X (2022) Dir. Ti West

Just missing out on a place in our Top Films of 2022, X is nevertheless a brash and bloody brilliant horror from Ti West that mixes familiar frights with a remarkable retro vibe.

It opens with a sheriff stumbling upon a bloodbath on a farm, before we are introduced to the preceding story which sees Mia Goth’s Maxine join her boyfriend Wayne and a group of cinema wannabes attempting to make a porn film in 1970s Texas.

With their “Plowing Service” van and a script for the “The Farmer’s Daughters” (released as an actual short film on the BluRay LOL) they are joined by sex stars Bobby-Lynne Parker and Jackson Hole and amateur filmmaker RJ Nichols and his (initially) reluctant girlfriend.

And after arriving on the ranch, the gang keep their film “under wraps” from the ranch's residents, but soon the clothes are tossed and the bonking begins. As the cast and crew work up a hot sweat in the barnyard, the elderly owner's wife Pearl (also played by Mia Goth) witnesses the fornication on the farm which turns her on - to killing no less!

Mia Goth, who I loved in Jane Austen’s Emma, is mesmerising in the dual roles of the beautiful Maxine and the grimy grandma Pearl. Caked under piles of prosthetics, it’s a brave choice but the film pulls it off, so to speak, and then some. And Ti West shows a maturity – although with dark humour and many naughty nudges and winks – not previously seen in his work, and with assured direction, a compelling script and riffs on well-worn horror set pieces it's a raunchy ride.

And although West may be best known for The House of the Devil, do check out The Sacrament (a handheld horror based on the Jonestown Massacre) which echoes the sleazy 70s tone that also appears here in X. And there are story parallels and influences from Alligator to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, whilst West’s use of different film stock – and livestock – harks to the Deep Throat porno industry of the era.

The bodies pile up as per the usual slasher stylings, but Goth is great as she even instils the decrepit Pearl with some humanity. An aged female who also wanted to be in the movies in her youth, she is now just another fallen star – becoming a gruesome granny with regretful violence now part of her murderous memories.

The film’s addition of these tragic themes involving lost youth and remorse add an interesting layer of depth to the rural bloodbath. And that mixed with its nostalgic nightmare fuel make it an X-cellent exploitation-inspired flick where a sex farm woman tries to raise some hard love.

★★★★

4/5

Michael Sales

X is now available on Amazon Prime UK with its prequel Pearl released in UK cinemas on 17th March 2023