All My X's Live in Texas

X (Ti West, 2022)

First it was Alexandre Aja and now it's Ti West returning back to the fold. It's been a hot minute since I last sat down and watched a Ti West film. Not since his tell me you wanted to make a Jonestown movie, without telling me you made a Jonestown movie, The Sacrement (2013) was released. Didn't bother with his western In a Valley of Violence (2016); not sure why, though. The Big Dada considers Ti West's satanic panic horror The House of the Devil (2009) a noughties classic and the best U.S. horror from that period. After a six year hiatus from feature films, his latest effort X is a return to period set horror; this time it's 1979 Texas.

After two in-depth reviews in a row, I'm completely spent and can't be arsed breakin' down everything I love about X, but I will say it's the best 2022 film I've seen so far. West has a better grasp of executing homages without them being blatant rip-offs to the source material. He also has a more professional understanding in subverting familiar tropes and clichés in contrast to the current crop of failing-up horror directors. To its credit, West's film really evokes the spirit of yesteryear's regional horror movies, that seem to be lost in this day and age.

Without revealing too much, Mia Goth is really superb in it and the rest of the supporting cast isn't too shabby either; even Jenna Ortega and Kid Cudi are put to good use. Spent most of the film thinking Wayne was played by Luke Wilson.

While hardly a spoiler, I fully endorse young actors in elderly make-up for a sex scene, ever  since I made the vomit inducing mistake of sitting down and watching Harold and Maude (1971). It makes perfect sense in the same way Andrea Bianchi cast a thirty-something dwarf to play a child as part of his bizarre oedipal subplot in Burial Ground: Nights of Terror (1981).

Other than being the second film in a row that I've covered to feature a song synonymous with a Capital FM DJ (this time it's Dr. Fox), X gets the thumbs up from me for best use of Blue Öyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper after The Stand (1994) mini series, which is a phenomenal feat, in my opinon as it's been memed to death after the Christopher Walken Saturday Night Live sketch.

I still prefer The House of the Devil over X, but it's a superb slow burner with a fantastic atmosphere, regardless. Not sure a Pearl prequel film is completely warranted, but I'm willing to give it a chance based on West's talent. Bound to be better than all that other prequel shite out there, innit?

X (Trailer)

(Ti West, 2022)