Rating summary
Movie | | 3.0 |
Video | | 4.0 |
Audio | | 4.5 |
Extras | | 3.5 |
Overall | | 3.5 |
XX Blu-ray Movie Review
Distaff Terror
Reviewed by Michael Reuben June 15, 2017
The horror anthology XX bills itself as the first such compilation entirely written and directed by
women, but just being a woman wasn't enough to qualify. When the project was first announced
by genre specialist XYZ Films, the roster of directors included Mary Harron (American Psycho),
Jennifer Lynch (Boxing Helena) and Jen and Sylvia Soska (American Mary), none of whose
contributions made the final cut. The four directors whose shorts were ultimately accepted for XX
range from an experienced hand (Karyn Kusama, The
Invitation) to a musician making her
directing debut (Annie Clark, who performs under the stage name "St. Vincent"). The directors
are joined by animator Sofia Carrillo, whose creepy introduction, interstitials and conclusion
recall the work of The Quay
Brothers by way of Salvador Dali.
XX premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2017 and was released to theaters and
video-on-demand the following month. Magnolia Home Entertainment has now issued the film
on Blu-ray in a good presentation with a nice complement of extras.
It is impossible to discuss any of the four tales in
XX without revealing key plot points. The press
kit from Magnolia is rife with spoilers. Accordingly, I have not attempted to provide more than
brief introductions. In general, all four segments share a common interest in close relations
(whether family or friends) that suddenly turn toxic. Some are comedic (notably, "The Birthday
Party") while others go for more traditional scares (especially "Don't Fall"). All of them are
effective at establishing an unsettling atmosphere in a minimum of screen time, and all choose to
explain as little as possible about the causes of the terrible things that transpire.
The Box: Susan Jacobs (Natalie Brown,
The Strain) is riding on the subway during the
Christmas season with her children, Jenny and Danny (Peyton Kennedy and Peter DaCunha).
Danny's eyes light upon a big box wrapped in red foil in the lap of a man with a strange look
about him (Michael Dyson). Being a fearless kid, Danny asks the man to show him what's in the
box. The man obliges, and Danny's expression changes. (The audience never sees the contents.)
From that moment onward, the lives of the Jacobs are forever changed, to the growing
consternation of Susan and her husband, Robert (Jonathan Watton). "The Box" is a tensely
atmospheric family drama, but just when you think director Jovanka Vuckovic will have nothing
to offer the gore fans, she surprises you with a scene that is possibly the grisliest in the whole of
XX.
The Birthday Party: Mary (Melanie Lynskey, HBO's
Togetherness) is obsessing over every
detail of a birthday party for her daughter, Lucy (Sanai Victoria), to the point where even the
girl's nanny, Carla (Sheila Vand), gives Mary odd looks. Just as Mary thinks she may be getting
on top of the details, a chilling and unexpected challenge presents itself. Mary's reaction is an
odd mixture of panic and calculation. The arrival of a singing birthday telegram delivered by a
man in a giant panda costume complicates the situation. Director Annie Clark effectively walks
the line between discomfort and laughter, ultimately opting for the latter in her closing titles.
Don't Fall: A quartet of young hikers find themselves on a steep cliff overlooking a beautiful
and, apparently, unexplored landscape. The destination was selected by Paul (Casey Adams),
whose sister, Gretchen (Breeda Wool), is afraid of heights and whom Paul teases and torments as
only a brother can. It is Jess (Angela Trimbur) who spots the ancient paintings on a rock face,
apparently applied in blood and using symbols that the group's resident expert, Jay (Morgan
Krantz), identifies as pre-Native American. When night falls, an ancient evil descends upon the
group. Of the four segments in
XX, director Roxanne Benjamin's entry is probably the most
traditional, giving the familiar elements of a "creature feature" an energetic jolt with stunts
creatively choreographed by Casey Adams, doing double duty as actor and stunt coordinator.
Her Only Son: Eighteen years ago, Cora (Christina Kirk), fled an unknown threat with her infant
son, Andy, who is now fully grown (Kyle Allen). The pair keeps a low profile, with Cora
routinely declining the romantic overtures of a handsome local mailman (Mike Doyle, the
resourceful forensic tech on
Law & Order:
SVU). But Andy is exhibiting troubling behavior of
the kind typically associated with budding psychopaths, including animal cruelty and casual
abuse of school classmates. The latter causes Cora to be summoned to Andy's school, where the
behavior of the authorities is even more disturbing than her son's misconduct. Writer/director
Karyn Kusama effectively sustains the creepy atmosphere of this riff on a classic horror tale until
the conclusion, which is abrupt and unsatisfying, almost as if Kusama couldn't figure out how
her story should end.
Bookending
XX, and also providing brief "intermissions" between its chapters, is Sofia Carrillo's
account of the adventures of a living doll's house, complete with feet, legs, appetite and,
apparently, the power to bring inanimate objects to life. Carrillo's surreal depictions aren't
exactly threatening, but they're alternately fascinating and repellent, like a bad dream from which
you'd rather awake but you want to see what happens next.
XX Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Each short had its own cinematographer and post-production process, and different digital
cameras were used throughout, e.g., an Arri Alexa on "The Box" and a Red camera on "Don't
Fall". No effort appears to have been made to harmonize or integrate the visual styles, so that the
look of the film changes with each short. "The Box" and "Her Only Son" favor naturalistic
palettes and appearances, while "The Birthday Party" is highly stylized in both photography and
production design, and "Don't Fall" alternates between overexposed vistas in the bright sun of
day and the dim lighting of the nighttime attack (the latter no doubt helps "sell" the prosthetics
and stunts). The animated sequences are heavily desaturated, almost to the point of sepia-toned
black-and-white.
Magnolia's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray does a good job of presenting these disparate sources,
with ample detail (if the source provides it, which isn't always the case), solid blacks, brightly
saturated colors where appropriate, and an absence of noise, interference or artifacts. None of
these shorts was produced on a lavish budget, but the digital photography makes the most of
what was available. Magnolia has mastered XX with an average bitrate of 21 Mbps, which is
somewhat on the low side, especially for Magnolia releases, but the encode appears to be
capable.
XX Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
For a low-budget independent film, XX has remarkably effective and sophisticated sound editing.
Encoded on Blu-ray in lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1, the soundtrack routinely uses rear-channel
effects to create a creepy atmosphere. It starts with the opening animation, in which moths flutter
around the animated dollhouse, the sound of their flapping wings dodging in and out of the
surrounds. The panting of an unseen dog off-screen, or insistent telephone rings in adjacent
offices, are among the effects that both create an environment and keep the viewer looking over
one's shoulder. The segments all have different composers (including director Annie Clark, who
scored "The Birthday Party" under her performing name of "St. Vincent"), and they all use the
time-honored horror device of sudden, loud bursts of notes for shock effects. The score for
"Don't Fall" by the L.A. duo known as The Gifted (Southbound) makes
effective use of a
dissonant orchestral crescendo reminiscent of the Beatles' "A Day in the Life". Despite all this
activity, the dialogue remains intelligible and correctly localized.
XX Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
Nearly all of these extras contain spoilers and should not be viewed until after watching the main
feature.
- Making of The Box (1080p; 1.78:1; 14:39): This featurette also serves as a history of the
entire XX project. It includes interviews with producer Tod Brown, director Jovanka
Vuckovic, and most of the cast, including child actors Peyton Kennedy and Peter
DaCunha.
- XX Set Visit in 360: Behind the Scenes Look at The Birthday Party (1080p; 1.78:1;
1:41): Several trivia "balloons" are superimposed over the panoramic photography.
- The Birthday Party Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (1080p; various; 11:19).
- Don't Fall Stunts & Special FX (1080p; 1.78:1; 4:49): Safety cables and prosthetics.
- Behind the Scenes of Her Only Living Son (1080p; 1.78:1; 3:22): This is a true "behind
the scenes" compilation of production footage, accompanied solely by music and with no narration.
- Interview with Directors Jovanka Vuckovic (The Box) and Karyn Kusama (Her
Only Living Son) (1080p; 1.78:1; 7:37): Among other topics, the directors discuss their
major influences.
- Interview with Directors Roxanne Benjamin (Don't Fall) and Annie Clarke (The
Birthday Party) (1080p; 1.78:1; 5:05): Among other topics, the directors discuss the
inspiration for their individual segments. They also describe their collaboration on
Clarke's segment, which was co-written and produced by Benjamin.
- Interview with Director Sofia Carrillo (XX Credit Sequence / Animation
Interstitials) (1080p; 1.78:1; 6:46): The animator describes the challenges of creating
XX's living dollhouse.
- Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2.39:1; 1:32): "Four Deadly Tales . . . Directed by Four Killer
Women".
- Also from Magnolia Home Entertainment: Trailers for The Eyes of My Mother, Officer
Downe and Detour, plus the usual promos for
the Charity Network and AXS TV. These
also play at startup.
- BD-Live: As of this writing, selecting this option produces the message "Check back
later for updates".
XX Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
Each tale in XX has its strengths and flaws, but anthology films are like cereal "variety packs",
offering viewers the opportunity to take what they like and leave the rest. Of the four installments
in this anthology, I would rank "The Box" first, followed by "The Birthday Party" as a close
second. Others will no doubt rate them differently, but I suspect most will find it hard to look
away from the haunting animated scenes linking the four segments. Magnolia's presentation is
technically solid and recommended.