Review: Ti West's 'X' pokes fun at porn cliches and cinema pretense, before settling into down-and-dirty horror mode

Writer-director Ti West’s “X” is a horror flick that deftly walks the line between art and exploitation, while commenting on how that line gets drawn.

The bloody prologue, where a Texas sheriff (James Gaylyn) surveys a bloodbath in a remote farmhouse, promises the carnage to come. But after that, West takes nearly an hour setting up the premise: A group of people in 1979 leave Houston for the farm, where they plan to make a porno film that will earn as much money as “Debbie Does Dallas” — if the hopes of its producer, Wayne (Martin Henderson), come true. 

Wayne’s young, coke-snorting girlfriend, Maxine (Mia Goth), has hopes of becoming a star by performing for the camera. The other stars of the film are the more experienced Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) and the self-confident Jackson (Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi). In the back of the van are R.J. (Owen Campbell), the film student Wayne has hired to direct his porno, and Lorraine (Jenna Ortega), R.J.’s mousy girlfriend and boom operator.

The farm owner, Howard (Stephen Ure) — after first greeting Wayne with a raised shotgun — lets the visitors rent out a boarding house on his property. But Howard warns Wayne to stay away from the farmhouse, and away from his fragile wife, Pearl.

As the crew gets to work on their porno film, West makes some not-so-subtle commentary about the creative spirit — with R.J. spouting pretentious nonsense about making not just porn but “independent cinema.” (West also stages a skinny-dipping scene for Goth’s Maxine, which introduces what only can be called “Chekhov’s alligator.”) 

But making an artful horror movie is like making an avant-garde porno film: Whatever creative touches you want to include in it, ultimately the filmmaker has to show the people what they came to see. West (“The Innkeepers”) does deliver those gory, blood-drenched scenes, which show a mastery of visual effects and a love for the classics, from “Friday the 13th” to “Psycho.” If deep-red horror is your taste, “X” will hit the spot.

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‘X’

★★★

Opens Friday, March 18, 2022, in theaters. Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, and language. Running time: 105 minutes.