REVIEW: X Is The Best Horror Of The Year So Far

Lots of moans, lots of surprises, lots of blood. X is an inconspicuous, but nevertheless the best horror so far this year. Not only will it make you laugh, it will take your breath away  and at times totally paralyse you. Forty-two-year-old American director Ti West created his masterpiece.

Never underestimate seniors, don't try to make them idiots, and never go to the basement when they ask you to. These are some of the lessons to be learned from this great independent horror movie. We could easily place it in the category of slasher. X references the most famous works of this subgenre, but subtly and intelligently.

It brings fresh air into the genre. At the same time, it plays around with audience's expectations. But what is the biggest asset? It does not just graze the surface and it is not built solely on self-serving violence. You can feel the strong sociological-political tone in the story. It is set in the second half of the seventies, when the sexual revolution broke out and pornography or same-sex sex were far from taboo topics.

Unhinged sex and inhospitable Texas countryside

The free-thinking and reverberations of the hippie movement came to clash with the  conservative religious fanatics, which labeled the opposite side as the devil's children, perverts, and sinners.

X beautifully analyses this conflict of worldviews in the story of a group of young filmmakers who set out to shoot a juicy porn movie full of unhinged sex in the inhospitable countryside of Texas. Its members are producer Wayne (Martin Henderson), his girlfriend Maxine (Mia Goth) who wants to be a new star on the scene, confident and cheeky actress Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) and the small-minded but gifted African American Jackson (Kid Cudi) as the chief seducer of all the women around.

They are complemented by director and cinematographer RJ (Owen Campbell) with his girlfriend, the sound engineer Lorraine (Jenna Ortega). After arriving at a remote farm, they meet the owners - an elderly couple with whom something doesn't sit right from the start and they behave as strangely as possible. And the fact that Wayne deliberately conceals why he came to their land does not bode well.

A24? Guarantee of quality

A24 is simply a guarantee of quality. The films in their portfolio are almost always captivating and deep in content. Narratively unconventional, exciting and harshly authentic. A24 brought us gems like Green Room, Hereditary, The Lighthouse, Under the Skin or The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

X fits in beautifully with the other siblings and is a joy to watch. Although it has a slightly slow start, this does not mean that the viewer gets bored. On the contrary, Ti West, who, by the way, also took care of the script and editing, shows top work in building a mysterious and disturbing atmosphere. We don't know what secrets the seniors hide, or what they've all experienced, but some unidentifiable evil radiates from their farm.

Zároveň však miestami vďaka precíznej kamere Eliota Rocketta a svižnej montáži vidíme aj to, čo postavy prehliadnu, a sme tak o krok ďalej než oni. Tvorcovia však zámerne hneď neodkrývajú všetky karty, aby našu pozornosť a zvedavosť udržali čo najdlhšie. Darí sa im to bravúrne.

At the same time, however, thanks to Eliot Rockett's precise camera and brisk montage, we can also see things that the characters overlook, so we are one step ahead of them. However, the creators deliberately do not reveal all the cards in order to keep our attention and curiosity for as long as possible. 

Cynical, raw, provocative, bloody

When everything finally starts, events take a quick turn. The finale is almost perfect. X is truly an uncompromising, harsh, provocative, sometimes very cynical and bloody horror. It offers several unforgettable scenes and plot twists, during which you jump from the seat in surprise.

But none of this would work without great actors. Mia Goth is the absolute queen of bizarre and strange characters. In X, she is sexy and scary. She alternates youthful naivety with relentless ambition. The motto "over a dead body"  takes on a completely new meaning. She proved that she belongs to the top, when she appeared in the erotic drama Nymph()maniac by Lars von Trier, and she confirmed her supremacy in the remake of the Italian classic Suspiria.

Only 19-year-old Jenna Ortega is also amazing. In the end, she may have shown her life performance. The biggest surprise, however, is definitely Kid Cudi, who might be as good of an actor, as he is musician.