X
When A24's logo came up on the X trailer it increased my expectations, making me think there was going to be something more substantial to the film despite how thin the trailer actually is. I am also not a fan of Ti West's films due to them lacking an original voice. So, this A24 collaboration signified West's potential growth as a filmmaker and I had to see X in the theater.
Quick snapshot overview (Spoilers), X follows a group of strippers, Maxine (Mia Goth), Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), their boyfriends Wayne (Martin Henderson), Jackson (Kid Cudi), along with a two-person camera crew who rent out a boarding house from a religious conservative elderly couple, Pearl (Mia Goth) & Howard (Stephen Ure), in rural Texas. They are there to secretly shoot an amateur porno for cheap with the hopes of becoming famous and rich. Pearl, repressed throughout her entire life becomes obsessed with the group in the hopes of having sex. Particularly infatuated with Maxine. Her sexual advances repeatedly get rejected causing Pearl to go on a murderous rampage.
For a slasher the kills are supposed to be shocking, memorable, & innovative. With a run time of an 1hr 45 minutes only one death was somewhat shocking. Pearl’s motivation is so ridiculous ruining any fear or tension which created a comic effect. It felt like it could’ve been an extended sketch from SNL with Kate McKinnon playing Pearl. This is annoying when the main cast are people we grow to care about somewhat, but the monster fell flat.
Out of any film reference I was consistently getting What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) vibes in relation to Pearl’s character. In Baby Jane Bette Davis is a disturbed person who is trying to desperately reclaim a life she once had. In X Pearl didn’t live the life she wanted ultimately, and is trying to get those experiences at eighty. Both characters also exude a childishness. Pearl is a one-dimensional character whose actions come across as too random to create any buildup of fear and rising tension. The dialogue is hollow, not unique, and doesn’t sound like an eighty-year-old woman, rather a 2022 high schooler.
There are references to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, The Shining. In scenes X hides behind the stylistic choices from these iconic films. However, this is the strongest collaboration between Ti and his cinematographer Eliot Rockett.
I had no idea Mia Goth also played Pearl. It wasn’t until writing this review that I learned that. Even though there are cheesy ridiculous moments her ability to pull off this transformation into an eighty-year-old woman is amazing.
X is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.