đ§ Plot Summary: Sex Industry, Censorship, and the American Dream
X depicts the story of a seasoned adult film actress, Maxine, played by Mia Goth, accompanied by her boyfriend and a film producer named Wayne (portrayed by Martin Henderson) along with fellow adult film âactorsâ Jackson Hole (Kid Cudi) and Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow). The film takes place in the year 1979 in rural Texas, where the characters drive to a secluded farmhouse for The Farmerâs Daughters movie shoot. They plan to film an adult movie which they intend to market as mainstream entertainment. They stay in an outbuilding belonging to an elderly couple, Howard and Pearl. The couple’s reserved demeanor only appears to be unsettling, concealing a more diabolical edge.
Throughout the rest of the film, time progresses into the late hours, with the crew undergoing various changes to their makeup and costumes for the next shoot. This results in the merging of art and sex with death. Many crew members appearing in the film begin to⌠disappear. It begins as a vulgar caricature of a cross-country trip for Zoomers which gradually becomes something much darker â A slow burning thriller festooned with copious amounts of blood.
đ Performances and Characters
Mia Goth gives a stunning dual performance as Maxine, the adult film star desperate for fame, and Pearl, the tragic elderly woman whose envy and loneliness fuels the horror. Itâs a lesson in physical and emotional duality. Goth is all swagger and rebellion as Pearl; he is a slow, brittle figure haunted by her pastâa visage of eerie prosthetics and mournful eyesânarrative of sorrow as a ghost beckons hollowly.
Jenna Ortega, fresh from Scream (2022), escalates the horror narrative with an understatedly fierce depiction of Lorraine, the quiet sound engineer, who shockingly becomes part of the film and pays the price for her imagination.
Brittany Snow and Kid Cudi are revelatory as genre-savvy subversives catapulting the norm: they are unabashedly campy and charismatic, defying shallow characterizations. Every actor approaches a ready-made role, just like a jock, an ingĂŠnue, a prude, a starlet, and in X, these personas come to life as meaningful with intent.
đď¸ Direction, Visuals & Homage
Ti West (The Innkeepers, The House of the Devil) considers X to be a love letter to the blood-soaked movies of the seventies, including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And while he does copy certain elements, he puts them under scrutiny. The nostalgic dread and warm, slow-paced color grading almost always conjure nostalgia-drenched violence. And Westâs use of grainy visuals only amplifies the dread.
The themes of X are further perpetrated through parallel editing and juxtaposition. A sex scene cross-cut with an elderly womanâs gaze becomes chilling and almost utterly devoid of eroticism. And these nuances arenât just aesthetic statements, but social commentaries om desire, age, and senescence.
While a majority of X lingers on atmosphere, there are instances of shocking violence. The kills, while grisly and creative, are laced with deep emotional undercurrents which stem from Pearlâs tragic jealousy and yearning.
đĄ Themes and Symbolism
đĽ Desire and Aging
X can best be described as the repression of sexuality paired with a deep-seated fear of aging and being forgotten. Pearl is not a slasher villain, but rather a deeply pained woman struggling to contend with societyâs whims having deemed her invisible as she ages.
đŹ Exploitation vs Expression
The reiterates the intersection of art, exploitation, and artificial reality. While filming a sordid adult film, there is authentic motivation underneath all the sleaze. Maxine and the crew are desperately trying to find freedomâof expression, albeit controversialâthrough art.
đ ď¸ The American Dream, Derailed
Skepticism surrounds the boom Maxine repeats, âI will not accept a life I do not deserve.â This is an ironic adaptation of American Dream; in this movie, it literally leads one into a barn filled with horror. The farmhouse acts as a graveyard for shattered hopes and exasperated dead bodies.
đ Critical Reception and Legacy
X was a critical success, earning praise for its sharp writing, solid performances from its cast, and its controversial portrayal of events. Celebrated notably how it revitalized slasher films with edginess and sophistication, alongside the obligatory bloodbath.
With Pearl (2022)âan elderly antagonistâs Technicolor Wizard of Oz-esque origin storyâand MaXXXine (2024)âthe continuation of Maxineâs tale into the 1980s Los Angeles, the film unexpectedly launched a horror trilogy.
Pornography and violence aside, critics acclaimed X not just as reference-driven horror, but an audacious reflection on the anatomy we yearn for, and the one we tend to neglect.
đŻ Conclusion : Should You Watch X?
Absolutely, especially if you enjoy stylish horror that incorporates gory tribute and social critique. X is a slasher film for film enthusiasts providing both entertainment value and commentary beneath a retro façade.
Check this out when you have time
â If youâre a lover of A24 horror (Hereditary, Midsommar, The Witch)\
â Intelligent winks to 70â cinema make you appreciate it even more
Donât watch it if:
â You dislike a slowly progressing pace in horror narratives
â Unusual sexual content and body horror makes you uncomfortable
đ Final Thoughts
X (2022) doesnât just fit into the slasher category- itâs a provocative and artistic tribute to classic horror. It tackles themes such as autonomy, the struggles of getting older, and the lens through which we consume bodies, usually depicting it in a voyeuristic way. It has a candid approach but is still full of boldness, staggering style, and rich meaning.