X Marks the Spot

Ti West's "X" is a spirited send-up of 70's exploitation movies, paying homage to adult films, slashers and thrillers from the heyday of grindhouse cinema

While his name may be unfamiliar to casual moviegoers, Ti West's pedigree has quietly made him one the best horror directors and writers working today. His big break came in the form of "The House of the Devil", a well-reviewed indie project released in 2009. Two years later, he followed with "The Innkeepers" before collaborating with some of his mublegore brethren like Adam Wingard and Joe Swanberg to film a segment for the horror anthology "V/H/S". While his last horror film "The Sacrament" left a lot to be desired, it was released all the way back in 2013. So, fans of the genre may have wondered when he'd return and they got their answer with "X". Distributed by A24 with West handling directing, writing and editing duties, the film is a throwback to a bygone era with some modern sensibilities thrown in for good measure.

In 1979, an eclectic group of individuals travel from Houston to rural Texas in search of fame and fortune. In hopes of snagging some quick and easy bucks, they plan on stamping their tickets to stardom by making a low-budget pornographic film. They rent out an old farmhouse where they plan to shoot their little dirty movie, unbeknownst to its geriatric owners. However, unbeknownst to our protagonists, the elderly couple hosting them has quite a few dirty secrets of their own. The film stars horror veteran Brittany Snow, burgeoning scream queen Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Mia Goth, Owen Campbell and Scott Mescudi. The score was composed by Tyler Bates and Chelsea Wolfe.

While A24 is known for frequently releasing what's been dubbed as "elevated horror", "X" could be classified as one of their more straightforward horror outings. It's a slasher at heart and fully leans into influences like "Psycho" and "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre". However, there's a level of skill behind the camera that adds an earnest nature to its sleaziness. Its editing is crisp and immersive with its 70's aesthetics and while the main characters aren't terribly fleshed out (no pun intended), they're all pretty likable in spite of their flaws. Gore nudity, alcohol and drugs are certainly present, but this aims to be a cut above typical slashers and it mostly succeeds in delivering characters the audience actually cares about before they get hacked into pieces. The film's slower pace and the fact it doesn't rely on jump scares may ironically dampen its overall accessibility with general audiences. However, when the bodies do start dropping, the tension appropriately ratchets into high gear. The film doesn't reinvent the genre, but it does subvert a number of tropes and packs a few surprises into its third act for it to stack up well enough against the films it evokes. B+