Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

X Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 25, 2022

Writer, director and co-producer Ti West is on hand on one of the supplements included on this disc mentioning how he wanted to offer a "highbrow" take on what is often a "lowbrow" genre, namely horror and/or slasher films, which might beg the question as to why West decided to make the film about some nascent entrepreneurs out to shoot a porn movie. Pornography probably won't qualify as "highbrow" for many audience members, even if, for example, it has a supposed "literary" imprimatur of someone like Gore Vidal, a la the hugely lambasted Caligula. West may frankly not have Vidal's reputation for writing prowess, but that doesn't necessarily mean he hasn't introduced a rather smart "meta" aspect to a film that, again in West's own words, wanted to not be "soft" (no porn pun intended), which is the adjective West overtly uses to describe many recent horror movies. Suffice it to say, X has a number of extremely graphic kill scenes, not to mention a couple of other bodily immolations that may not immediately lead to a character's demise, but which will still most likely cause more squeamish types to hide their eyes and hope that things move along quickly.

West engages in some subtle presentational and structural subterfuge almost from the get go in X. The film opens with a Sherriff named Dentler (James Gaylyn) investigating what appears to be a very bloody crime scene in some kind of rural location. But notice how West frames the very opening shot, shooting through what is ultimately revealed to be a barn door, which gives things an Academy Ratio ambience for a moment (something the film will intentionally return to, at least more or less, in some "film within a film" moments later, as documented in screenshots 5 and 11, anyway). But then once the film segues to a bunch of apparently connected folks who all had something to do with a nude dance bar and who have decided to set out in search of fame and fortune by shooting their own low budget porno, Dentler turns up again in passing when the group, en route to their location via a van, pass another extremely bloody scene that involves a cow and a truck. It's not really a huge spoiler to reveal that the way things are presented are not strictly chronological.

X commendably attempts to actually deliver some character development before the carnage breaks out, but if there's a deficit to the screenwriting, it may in fact be that while certain aspects are at least obvious based on how people are acting with each other, there may be a lack of total contextualization. Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) seems to be in a relationship with Wayne Gilroy (Martin Henderson), and similarly Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) is definitely in a relationship with the wonderfully named Jackson Hole (Scott Mescudi). Wayne is the producer behind the porno, to be called The Farmer's Daughters, and the spectacularly well endowed Hole is the male lead, bedding both Bobby-Lynne and Maxine at various points in scenes that X both shows being shot and offers in kind of quasi-16mm interstitials (as seen in those aforementioned narrower aspect ratio screenshots). Two others are on the sidelines of all this, and they, too, are in a relationship. Would be director RJ Nichols (Owen Campbell) seems to be a willing acolyte of Wayne's, but AJ's girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) is more than a bit concerned that they're dealing in "smut".

Wayne has arranged for the shoot to utilize a rural farm out in the sticks, where the decrepit owners are Howard (Stephen Ure) and his wife Pearl (also Mia Goth in an amazing example of make-up, but in a "dual portrayal" that may seem to be hinting at a revelation that this film frankly never delivers). Suffice it to say that Howard and Pearl are not exactly Ma and Pa Kettle, and soon enough the would be pornographers find themselves prey in a very scary and isolated setting.

X has a lot going for it, indeed more than your "typical slasher", to kind of semi-quote West's interview comments. But it also might have benefitted from a bit less trickiness. A final "sting" revealing Maxine's background in particular seems positively needless, and at cross purposes to what would seem to be a meditation on aging and not going gently into that good (or bad) night. West is quite articulate in that aforementioned interview about his love for "entrepreneurs" and how he feels that the burgeoning porn industry of the seventies (the film is set in 1979) helped level the playing field for prospective filmmakers, but not all of that intelligence has been directly communicated to the film itself.

X Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

X is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films and A24 with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.89:1. The IMDb lists the Sony CineAlta Venice as the camera of choice, but fails to specify the resolution of the DI, which I'm assuming was 2K. This is actually rather nicely "filmic" looking piece for a digital capture, with a bit of texture and depth, especially in some of the more brightly lit outdoor material. That said, there's what I am assuming is an intentional haziness to some shots, notably some of the twilight shots around a lake on the farm. A lot of the film takes places in shrouded environments which are played for a palpable angst factor but which kind of unavoidably lead to less than fulsome detail levels at times, as can probably be made out in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. The supposed porn movie is pretty gritty looking, aping a 16mm or even 8mm appearance, and is kind of honey colored a lot of the time. I noticed no compression anomalies.

X Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

From the opening almost pastoral ambient environmental sounds to some of the more raucous horror elements that ultimately play into the film, X benefits from a smartly designed soundscape that is capably supported by this disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Kind of surprisingly given its 1979 timeframe, there's not a ton of source cues, though Mungo Jerry's great "In the Summertime" makes an appearance, as do a couple of other tunes. The music along with ambient environmental effects tend to deliver the most impressive surround activity, and a couple of jump scares employ good bursts of LFE. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

X Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• That X Factor (HD; 11:37) is a decent EPK featuring interviews with the principal cast and West.


• The Farmer's Daughters (HD; 4:56) offers a brief look at the supposed porno being shot.


• Pearl Make Up Timelapse (HD; 1:33)

Additionally both a DVD and a digital copy are included, and packaging features a slipcover.

X Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A prequel called Pearl was reportedly shot at the same time as X, and from the looks of it (at the IMDb), it's already in post production, but while some may wonder about Pearl's backstory, I kind of think it's Maxine's backstory that might have been better woven into this tale. West obviously wanted to make a quasi-slasher for a more discerning (?) audience, and in some ways I think he's succeeded rather admirably, even if the film might have been a bit more forthcoming in terms of character backgrounds and interrelationships. Technical merits are solid, and at least for those with strong stomachs, X comes Recommended.