X – Movie Review (4/5)

X is the new horror movie by writer-director Ti West. It’s a real horror treat if you enjoy the classic slasher style. We have been eagerly anticipating this movie. Now it’s out on PVOD for all to enjoy. An awesome cast and lots of gorgeous horror references. Read our full X (2022) movie review here!

X (2022) is the new Ti West horror movie starring Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, and Brittany Snow. Well, to mention just the cool ladies in it. We’ll get to the guys later, but we all know that – in horror movies – it’s all about the final girl. Or girls. In this instant horror classic, everyone in the cast appears to really enjoy going for it with this horror thriller.

If you’re familiar with genre writer-director Ti West, you’ll know that he excels at creating movies that feel like they could have been made a few decades ago. And yes, I do mean this as a huge compliment. He manages to take the vibe and style of movies made in the 1970s and make them feel current.

Continue reading our X (2022) movie review below. You can find it On-Demand now.

A new horror classic

This is yet another example that clearly references a horror classic like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Basically, this is the movie you should watch instead of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre requel, which was also released here in 2022. In other words, it’s perfect for horror fans who love the classic slasher style.

X has that in spades but also manages to build the characters in interesting ways – all across the board.

Along with the earlier mentioned Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, and Brittany Snow – all of whom are absolutely brilliant – we also have some awesome male characters. They’re portrayed by actors Martin Henderson (the original 2002 The Ring US remake), Owen Campbell (Super Dark Times), and Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi (season 3 of Westworld).

Also, you’ll see Stephen Ure who has been aged quite a lot, so he is rather unrecognizable. Then again, he often is in his roles. He’s been in both the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit franchise. He was also in Deathgasm (2015) which I really enjoyed!

In fact, my one real (and bigger) critique of X is that it has actors being made up to play old. Instead of just casting older actors. Now that would have been ballsy. Particularly with the very sex-fueled story!

We’ve seen older actors in horror movies such as Adam Robitel’s The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) and M. Night Shyamalan‘s The Visit (2015). Both were brilliant in casting older actors as characters that had to do extremely dark deeds. We often see older actors turn evil as zombies, but otherwise, directors tend to use younger actors made up to look older. That’s a shame.

The X prequel Pearl is to be released later in 2022

Apparently, Ti West got the idea for the prequel during the mandatory two-week quarantine in his hotel. As luck would have it, they were able to shoot it directly on the back of this production. Maybe we’ll get a release around the Halloween season. That would certainly make sense.

And now that X turned into a success and has been hailed by both critics and film fans all over the world, it turned out to be a brilliant gamble.

We’ll be sure to update you here on Heaven of Horror, whenever more news about the release date is made known. Also, casting news, though we already know who will play the lead. I won’t reveal that here since it’s a spoiler (well, sort of, anyway), but you just have to look up the movie on IMDb to find out.

Watch the X horror movie On-Demand now!

Ti West is the writer and director of X (2022) which has become an immediate cult movie in its own right. After premiering at the South By South West Film Festival in March, it continued a successful run in wide release. Horror fans will get pretty much everything they want with this one. Well, if you’re the kind of horror fan who enjoys the more visceral (read: bloody) kind of horror movie.

I am. But I am also the kind of person who really enjoys the psychological aspects of horror movies. That’s not where X delivers much.

For me, this is a very entertaining and intriguing slasher movie and it should definitely be enjoyed as such. Also, yes, I am very much looking forward to the prequel that has already been shot.

X premiered at SXSW Film Festival on March 13 and was out in a wider theatrical release from March 18. Just under a month later – on April 14, 2022 – it was released on PVOD. 

Details

In Theaters: March 18, 2022
On PVOD: April 14, 2022
Director: Ti West
Writer: Ti West
Cast: Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure, Scott Mescudi