Ti West’s X is one of the best slashers in recent years, and the movie’s strengths show precisely where other horror franchises have failed. Released to widely positive reviews, the slasher successfully honors the genre’s roots while viewing the characters through a modern lens. At a time when most slashers are sequels, remakes, or requels, X is refreshingly simple and small in scope.
X follows a small group of adult filmmakers who attempt to make a pornographic movie at a secluded Texas farm. They hide their intentions from their hosts, a mysterious elderly couple who attack their young guests come nightfall. The slasher stars Mia Goth in the dual roles of adult film actor Maxine and the villainous Pearl, alongside Scream 2022’s Jenna Ortega as the group’s naïve outsider.
Arguably the best slasher in many years, X pays homage to several horror classics while putting its own spin on a well-worn genre. However, its best trick is keeping everything small-scale, with a deceptively simple plot that’s rich in thematic content. Conversely, many recent horror movies have struggled to deliver a truly satisfying story due to their ties to a larger narrative. Unburdened by any franchise lore, X delivers on a slasher movie’s promise of being a whole lot of gory fun.
Opening with the ragtag film crew driving a van through rural Texas, X takes a clear nod from Tobe Hooper’s original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Finding bloodcurdling horror amid an otherwise idyllic setting, X’s back-to-basics approach is sorely missing among major horror franchises. There are no iconic villains, legacy characters or cumbersome continuity to preserve. It’s just a wildly entertaining story with engaging characters, a deeply unsettling atmosphere and a healthy dose of gore. X manages to replicate what its major inspiration never could – the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise has a messy timeline, frequently rebooting itself out of desperation to survive. Halloween has taken a similar approach, retconning its previous sequels in 2018 for a direct follow-up to the original. However, this semi-fresh start got weighed down by its franchise ambitions in Halloween Kills – a lumbering middle chapter trying to justify its existence by populating its runtime with extra connections to established lore.
Scream 2022, although a worthy successor to Wes Craven’s best movies, also suffered somewhat from its franchise connections. The legacy characters generally serviced the story without undermining the new ensemble, but the requel was still burdened by Woodsboro’s tragic history and continuity with the in-universe Stab franchise. Relying so heavily on the 1996 original gave Scream 2022 an “elevated horror” problem, as it failed to satirize modern horror movies. X has no grand franchise lore, meaning characterization and scares take precedence over continuity or setting up sequels. Ti West’s slasher plays on typical genre tropes while also subverting them to give each character deeper meaning. Unlike many of the slashers it honors, nobody is present just to fill out the body count. A combination of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the true story-inspired Boogie Nights, A24's X deftly combines social commentary on attitudes towards sex and aging while steadily escalating tension, delivering the gruesome murders viewers desire in a slasher. X’s playful tone also shows where many horror franchises have failed.
Movies that were originally meant to be fun chillers became so enamored with their lore that they ended up being self-important. Franchises like Halloween emphasize their history so much that the narratives are messy and predictable. X avoids these limitations, encouraging viewers to sympathize with its eclectic ensemble but making clear nobody is safe, understanding that’s a major element of slashers' enjoyment value. Having filmed a secret prequel back-to-back, X might succumb to the failings of its peers. However, the movie’s backstory teases are distinct enough to suggest future installments won’t merely tread the same ground.
