Regardless of what jaded horror fans may lead you to believe, modern masters of horror absolutely exist and are just as relevant as those of yesteryear. Ti West is one of the highest ranking for me personally – he has a way of keeping you on the edge of your seat regardless of the kinda subgenre he taps into. X was no exception. Situated at the crosshairs of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Boogie Nights (1997), X is a unique fusion of both ’70s horror and pornographic films. Lemme tell y’all – this baby delivers equal parts gore and sleaze to the nines.

X follows a group of attractive (to me anyways, as they all look very cheap!) people set out in rural Texas to film a pornographic film, cheekily titled The Farmer’s Daughter. Now, I’m sure y’all are aware of the presence of religious nutbags rumoured to be lurking about these parts, so the troupe had to keep their sleazy festivities to themselves. An odd choice given that they selected a bed and breakfast situated on a property shared with a house strikingly similar to the one homed by Leatherface back in ’74. Naturally the house is occupied by a couple that are essentially at death’s door, and of course they act creepy as hell. What I hadn’t anticipated was the level of horniness harnessed by the elderly woman, Pearl (Mia Goth in a metric fuckton of makeup). Pearl becomes fixated on Maxine (also Mia Goth) after watching her have sex with her male costar in a barn. So basically Pearl is horny, her century old husband can’t get it up, so she goes on a murderous rampage – as you do.

Now, attempting to capture the essence of grimy ’70s exploitation is by no means unexplored ground in modern horror cinema. We’ve been planted firmly in a bed of nostalgia fuelled horror for at least a decade now, however the ones that truly capture the feel of these beloved horror heavyweights are few and far between. X manages to truly feel like a lost film of Tobe Hooper’s. This goes beyond the fact that several sequences are reminiscient of Texas Chain Saw – a mood was captured. Homage bleeds through in subtle ways, however X simply flirts with the historical content rather than engaging in fullblown fan service. It exists as its own entity – not a twin of Texas Chain Saw, but a really hot sister.

What I found the most fascinating about X was the constant throughline about agism. Comparisons between Maxine and Pearl are made consistently throughout; “I used to be like you” a frequent adage made by the elderly Pearl in regards to Maxine. Several scenes are cut side by side to include actions carried out by both age groups, and what was interesting was observing how the audiences reacted to them. The most harrowing juxtaposition being a sex scene between the elderly couple – it is the only sex scene I’ve had a difficult time watching since Don’t Look Now (1973), a feeling I’m positive was shared throughout the theatre. Given the porn angle of X, I don’t need to tell y’all that this isn’t the only sex scene featured, yet it is the only one that could be deemed uncomfortable to watch. The only differentiating factor is the age of the folks engaging, which is kinda wild when you think about it. For some reason it is entirely acceptable to be grossed out, which is the kinda shit that made Pearl lose her marbles to begin with, y’know?

Though age is undoubtedly a through line, the origin of Pearl’s maliciousness hasn’t yet been fully explored. Was she a reflection of the nuclear family model, wherein you pick a spouse and settle indefinitely? Was she sexually liberated, a lifelong nymphomaniac? I’m sure we won’t know for sure until Ti West’s next film, Pearl, which was filmed the moment X wrapped up. If I were to guess, I’d assume Pearl has been driven by her sexual perversions her entire life. There are far too many fucked up things happening in that home for it not to be the end result of spiralling into sexual deviancy. It is really twisted and fucked up – entirely unexpected, too. I feel as though we typically view elderly people as ‘safe’. So when shit starts hitting the fan here, it hits pretty damn hard. I am highly anticipating the next film in this newly announced trilogy. Actually, the whole lot honestly. I am entirely invested in this story, which seldom happens. Hopefully both upcoming films harness the same movie magic and horny/uncomfortable mysticism X provided.

I’ve mentioned time n’ time again how progressive the horror genre has always been, however witnessing X wade in the pool of women’s liberation was incredibly intriguing. Though difficult to challenge the traditional role of our beloved final girl, X‘s might go down as having one of my all time favourites solely because she has fully tapped into her power as a woman. She gets high as shit, she fucks whoever she wants, and she doesn’t apologize for it. Her “sinful” behaviour doesn’t get her killed, either. She is a badass bitch, not the virginal sweetie we typically see coming out unscathed. She is very real, very relatable.

Aside from waxing on the storyline, I couldn’t help but be entirely enamoured by the campiness of it all. I am a sucker for satanic panic, and X boasts a televangelist blabbering religious nonsense throughout the majority of the film. Pair this with some sleazy women, cheeseball pornography, and twangy slang, and y’all got me in trashy heaven. Oh, and did I mention there are alligators? As if paying homage to Tobe Hooper’s debut horror masterpiece wasn’t enough, y’all can connect this to his lesser-seen seedy gator horror, Eaten Alive (1976), too.

As I’ve come to expect from everything Ti West has created thus far, X was truly something special. West managed to capture the essence of a decade cherished and long passed, seemingly effortlessly. A master of suspense, I found myself metaphorically white-knuckling every single scene – my eyes simply could not wait to feast upon what lay ahead. I knew I’d dig this film – as mentioned, I’ve yet to be disappointed when it comes to his filmography, but man… I hadn’t anticipated I’d be gushing over it just like Pearl gushes over every hot little number that stumbles onto her property. X was funny, gory, and most importantly, very horny. God, how I missed sleazy horror! Hopefully Ti West keeps ’em cum– I mean coming!