What is the X? In the trailer and its associations in the film, it seems like it has mostly to do with the explicit nature of adult films. There’s the thread of a discussion about the early days of VHS kink (“Debby Does Dallas”) and the way in which metatheatrically our filmmakers intend to make art out of smut or maybe art and smut. The issue is undermined in part by a twist–around the midway post in the film when the genre shifts from sexy cabin in the woods to scary cabin in the woods–as the cinematographer’s girlfriend played by the thrilling Jenna Ortega volunteers herself as yet another one of the porn film’s eponymous farmer’s daughters. The cinematographer suggests she’s “not like the other girls,” drawing a distinction between his certainty that he can elevate this form to high art and his low opinion of porn people.
X takes us through the tropes of eliminating our crew one by one in mostly rote fashion. There’s some defiance of expectations with the opening scene which comes out of chronological order and gives us some indication of the final set piece, a struggle, a mysterious basement, but it’s not clear in what order or which survivors. In that sense, X can go through the motions of the cabin in the woods (and the Cabin in the Woods) genre without feeling stale. A few of the death scenes and scares are ruined by trailer fatigue, but I think the part where you scream out loud probably indicates something profound about your values and psychological state.
I went with three Friends who were all avowedly not horror film people. One of them clarified before she walked in, “I’m mostly interested in the intersection of porn and horror” to which all the rest of them nodded vigorously, though I’m beginning to think that this audience is less niche than one might think. Friend sent me a link to a discussion from the New Yorker’s television critic(s?) “The Sex Scene is Dead, Long Live the Sex Scene,” discussing the current state of erotic thrillers, penis prosthetics, and Euphoria which I’m currently in the process of finishing the second season. Slate’s Dana Stevens just wrote a piece about how your enjoyment of Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck’s Deepwater will hinge on how much you miss erotic thrillers. I think A24’s blitz of X and After Yang in the same month, there’s something to be said for the ambition of drawing a heterogeneous crowd of skeptics, even if I’m not entirely sure this movie is markedly different than a stripped down Tucker and Dale Vs Evil (2011) or maybe something more mainstream like Evil Dead.
Anyway, on screams indicating something about you — spoilers ahead — one friend tried to keep it together for most of the Day sequence and then lost it with Ortega’s fingers, for me, I was completely unfazed until the only blonde lady in the film got pushed into the lake, which I think probably doesn’t reflect well on me. There’s one death at the tail end of the movie that had the theater erupting into laughter and applause, which I think is a rare and special occasion.
I cringe to bring up M Night Shyamalan, but The Visit had a similar kind of feelsy, heartfelt core about the humanity of old people. I think that movie was more about sundown syndrome and dementia and X explores sex and sexuality in old age. This is in no way a recommendation, but I thought I better flag it in case there was more than a passing resemblance between these two creepypasta movies.
X’s cinematography and pacing surprise: parallel scenes, side by side montages, a musical number from Kid Cudi. The cast is peopled with fresh starlets–Jenna Ortega, Mia Goth–and a Matthew McConnaughy lookalike but with charm and warmth. The scares are a medley of horror movie tropes and the sexy bits are a medley of porn tropes. The Marilyn-type moans performatively to prove she’s a good actress like Meg Ryan in the cafe. But then the scenes with the alligators, oh boy, every time they’re there. Mia Goth’s double performance is subtle –there’s a tongue-in-cheek end credits scene that’s totally worth it for tying a loose thread. Also, a really exciting trailer for another A24 horror film in May staring one of our favorites, Jessie Buckley.
