Review: X

Image courtesy of A24.

Many films made by avid Tobe Hooper aficionados have tried - and mostly failed - to recapture the spirit and sweaty, claustrophobic energy of that director's 1974 horror classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Hell, there was even an attempt to reboot that series a month ago and the result was, not surprisingly, godawful. 

So, it's exciting to see a film try to make a film in the vein of "Texas Chainsaw" and actually understand what made that film so unique. But rather than simply paying 100 minutes of homage to Hooper's film, Ti West's seriously creepy, often outrageous and pretty gruesome "X" captures the look and style of horror movies of that era, but contains a story that has little to do with Hooper's masterpiece.

The argument has been made in various quarters for some time that pornographic films and horror movies share in common their desire to titillate, albeit in different ways. West seemingly understands this, so it's not surprising that his latest - which is a horror movie about a group of young people in 1979 who venture into a secluded part of Texas to capitalize off the recent success of the porno "Debbie Does Dallas" by making a film, titled "The Farmer's Daughters," of their own - has some interesting cards to play.

The ragtag group includes producer Wayne (Martin Henderson); his girlfriend and the film's star, Maxine; the lead male star, Jackson (rapper Kid Cudi); seasoned porn vet Bobbi-Lynne (Brittany Snow); director RJ (Owen Campbell), who has pretensions for the film to be shot in the style of the French New Wave; and RJ's girlfriend, Lorraine (Jenny Ortega), a so-called "church mouse" and prude who shocks everyone, but mostly RJ, when she announces she wants a role in the film.

From their arrival at the secluded farmhouse where the picture is to be shot, something seems off. The proprietor - a man named Howard (Stephen Ure), who is seemingly old as the hills - points a gun at Wayne before recalling that he'd rented out the farmhouse. He has no qualms about telling the group that he doesn't like them. Then, there's the matter of his wife, Pearl (also Mia Goth), who lurks in windows and off in the distance, often unsettling the actors and crew when they spot her.

When the horror finally kicks in later in the movie - and I wouldn't dare give away why it occurs - suffice it to say that "X" has more on its mind than titillation and gore, although the latter eventually arrives in droves. There are multiple horrors taking place in the film, whether it's being stalked by a sinister presence or realizing that one's youth and beauty have long since gone, never to be found again.

Although the rationale for the killings in the film are based on a somewhat flimsy premise - in other words, why the crew members are stalked and killed - the scenes in which the villain(s) discuss their own plights make it more interesting than your typical film of this sort. There's obviously some back story to Pearl and Howard - and news recently broke that West shot a prequel film titled "Pearl" that is set even further in the past and is soon set to come out.

The period design is quite impressive, including the camera work that for once actually captures how horror movies of that era looked, from the slightly muddy visuals to shot compositions, and pretty magic hour images caught through open windows.

The film is also quite suspenseful, and its piece-de-resistance is a spectacularly intense overhead shot of a person swimming toward shore with a lurking danger following behind, unbeknownst to them. That shot alone is proof of West's mastery in this genre, and there are plenty of other spookily lit and shot sequences that will likely unsettle those who view them.

West started out as a purveyor of low budget horror movies - his cult film "The Sacrament" is fairly creepy, but his "House of the Devil" does for early 1980s haunted house movies what "X" does for low budget 1970s slasher movies. For about a decade, he has avoided the genre - his most recent movie was the violent western "In the Valley of Violence." His latest picture marks a triumphant return to horror movie-making. "X" is one of the most memorable, scariest and best of its genre in recent memory.