As someone who is just getting into horror films, I decided to see the movie X with a bunch of my friends. However, to my surprise, this movie was pretty funny. It was definitely creepy and gory at times, but I found myself laughing throughout the film. The movie stars Mia Goth, Brittany Snow, Jenna Ortega, and Martin Henderson. Kid Cudi was also in the movie and had a pretty big role, if you know what I mean. To summarize the movie, a group of actors travel to a remote farm in rural Texas to make an adult film. The owners of the farm are this elderly couple, who are extremely antisocial and not too hospitable (to put it nicely). They eventually become aware of the actors’ true intentions, and now the actors must fight for their lives.
I think that this movie did a great job of sticking to the horror/slasher formula but branching out and becoming original. It’s filled with twists and definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. I often found myself covering my eyes, scared of what comes next but still wanting to watch. The movie is unpredictable in the sense that you were not sure how it was going to play out. There were times were I thought “Oh, they are so going to die” but I had no idea how or when. I think that the movie did a great job of exploring jealously and aging. However, it also explored religious judgment, especially since it took place in the south, and what seemed to be like a bit of religious trauma. From the beginning of the movie, there’s either silence or eerie music constantly drawing the viewer in. The cinematography was also really interesting and felt nostalgic. I am not sure if anyone else though this, but I felt like I was watching an old home video and that it was shot on a film camera, rather than a digital one.
I was really impressed by Jenna Ortega’s performance. I was curious to see how she would be in this film, considering she is a Disney kid. However, she killed it (haha get it) and is truly a scream queen. Kid Cudi and Martin Henderson were pretty impressive as well. However, I truly loved Brittany Snow’s and Mia Goth’s performance. I feel like we have not seen Snow in a while, and this was definitely different from previous roles. I’d love to see more from her. Nevertheless, in my opinion, Mia Goth had the best performance. She played two totally different characters (which I did not even realize until after the movie) and did a great job in both. The switch between being a young aspiring actress to a crazy old lady was not expected and extremely convincing.
Overall, this film was quite refreshing and definitely out of the box. The plot, jokes, revelations, and nods to previous horror films were well made. The movie is definitely silly and light-hearted, but still has the gore and thrill of a horror movie. I think it is a movie worth watching. Especially since there’s a trailer for a prequel movie, after the credits. The prequel is reported to have already been filmed so hopefully it comes out soon!
Overall 3.5/5 stars.