FandomWire’s latest video essay explores how X perfects the 70s slasher movie.
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X and the 70s slasher
Watching Ti West X for the first time you might think you’re watching cult classic horror online with diabolical death and The hills Have Eyes. A film so strange and disturbing yet terrifying that it feels like a relic of the past. In an interview with Forbes, Ti said, “When I was young I watched horror movies, they were a cut above porn. Today they are made mainly, but not exclusively, by companies in a very big and safe way and according to a very big economic model”. Compare a movie like X to that of 2018 Halloween2019 Child’s play or 2022 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is impossible as X looks like what those movies were rather than what they have become.
With a film claiming a 95% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes with Tim Cogshell writing, “It’s really great, a throwback to those 1970s grindhouse movies”; how is exactly X considered a love letter to 70s movies? How does a director known for his previous genre work in V/H/S (VHS) and The Devil’s House create such a simple yet complex film in every possible way? X overall feels like the standard slasher where a crazed killer murders a group of sex-crazed teenagers, however, the movie does that and more. X combines a strong theme, classic cinema, and meta-story to make this film a love letter to ’70s slashers.
Slashers aren’t known for having a theme that resonates with audiences; the goals of movies are always to scare and disgust you. X certainly does the latter of the two, with the majority of critics shouting how bloody it is, like Peter Gray, who wrote, “A nasty slasher with a wicked sense of humor and a taste for blood.” Yet between the gore that can be described as that of Eli Roth Hotel the film has a deep message about getting old and wanting to go back to the past. Pearl’s film antagonist, played by Mia Goth, is an older woman who is jealous of teenagers for their beauty. Pearl herself talks about how beautiful she was when she was younger and all the guys wanted her. Now her husband wants nothing to do with her and she feels completely alone.
Although Pearl brutally murdered our group of teenagers, she bears heavy scrutiny of the film alongside Maxine, also played by Mia Goth. These two characters oppose each other perfectly but, in the end, are one. Pearl exists as what a wasted life Maxine would lead to, explained by her desire to regain her youth and change her life. Both of these characters are blinded by the impact their appearance has on others. While Maxine wants to use her good looks to get everyone to love her before she gets old, Pearl wants her good looks back so that at least one person loves her. This idea of growing old runs throughout the film, with each character representing a unique take on this theme. The character of Lorraine, played by Jenna Ortega, becomes an individual who flees her naivety and wants to be considered an adult. Her desire to be an adult leads her to her unfortunate death.
The concept of growing old and letting go of the past or embracing it can also be seen in the film’s choice of music. Two song choices from “Landslide” and “Don’t Fear the Reaper” play into the film’s theme immensely; even though “Don’t Fear the Reaper” hints at the death of one of the characters, it’s his “Landslide” that holds the most significance. The song revolves around fear of regrets or chasing your dreams, with our two main characters falling into one of these two categories. Pearl is the person who is afraid of regretting not having enjoyed her youth so much, while Maxine is the one who is chasing her dreams. “Don’t Fear the Reaper” plays right before a character dies, alluding to their death for the reaper, but also the theme of living life to the fullest.
“Don’t Fear the Reaper” is actually a common song in the horror genre, with 1978 and 2007 Halloween using the song as well as zombieland and 1996 Scream. So when you first watch the movie, you might consider this more of an easter egg or a reference like X is filled to the brim with references to Psycho, The Shining, Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and so many other movies. Yet in this film, the use of music plays a crucial role in the story with the theme of the film separating it from the others.
Cinema has changed and improved over the years with the use of green screen and CGI reinventing cinema with films like Creation and Avatar feel more realistic than the world around us. Platelight is now used for movies like Thor: Love and Thunder, which replaces the need for green screens. When it came to doing X, Ti decided to take a classic cinematic approach, specifically 16mm cameras. Due to filming during the COVID-19 pandemic, access to special equipment was nearly impossible, so the crew filmed with regular equipment. In an interview with SlashFilm, Ti said, “We shot with the Sony Venice and used these groovy hawk lenses. I did my best to make people think I shot in 16. It’s not so much out of nostalgia for the format. Cinema offers a certain aesthetic that digital is almost there, but not the same. Especially when you make a movie like this, that’s part of its charm.”
To continue with the idea of embracing classic cinema, lighting was used as a way to create a celluloid feel. In the same interview with SlashFilm, Ti explains how “in post, there’s a minimal amount of blurring throughout the entire film, which takes away some of the sharpness – and then there’s a certain amount of moving grain that we shot some film to layer on top of this. It all looks like a ton of work, and it’s kind of invisible when you watch the film because it’s not grindhouse or kitsch. It’s here to take over on the modernity of technology.” No technology from the 70s was used to create the feel of classic cinema, but rather, it was done in post.
When it came to blending the use of classic lenses and unique lighting alongside post-grain, the film looked like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974 as the director intended. The rural Texas setting was a direct inspiration from the Leatherface-directed film, with a similar but not identical house used. The use of costumes and props contributes to the classic cinematic feel as well as practical effects for gore instead of CGI. Each of the six teenagers is dressed in very bright 60s/70s outfits, with an actress looking like Marilyn Monroe while Mia Goth wears bright blue eyeshadow and Kid Cudi wears a 70s pornstache and afro.
Although the props themselves are nothing special, the use of practical effects could be considered shocking in its violence. The recent Seen movies used less and less practical gore and relied almost entirely on CGI gore, but in this film the kills ranging from someone’s face blown out to a pitchfork in the eye were all done practically. Despite the increased cost of making the film this way, it was necessary to make the film look like 70s movies that didn’t rely on CGI. Head molds were used for large death pieces alongside a fake torso for Kid Cudi and Brittany Snow.
While horror movies are known for their disturbing kills, they also tend to have unique and intriguing stories, with X being no exception. X details a time when the adult film industry was just beginning to find its footing when everyone wanted to make it big. Ti decided to take two genres at the time, horror films and adult films, which were considered alien at the time and bring them together. Right now, anyone could be a filmmaker if you produced either of those two genres because they would go directly to consumers rather than through a studio that X showcases. The 70s were a huge year for the film industry with The Godfather, Jaws, Superman, Star Wars, Apocalypse Now, Rocky, and Extraterrestrial all released during this decade. A single horror movie wouldn’t be successful, but if it was combined with science fiction or adventure, then the movie could be marketed. When Ti (TY) knew he wanted to make a 70s movie, he took the genre that could never work on its own and combined it with the genre that was considered taboo at the time.
During the 70s and 80s, elements of the adult genre were somewhat present in other horror films in the form of nudity. Halloween, Friday the 13th, and The last house on the left are just a few of the movies that have an adult subplot. Whereas X certainly has a lot more nudity than those films, there may actually be similarities drawn from the fact that hormonal teenagers have no idea of their surroundings.
When it comes to making a film that is a love letter, this task cannot be easy. When it came to x, however, it was a mission that seemed necessary for director Ti West. He created a theme that will always be relevant as everyone grows up and has regrets. The contrast between the characters of Pearl and Maxine helps the theme as it shows both sides of the theme while the other characters represent the middle ground. Classic cinematic technique became the most important part of the film to make it feel like a 70s movie. The combination of grainy editing, 16mm lenses and celluloid lighting creates the feel of a classic movie. To tie it all together, meta-storytelling brings together 70s storytelling and modern meta-movies. The combination of two 70s taboo genres (TAH-BOO) creates X, a movie that’s a love letter to ’70s slashers. Thanks for watching, whether it’s from your cabin in the woods or a house in the middle of nowhere in Texas. Be sure to like, subscribe, and tune in next time for more great content.
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