in. It was a beautifully shot amalgam of sexuality, sleek cinematography, and flashes of ravenous slayings carried out by someone’s…grandparents? Yes, this was the one film that would bring me out of my hovel and back to that warm glow of the big screen.
I was somewhat familiar with director Ti West, from his previous films House of the Devil and The Sacrament. I couldn’t, for the life of me, tell you his style, though, as each of those movies had very different mission statements and rarely wavered from their chosen blueprints. Sacrament, a handheld retelling of the People’s Temple Massacre and House of The Devil, a paint-by-numbers homage to the satanic panic movies and slashers of the early 1980’s. Each mission was beautifully executed, don’t get me wrong, but up until now, none of his films seemed to “have that X factor,” until now? X is the type of film that makes a director into an auteur.
West’s longtime collaborator Eliot Rockett (Cabin Fever 2, House of The Devil) handled the camera and seemed to have a fun time reveling in the shots West wanted from him. Their use of shadow, silhouette, agoraphobic wide shots, and surprisingly restrained angles during the most intimate scenes, helped give the movie a tone both unique and engaging. The uncommon editing techniques and use of dance and live music are reminiscent of films such as Godard’s Band of Outsiders, and other filmmakers of the French New Wave. The directors RJ (Owen Campbell) is referring to early in the film, when he says, “what they are doing in France”. X is littered with these types of obvious nods (some, shot for shot) to classic films like Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Susperia. But unlike his other work, the Deja vu never overstays its welcome. The audience is given just enough nostalgia to get comfortable before tearing your expectations asunder. West sweetens the deal by wrapping it all in a classic 70’s soundtrack (The “Don’t Fear the Reaper” scene was particularly outstanding) coupled with a creepy score by Chelsea Wolf and Tyler Bates that is vaguely reminiscent of Tourist Trap. There is far more to discover in X than just some stylish mis en scene, and a pretty face, though.
*WARNING LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD*
West begins his tale on familiar terrain, a band of misfits in 1979, driving in a shitty van on a mission into the unknown. For these misfits, that means making “a good dirty movie” and becoming “a fucking star.” Actually, for pervy ringleader Wayne, this is just a means of getting him “outta the red.” Martin Henderson (The Ring) embodies his character so well it’ll make you want to hose yourself down after watching. His John Ridder good looks and McConnahay charm belie the kind of predator usually reserved for documentaries like Hot Girls Wanted. The type of men, selling young girls on the illusion that having sex for money can make all their dreams come true. “I want the whole world to know my name, like Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman)”, Maxine exclaims early on. Her blatant naivety is the perfect mark for a businessman like Wayne. She is not alone in her purchase of the pipe dream Wayne’s selling, however, as the whole crew seems just green enough to be completely taken advantage of.
Rounding out the talent is Kid Cudi playing Jackson and veteran horror actress Brittany Snow (Prom Night, Would You Rather) as Bobby Lynn—interesting centerpiece when juxtaposing Maxine and the much older Pearl—both flawlessly played by Mia Goth (Larz Von Triers Nymphomaniac).
Bobby Lynn is the pinnacle of what Maxine will become, a woman who appears intelligent and in control of her sexuality but who is stuck and preparing for the decline. It stands to reason that she was in Maxine’s position many years ago, but time is a cruel mistress, and now she has been forced to lean into her role to keep some semblance of her dignity intact, and probably because she has no other way to pay the bills. This is an issue many older porn stars, sex workers, and even some models experience trying to lead a normal life away from the industry.
In a 2013 article for mic.com, Porn Star’s Can’t Leave the Industry, Caitlin Bancroft reported, “ex-porn performers face enormous difficulties reentering the workforce. Similar to difficulties faced by felons after leaving prison, ex-performers are always running from their past.” The film does an excellent job reiterating how depressing those prospects are through each of Maxine, Bobby Lynn, and Pearl's character arcs. Jackson’s two tours in the military and inclusion in the production also raise some questions about the lack of opportunities veterans and especially black veterans, face in the US after their tours were over.
West is shining a mirror on society to reflect how we often view a woman’s beauty with an expiration date tacked on, especially in Hollywood. As a mildly successful actor once told me years ago on set; “the gorgeous, 30 something-year-old, actresses we [were] working with, have no more career left. They are doing horror films and commercials because they [were] too old to be in anything else” (I see those actresses all the time though and he’s nowhere to be found, so you be the judge). This backwards mentality is, thankfully abating in this industry, as more and more women are being given the opportunity to tell their own stories. A lot more still needs to be done, however, and from all involved, as men arnt the only ones to blame for the over sexualized and ageist images we are inundated with everyday.
Because far more men are responsible for these stereotypes, Henderson’s part as a secondary antagonist is an important one, and his sleazy and deceitful nature becomes even more sinister when played beside Pearl’s brutal outbursts. “Although Wayne is not outwardly violent like Pearl, he is no Good Guy”. A part he cunningly solidifies, in his talk with RJ. Right after his very young girlfriend and sound engineer Lorraine (Jenna Ortega), wants a part in the movie, Wayne tells him “Ain’t none of em nice girls.” RJ is no hero either though, as he begrudgingly agrees to shoot her. A caution to the wind mentality, which, by now, has become a running theme for the young film crew, as Jackson cheers “to living a life of excess”. Often, they just blindly go along with whatever Wayne wants, no matter how fantastical. EThe crew is so invested in their “being young and having fun till we die” mentalities, they don’t even stop to question when Wayne changes their filming location right at the start, a classic sexual predator tactic of misdirection.
Wayne, even with all his faults, doesn’t hold a candle to the depraved and violent yearnings of the elderly couple who are playing host to the randy film makers. Pearl and Howard are surprisingly calculated and brutal in their methods, providing an interesting foil for the young film crew. As the widower of a sexual assault survivor and one who had died of a violent form of cancer, Howard and Pearl’s relationship took me to places a horror film hasn’t since Laugier’s, Martyrs. For a few moments, I found myself empathizing with these senior serial killers. Beyond Pearl’s maddening battle with impermanence and insatiable thirst for brutality, there hides a woman in a sexless marriage, just yearning for closeness and desire. Unfortunately, Howard is unable to provide what his woman needs. He truly loves his wife though, and will utilize any methods necessary, to keep her satisfied. Pearl is well aware, as she tells Maxine “he would do anything for me.”
This is a feeling I can relate to, as my wife and I stopped being intimate about 2 months into her illness, and by the last month, I couldn’t even hug her or lay in the same bed as she was too uncomfortable. We had a discussion about her wanting me to be happy and how I was allowed to get that closeness somewhere else because she could not provide it. I absolutely did not take the offer, as I am not a man who adheres to Maxine’s motto of “you can decide who you want to love, but not who you want to screw,” I do not disagree, however, with the idea that: “it ain’t healthy to keep those feelings locked away inside.” Pearl’s most vile indiscretions are proof enough that love makes you do crazy things and closeness seems a hell of a lot more important when your ability to have it is stripped away without warning. As Pearl so eloquently puts it: “not everything in life turns out how you’d expect”.
X’s themes of sexual repression, the grief of impermanence, lost innocence, and every manner of abuse is painstakingly laced through this film’s 105-minute run time and will haunt you well past its wickedly absurd finale. if you enjoyed this film, then prepare for excitement because a prequel was filmed simultaneously, and a sequel is being written as you read this. Let’s hope the anticipation doesn’t make you do something you’ll regret.