X
★ ★★★
X is a horror movie that has a lot to say and is not the least bit subtle about it. Do you like your buckets of gore mixed in with repression and condemnation? I haven't watched director Ti West's past work before so I don't know how this film vibes with his other work, but this film is a love letter to filmmaking. His technique is a throwback to the style of '70s horror that will make you automatically think of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This movie was released before this current state of rising gas prices and digression of women's rights, but I believe that West was ahead of the curve in telling us that we have gone backwards as a society, not forward. The themes are downright chilling as you feel the blistering humidity of the south Texas atmosphere.
I loved how West revels in slow reveals and simple settings. I think the most effective movies are those that are smaller in scale and he uses space and time super effectively. He has a compiled a strong, memorable group of actors and pays a great deal of attention to character development, which many horror films, rightfully, are criticized for not having.
Horror hasn't always been my favorite genre, especially when things get a bit graphic, which this film certainly does. But the best ones like to make you think. X provides plenty of gruesome moments that horror fans will feast on, but also provides plenty of intellectual questions about how America views sexuality and femininity.
