X - Movie Review

Starring Mia Goth, Jenny Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Scott Mescudi, Owen Campbell and Stephen Ure.

Written & Directed by Ti West.

★★½ 

Ti West's horror movies have always been more about atmosphere than actual scares. I was reminded of this during the second half of the movie, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

His House of the Devil was homage to satanic-panic films like Rosemary's Baby, and his The Innkeepers was homage to haunted-hotel movies like The Shining. This is his homage to 1970's slasher flicks like Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

It's set in 1979, and West uses stock changes and quick edits to give it that grindhouse feel. The scene is set when we see some Texas police officers surveying a bloody scene at a farmhouse. Dead body in the front yard, blood all over the porch, more gruesomeness inside. Then we rewind 24 hours to see how we got here.

We meet aspiring actress Maxine (Mia Goth), her adult-film producing boyfriend (Martin Henderson), auteur-wannabe RJ (Owen Campbell) who believes smut films can be made artfully, and three others along to help. They've rented a guesthouse on a farm in rural Texas to make their own porno The Farmer's Daughters. They haven't told the old Christian couple they're renting from what they're doing, and the first half of the movie is about building the tension, but once the killing starts, the suspense and atmosphere masterfully woven gives way to tongue-in-cheek gore.

I can't say it's ever scary. Suspenseful, yes. Scary, no. When I think of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there's that scare of the first kill, and the scares build from there. Here, these young people get separated too easily, going off one by one to look for the others that are missing. I was also distracted the entire movie by one baffling decision. Rather than get an older actress to play the wife, Mia Goth plays the role in heavy old-age make-up. Why? It's obvious it's a younger woman in old-age make-up. Could never suspend my disbelief on that one. (The answer actually comes in a hilarious post-credits stinger).

So... I admire the craft. The cast. The editing. The music. I suppose we're in a new era. It seems like it's not possible for slasher flicks to be scary anymore. Maybe I'm jaded. At least the occasional supernatural horror movie can still land.