X

There hasn't been a horror film since It Follows that so creatively and intelligently pays homage to a single genre phase and, moreover, serves as a faithful commentary not only on the film culture of the time, but on the era itself. The return to 1979 on the hot Texas plains is not just a retro comeback of hixploitation (the clash of urban cool kids with Southern rednecks), of which there are many – and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre alone has eight futile sequels – X revives an entire libertine decade when censors increasingly had to grant the inaccessible X rating, with an emphasis on the most natural and at the same time the most taboo topic: sex. First of all, this is not a straightforward physical confrontation like in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to which Ti West deliberately refers in some of the stylistic choices (hunter-victim shooting), the opening gas station stop, the Texas setting, etc., this one builds on ingenious parallelisms between the two camps of characters, who have essentially the same needs and whose sexual options are separated only (and significantly) by their age. People don't change mentally, but the inexorable passage of time always shows itself. Whether physically on individuals or on the nature of society, which dictates what is in – and in the seventies, "tits and ass, and a big dick" were all the rage, to borrow an idea from the magical Jenny Ortega. And so it's only natural that this film’s final girl has to be a shameful slut to survive, facing another, very wrinkled shameful slut. It's brilliantly shot, perhaps just a little too posed and lengthy in places, the retro look is good and the level of brutality is not such that the violence draws attention to itself and distracts from the compelling and often quite true-to-life ideas: "one day we're gonna be too old to fuck", or a retired couple will come with pitchforks to deal with their mental issues the way, well, only rednecks can. 85% and the fifth star goes for the fact that this just turned out to be the film for me. (15/04/2022)

I didn’t quite expect to find such an interesting, ambitious and not very often explored theme at the centre of a horror murder mystery from the backstage of the amateur porn industry, one that even made me sympathise with the main villain at several points (well, until she went into full psycho bitch mode, that is). The cinematography is great, West, like in The House of the Devil, convincingly imitates the 1970s, plays with editing and delivers more than one strongly creepy sequence. Unfortunately, the heroes aren't exactly my cup of tea – even though they are portrayed quite effortlessly and easily recognizable from each other – so the first half was more like waiting for the inevitable carnage to finally begin. But after the first stab, things get beautifully brisk and horror-packed until the end. I’m not as thrilled as I thought I’d be, but I’m satisfied. (14/04/2022)

An attempt at ambitious horror that doesn’t quite work. For the first hour or so, up until the first murder, it's a great directorial ride with an imaginative composition of shots, a witty timing of scenes (the crocodile from a bird's eye view!) and a top notch casting, all original characters and I loved it all; that long wait for the peak was a five-star job. But then, as the spiral of violence begins, the story winds clichédly along predictable paths, the murders are anything but interesting, though in one West recalls Fulci, and it all culminates in scenes you really don't want to see (gerontophilic sex). It's a film of two halves, and the first one, where it escalates, paradoxically outweighs the second one by a head; sometimes less is more. (16/04/2022)

So, I've had another "horror" experience that certainly didn't enrich me in any way. Ti West directed his own script, and the outcome was just as peculiar as his first name. The script didn't hold much weight; aside from the two seniors, all the characters felt dreadfully onedimensional (and therefore boring). The only scene that genuinely horrified me was one where I found myself grateful for no longer being young and that life had already dealt me enough blows, sparing me from deeper psychosexual trauma. While I understand that love knows no age, and I wholeheartedly support that, I simply didn't need to witness it here. I reckon Mia Goth enjoyed her dual role far more than I enjoyed the entire film because my two stars go to those responsible for the masks and the killings. The story itself struck me as rather laughable; the characters acted idiotically enough to fit the current "horror" trend, and I found myself fast-forwarding through the slower parts. Let me be frank; I've seen much worse. Nevertheless, I can't say I'm eagerly anticipating the second part (which is actually supposed to be the first part). / Lesson learned: Yes, there can be circumstances in human life when death seems like a better option. (24/10/2023)

Despite a rather tepid pace in the first half, the creative skill of the filmmakers makes this an extremely atmospheric affair that cleverly references the greatest horror classics. Horror is of course what it is, yet it's not just superficially scary, and impresses more with its powerful visuals (the alligator chase shot is simply divine and the split-screen guitar sequence is an absolute treat), including the simple yet perfectly effective and believable motivations of the two main bad guys. A strong (non-)mainstream piece of work that feels old-fashioned and innovative at the same time. [80%] (23/05/2022)