The 2022 slasher film X was written, directed, produced, and edited by Ti West. Scott Mescudi, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Owen Campbell, and Mia Goth are among its cast members. On the rural Texas property of an elderly couple, a cast and crew meet to shoot a pornographic movie, but they soon find themselves in danger from an unusual assailant.
Filming for X took place mostly at Fordell, New Zealand. Chelsea Wolfe and Tyler Bates wrote the music for it. The movie had its international premiere on March 13, 2022, at South by Southwest (SXSW), and A24 released it to theatres in the US on March 18, 2022. It got generally favorable reviews, with reviewers appreciating the performances of Goth, Snow, and Ortega as well as its homages to 20th-century slasher movies, particularly 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
On September 16, 2022, a prequel movie called Pearl—which was covertly shot back-to-back with X—will be released. MaXXXine, the sequel, is in the works.
X Full Story Explained:
To shoot an adult movie for the burgeoning theatrical pornography business, promising porn actress Maxine Minx travels to Texas in 1979 with her producer boyfriend Wayne, friends Bobby-Lynne and Jackson Hole, director RJ, and RJ’s lover Lorraine. Bobby-Lynne and Jackson begin dating while Lorraine is dissatisfied with the movie’s plot and RJ’s attempts to make it seem like a serious cinematic endeavor.
The group arrives at the home of Howard and Pearl, where they intend to shoot The Farmer’s Daughters in their guest house. Older couple Howard and Pearl are a unit. Howard behaves recklessly at the group while brandishing a shotgun as Pearl silently stalks Maxine. In the midst of unannounced filming, Maxine is brought into the couple’s home by Pearl, where they have a conversation. Maxine is the target of Pearl’s jealousy as she laments Maxine’s youth and her late age. While the others are sleeping, RJ tries to depart, but Pearl stops him by making an overture to him.
He rejects her advances, so she stabs him to death. When Lorraine and Wayne learn that RJ has vanished, they begin to search. Wayne is killed in the barn by Pearl using a pitchfork. Howard extends an invitation to Lorraine to visit the household and informs her that Pearl is missing. Lorraine is also told by Howard to retrieve a flashlight from the cellar. When Lorraine tries to leave the basement, she realizes that she has been imprisoned there. When she turns on the light, she uncovers a man’s decomposing corpse.
Howard comes up to Jackson and asks him to help him find Pearl. Jackson comes to a sunken car in a pond before Howard shoots him dead and reveals himself as Pearl’s sidekick.
While this is going on, Pearl enters the inn and gets into Maxine’s bed while still naked. Bobby-Lynne witnesses Pearl leaving the house in response to Maxine’s screams. In the farmhouse, Lorraine uses a hatchet to try to open the cellar door but Howard beats her back inside, breaking her finger in the process. Bobby-Lynne goes with Pearl to the neighbourhood lake in an effort to keep her away from the water. Bobby-Lynne is severely attacked by an alligator after Pearl accuses her of being a whore and throws her into the lake.
As Pearl and Howard enter the guest house, Maxine hides under the bed. The older couple discusses the killings before engaging in sexual activity. The pistol Maxine stole from Howard and Pearl’s pickup is unloaded when she makes an attempt to shoot Pearl. Maxine avoids Pearl’s shot as Pearl stumbles and breaks her hip due to the shotgun’s recoil. Pearl cries out to Maxine for help as she lies bleeding outside the house. Maxine drives Pearl over with the truck and smashes her head as Pearl reprimands her for her defiance. Driving away from the farm is Maxine. The bodies are removed from the home by the police the next morning.
The identity of Maxine’s father, a conservative Christian preacher whose sermons were frequently shown on Pearl and Howard’s television, is exposed. RJ’s camera is found by the cops, who wonder what’s on it. Pearl cries out to Maxine for help as she lies bleeding outside the house. Maxine drives Pearl over with the truck and crushes her head as Pearl reprimands her for her defiance. Driving away from the farm is Maxine. The bodies are removed from the home by the police the next morning.
Maxine’s father is revealed to be the conservative Christian preacher whose sermons Pearl and Howard frequently viewed on television. The police discover RJ’s camera and are curious as to what is on it.
Cassey Moore is a features writer for Quest. I’m a British writer of both horror and supernatural series. Cassey is also a digital marketing manager.