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Ti West has written and directed a few well-received horror movies over the years, from The House of the Devil to The Innkeepers. Now the filmmaker's latest, simply titled X, is being hailed as his best yet.
Set in 1979, X sees a group of young creatives head out to rural Texas in the hopes of secretly making an adult film. However, making a porn flick becomes the least of their worries when the elderly, reclusive couple they are staying with catches wind of what they're doing, and the gang find themselves fighting for their lives.
Starring Brittany Snow, Scott Mescudi, Martin Henderson, Owen Campbell, Mia Goth, and Jenna Ortega, who recently cemented herself as a scream queen in, well, Scream, X is being labeled by critics as "savagely funny" and "viscerally violent" in glowing first reviews.
Many have compared the new horror movie to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Tobe Hooper's genre-defining classic from 1974, with X holding a 100% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
"Ti West's X delivers big on slasher-style thrills, but also adds in a shockingly powerful examination of aging, the power of beauty, and what happens when one loses that power," says Perri Nerimoff, highlighting Goth's performance as she scores the movie a 4.5 out of 5.
"Benefitting from West’s knack for capturing period vibes and from an unusually engaging cast, the pic is meatier than the average slasher film," writes The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore.
"Without a doubt, X is a triumph in every possible way: it defies expectations, its both thoughtful and thought-provoking in equal measure, and the way that West is able to effortlessly build tension and terror throughout is downright transcendent," Daily Dead's Heather Wixson enthuses.
Many of the reactions celebrate the fact that the characters – porn stars Bobby-Lynne (Snow), Maxine (Goth), Jackson (Mescudi), producer Wayne (Henderson), director RJ (Campbell), and boom mic operator Lorraine (Ortega) – are refreshingly fleshed out.
"What X brings to the table along with its well-written characters, great kills, and patient rhythm of storytelling is a genuine meditation on sex, youth, and our collective human terror around aging," says Cinapse's Ed Travis.
Nightmarish Conjurings' Shannon McGrew suggests that X will "turn you on" and "have your heart pounding" in equal measure, while Den of Geek's David Crow celebrates how the film finds the "sweet side of a Texas Porn Massacre."
Lastly, Bloody Disgusting's Meagan Navarro gushes: "A narratively different beast that demonstrates why West should be given full reign to go full throttle on deranged, savage, and intense horror-comedies more often. Its a blast."
While we wait for X to reach cinemas on Friday, 18 March, why not check out our list of the best horror movies of all time.
