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Gladiator II review – Paul Mescal slays in Ridley Scott’s gobsmacking reboot

Scott’s return to the Roman arena is something of a repeat, but it’s still a thrilling spectacle and Mescal a formidable lead. We are entertained

What’s Latin for “Groundhog Day”? Once upon a time, Russell Crowe’s beefy hero Maximus in Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandal classic Gladiator was the honest soldier outside the snickering metropolitan elite, out to gain vengeance and redeem Roman honour in the blood-spattered arena, his raw courage exposing the politicians’ contemptible decadence. His defiant cry “Are you not entertained?” spoke to the showbiz-political complex of our own time and when it was alleged last year that most men thought about ancient Rome every day , the suspicion was that what they were actually thinking about was … that film.

Now we are a generation along, and little has changed, in fact almost nothing. This sequel is watchable and spectacular, with the Colosseum created not digitally but as a gobsmacking 1-to-1 scale physical reconstruction with real crowds. Yet this film is weirdly almost a next-gen remake, effectively reincarnating almost every single narrative component of the original in a variant form, the events of the first film echoing in franchise eternity.

For me, its existence means injuring the original’s innocence, ever so slightly. Maximus was famously devoted to the memory of his murdered wife and son, though it seemed as if there had once been some emotional history, before his marriage, between him and the emperor’s daughter Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), who has a boy of her own. Well, that boy turns out to have been Maximus’s. Who knew? Maybe not Maximus.

At 28, Paul Mescal is younger than Crowe’s 36 when he took the lead in G1, but he is massively bulked up with a new sonorous Britspeak growl: charismatic and likable in the ways Mescal always is. He is young Lucius, who as a child made a chaotic escape from the moral cesspit of Rome and is grown to adulthood in separatist Africa Nova territory which now faces being subdued by the clumsy cruelty of the Roman empire; he is a soldier and his wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen) is no simpering hausfrau but a warrior also. There is no mention of a child but I have a feeling we might in years to come find out about a son hidden away from the danger of battle. The Romans’ tough, honest general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) does his duty but respects the Africans’ martial bravery and has no truck with decadent Roman politicians; he is effectively the new version of Maximus battling the Teutons.

Lucius is captured, sold into slavery and … yes … becomes a gladiator just like his dad, though intriguing and impressing his captors with an ability to quote Virgil. And just like his dad he confronts the lisping, sneering, drawling, unmanly ruling class like Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus – but this time split into two: the co-emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), each sporting panda-level eyeliner. As the slave-owner and slave-trainer, Denzel Washington inherits Oliver Reed’s role; he plays the cunning and ambitious Macrinus, who plans to parlay his warlord status into political power, a Roman Yevgeny Prigozhin.

In fact Washington almost steals the entire picture as Macrinus shrewdly exploits the gambling addiction of Tim McInnerny’s weak and duplicitous Senator Thraex. It is Washington who gets the line that might yet be this film’s social-media meme as he hisses into Thraex’s cringing face: “That, my friend, is politicsssssss – ah!” And as Lucius becomes a new insurgent superstar in this world of bread-and-circuses, a plot is hatched between Lucilla and Marcus Acacius to do away with the hateful Geta and Caracalla and reinstate the Republic.

It is impossible to avoid the pedantic deja vu in this film, or the feeling that its novelties are byproducts arrived at almost accidentally. Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla is the one female character in the film with agency; she has a difficult, unspoken relationship with our hero, just like the first time around, but which here creates a weirdly Oedipal energy. Lucius maybe comes close in his emotional confusion to Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, and Lucilla’s own scene in the gladiatorial arena has something almost kinky in it – though it’s probably obtuse to start finding kinky aspects to a story whose costumes are all so outrageously sex-positive.

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This is a sequel that isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty – it delivers the keynote scenes and moments for the fanbase (which is all of us) and the all-important gladiator setpieces have the right hallucinatory quality, as a sea-battle is re-enacted in the flooded arena or a vast rhino gets its scaly backside kicked. When Lucius has to fight vicious baboons in one scene, it almost looks like sci-fi. Gladiator v alien?

Ridley Scott is one of cinema’s modern marvels with his extraordinary run of high-energy pictures in the last few years delivered at a terrific storytelling gallop: the Rashomon nightmare The Last Duel , the true-crime melodrama House of Gucci and the excellent and underestimated Napoleon bio-epic. As for Gladiator II, he’s galloping back over old ground, galloping in a circle perhaps. But there is something awe-inspiring in seeing Paul Mescal’s triumphal march into the A-list.

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Halfway through Ti West 's "X," a ragtag gang of porno filmmakers, including high-minded director RJ ( Owen Campbell ) and his shy girlfriend/sound girl Lorraine ( Jenna Ortega ) face a challenge. Lorraine's been watching their movie's stars perform sex acts for the camera all day, and announces, to everyone's surprise, that she'd like to give it a shot. An annoyed RJ tells Lorraine they're too far into the story. Adding her in would change their movie's whole direction.

"What about 'Psycho'?" Lorraine asks, reminding RJ that Hitchcock's movie introduces a new set of protagonists halfway through. "Psycho" is horror, RJ says, and they're not making a horror film. They're making porn. Of course, our characters are about to learn they are part of a horror picture. They just happen to be living it, not making it.

This scene and its mounting meta-commentary describe "X"'s reason for being in a nutshell: it's an icky good time that's primarily a love letter to the filmmaking process. Structural shifts and tonal sleight-of-hand are part of its self-referential approach. "X" is a clever formal experiment, but one that plays like a feature-length joke for horror fans and filmmakers rather than offering a distinct perspective. West conjures nasty fun with a genre enthusiast's expertise and then doesn't offer much beyond that.

The grist for this gory, sexy mill comes in the form of would-be adult film empresario Wayne ( Martin Henderson ), his girlfriend Maxine ( Mia Goth ), burlesque dancer Bobby-Lynne ( Brittany Snow ), and Bobby-Lynne's boyfriend/co-star Jackson (Scott " Kid Cudi " Mescudi), in addition to RJ and Lorraine. It's 1979, and Wayne has booked the crew space on a farm outside Houston to shoot their movie "The Farmer's Daughters," which he expects will be a hit on the emerging home video market.

Wayne's chosen location is a rickety, creepy cabin owned by Howard ( Stephen Ure ), an old coot who disapproves of Wayne and his crew. Howard's invalid wife Pearl, whose impressive casting I won't reveal, envies the group's youth and virility, and is particularly drawn to the determined-but-insecure Maxine. Anyone picking up "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" vibes or making note of RJ and Lorraine's "Psycho" discussion can see where this is headed. Suffice it to say that as evening descends, the body count rises. 

West delights in the atmosphere of his setting and the historical hallmarks of the lurid sandboxes he's playing in. His knowledge and humor is evident in Maxine's Linda Lovelace-inspired hair and makeup, the swampy, sweaty heat of the film's coastal Texas locale, and Jackson's baby-blue leisure suit and perfect afro.

The film crew's "let's-put-on-a-show" ethos highlights the plucky, hard-fought joys of low-budget filmmaking, recalling movies like " Ed Wood " or "Dolemite is My Name." When the focus switches to out-and-out horror, the source of "X's" enthusiasm and devotion also changes. Instead of the characters being energized by the ad-hoc creative process, it's West himself who radiates excitement, nearly becoming an off-camera character as "X" gleefully picks off its filmmaker proxies one by one.

But "X" never goes deeper than these visceral pleasures. There are hints at an even weirder potential storyline, or themes about the commodification of youth and beauty. None of this goes beyond suggestion. Howard and Pearl particularly feel like missed opportunities, plopped into genre stereotypes and ignoring the economic and cultural undercurrents which helped make the Sawyer family of "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and Norman Bates of "Psycho" so iconic.

"X" is all about having a good time and relishing the hard work, dedication, and satisfaction of independent filmmaking, regardless of genre. That clear joy is admirable, but West's ode to technical and artistic ingenuity undervalues the context that played a significant role in the success of the movies he so lovingly references. "X" is plenty of fun; it also feels like a trifle that could easily have been much more.

This review was filed from the 2022 SXSW Film Festival. The film opens on March 18th.

Abby Olcese

Abby Olcese is a film critic and writer based in Kansas City, where she is the film editor for The Pitch Magazine. Abby is a regular contributor to RogerEbert.com, Sojourners Magazine and Think Christian, where she writes about the intersection of popular culture and spirituality.

• Mia Goth as Maxine
• Jenna Ortega as Lorraine
• Brittany Snow as Bobby-Lynne
• Kid Cudi as Jackson Hole
• Martin Henderson as Wayne
• Owen Campbell as RJ
• Stephen Ure as Howard
• James Gaylyn as Sheriff Dentler
• David Kashevaroff

Cinematographer

• Eliot Rockett
• Tyler Bates

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Metacritic reviews

• 100 Screen Daily Nikki Baughan Screen Daily Nikki Baughan There are some tremendous misdirects, effective jump scares, and literal piles of gore. There just happens to be plenty of brains to go with all that blood.
• 91 Consequence Brett Arnold Consequence Brett Arnold Ti West’s X is a strange and wonderful return to form for the indie-horror phenom, an ode to the life-altering magic of cheap and dirty horror pictures. 13 years after his breakout hit in the genre, Ti West has added another great horror film to the canon.
• 85 Slashfilm Matt Donato Slashfilm Matt Donato Ti West is back with a violent vengeance, slicing and dicing through likable characters that light up the screen throughout their doomed and debaucherous overnight shoot. West is operating on another level — even the slightest editing cut cranks fear factors another notch higher.
• 83 The Playlist Jason Bailey The Playlist Jason Bailey With its shout-outs to horror classics and juicy pay-offs of its own, X feels like the movie West was born to make.
• 83 The A.V. Club Todd Gilchrist The A.V. Club Todd Gilchrist While you’re languishing in the performances and period detail, West is sneaking up to pull the rug out from beneath you, or to raze some outdated cliché. X is bloody, ballsy fun.
• 83 IndieWire Robert Daniels IndieWire Robert Daniels While West isn’t always operating on the same levels as his influences, his signature flair for tension through simmering slow-burn pacing remains unparalleled.
• 82 Polygon Rafael Motamayor Polygon Rafael Motamayor West delivers a crowd-pleasing return to horror that’s a love letter to the genre without becoming a parody.
• 80 Variety Owen Gleiberman Variety Owen Gleiberman X is a wily and entertaining slow-motion ride of terror that earns its shocks, along with its singular quease factor, which relates to the fact that the demons here are ancient specimens of humanity who actually have a touch of…humanity.
• 80 Empire Kim Newman Empire Kim Newman West’s frightfilms are playful — a stereotype is inverted as guys wander half-naked to their doom like stereotypical slasher starlets — but run to serious scares. X is a properly satisfying shocker.
• 75 RogerEbert.com RogerEbert.com X is a clever formal experiment, but one that plays like a feature-length joke for horror fans and filmmakers rather than offering a distinct perspective. West conjures nasty fun with a genre enthusiast’s expertise and then doesn't offer much beyond that.
• See all 35 reviews on Metacritic.com
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Ti West’s X aims its slasher-movie homage straight at classic horror fanatics

Mia Goth stars in a dual role in a movie that pays tribute to Texas Chain Saw Massacre, in its own striking way

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by Rafael Motamayor

This review of Ti West’s X originally came from the 2022 media expo SXSW. It has been updated for the film’s digital release.

The House of the Devil director Ti West never left horror. It’s been nearly a decade since his last horror movie, The Sacrament , but he’s stayed busy in horror TV, directing episodes of Scream: The TV Series , The Exorcist , Them , and more. He returns to his big-screen roots with X , a deliciously gory, delightfully funny homage to 1970s indie filmmaking that lures viewers into a false sense of security with a fun hangout movie, then unleashes all hell on the screen. By the time the credits roll, it makes sense that A24 would confirm this as the distribution house’s first horror franchise .

In 1979, strip-club owner Wayne (Martin Henderson) decides to gather a group of friends, employees, and a couple of idealistic filmmaking-enthusiast tagalongs to shoot a porn film that will make them all famous . There’s Wayne’s girlfriend Maxine (Mia Goth), Bobby-Lane (Brittany Snow), and Jackson (Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi), who will star in the film. Of course, this won’t be just any old porn film. As writer, director, editor, and cinematographer R.J. (Owen Campbell) explains, he’s here to prove that it’s “possible to make a good dirty movie.” He’s ready to employ avant-garde techniques and everything, and he’s brought along his girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) as boom-mic operator. Of course, given that this is a ragtag production, corners are cut — most notably, the cast and crew are staying at a remote farmhouse owned by an elderly couple who are supposedly unaware of what they’re planning to do. Soon enough, bodies start dropping.

Though the premise of a porn shoot turning into a horror show could easily result in a schlocky parody, Ti West has more in mind. The adult-film angle serves two purposes — it puts a meta spin on the practically mandatory nudity and adult content of R-rated slasher films, and it uses the adult industry to speak about indie filmmaking at large. The first half of the film is a love letter to independent filmmaking, to the satisfactions of grabbing a group of like-minded friends and a camera, and heading to a remote location to make movies. At the Q&A following the film’s SXSW premiere, Ti West spoke about the similarities between horror and porn in the 1970s — specifically, the desire to break free from studio systems and make a name for yourself, with nothing in hand but a good idea.

Given that this is a horror film about a group of young people in Texas, there are clear homages to Tobe Hooper’s original 1974 movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , especially in the beginning, where West is following a group of friends having a good time, unaware of the carnage waiting for them. West carefully waits to unveil the carnage, choosing to focus on character work and setting a creepy mood through long takes and ominous cutaways. (The A24 way!) The story isn’t all gloom and doom — West is clearly having a ball making this an enjoyable comedy, too. Double entendres and crude jokes fill the first half of the film, like the team’s van reading “Plowing Services.” Even when the killings begin, most of them have a lighthearted tone.

This is in no small part due to the cast, especially Brittany Snow, whose turn as a wannabe porn star makes for a hilarious return to horror for the actress. Meanwhile, Mescudi does an impressive job as the guy full of bravado and confidence, a veteran who fears nothing, even when he should. Still, this is Mia Goth’s movie: She pulls double duty as both the lead character and as house owner Pearl, subject of a planned spinoff prequel. Goth infuses both characters with a burning desire to obtain fame, and a deep fear of losing it. Even when buried under tons of makeup, her performance shines through.

As funny as X gets at times, however, it’s just as effective at providing scares as it is at provoking laughs. Once the kills begin, West unleashes heavy gore and entertaining death scenes, enhanced by effective, novel editing that West and his co-editor David Kashevaroff use to enhance the scares, or create new ones. From smash cuts and juxtapositions to cutting away from a kill to an unrelated scene to screen wipes and split-screens, X makes for an unpredictable experience.

Sadly, as great as the makeup is, it follows the recent unfortunate trope of villainizing the elderly, implying that aging naturally turns people into vicious villains . Get ready for gratuitous scenes of naked elderly people, designed to suggest that aging is gross and scary.

Tired stereotypes aside, though, West delivers a crowd-pleasing return to horror that’s a love letter to the genre without becoming a parody. This is no Texas Chain Saw Massacre rip-off , but it is still the best Texas Chain Saw Massacre film of the year. Ti West is back — may he not leave us again anytime soon.

X is now widely available for rental or purchase on Amazon , Vudu , and other digital platforms. The prequel, Pearl , is coming to theaters Sept. 16.

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The Slasher Film X Is a Modern Classic

The movie evokes the grind-house energy of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre while also pulling off thoroughly modern cinematic tricks.

A month ago, another installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series was released, an attempt to modernize the horror franchise while still harkening back to its gritty 1970s roots. It was a creative failure, too reliant on digitally enhanced gore and thudding callbacks. The task of matching an all-time classic seemed impossible. But a new horror film proves that challenge was hardly insurmountable: Ti West’s X is a lurid slasher based in rural ’70s Texas that brings plenty of invention to a tried-and-true setting.

X blends old and new, rather than just proffering empty references. The film evokes the grind-house energy of the original Texas Chainsaw while also pulling off complicated cinematic tricks that wouldn’t have been possible 50 years ago. West is a director with a deep understanding of period aesthetics—his breakthrough 2009 work, The House of the Devil , was a precise homage to the VHS video nasties of the ’80s; it looked like a once-banned movie that had just been unearthed. X could be another tribute, and even hints at the nasties genre with a teasing prologue in which a local sheriff comes upon a crime scene littered with mysterious film canisters.

West’s latest is titled after the now-defunct rating once given to the most shocking movies; fittingly, the canisters contain a few spicy reels of pornography. X follows a semiprofessional film crew that journeys to a small town to make a skin flick, renting a house on the land of two elderly farmers. Eventually, their shenanigans attract their hosts’ attention, the dynamic turns sour, and characters start to die, but X takes a surprisingly long time to move into slasher territory. West carefully builds out the relationships between each worker on the shoot while incorporating detailed backstory for the creepy older couple, meaning the monstrousness that unfolds later has real narrative purpose.

Read: The most purely enjoyable horror movie made in years

X is spearheaded by a pair of performances by the same actor, Mia Goth, who plays Maxine, one of the stars of the porno, and (buried under pounds of excellent makeup) Pearl, the reclusive older woman who takes an interest in the scandalous goings-on. The dual showcase is a remarkable one for Goth, who previously stood out in supporting roles in Emma , High Life , and A Cure for Wellness . Maxine is headstrong and assured of her future stardom. Pearl is a wispy ghost of a woman, reminiscing on her youthful beauty. West could have easily presented the character as pathetic, or stirred up by an inscrutable demonic fervor, but he instead lets the audience get to know Pearl and her ornery husband, Howard, before the two start chasing the youngsters around the farm.

The other unlucky guests are played by Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Scott Mescudi, and Brittany Snow, each of whom gets to have fun with characters who are vague without being mere cannon fodder. West is genuinely interested in analyzing the clash that takes over the farm, not just between old and young but between the repressed and the liberated; the carnage the couple carry out is motivated by their own confused feelings about sex. In the slashers of yore, an eye-roll-inducing motif was that sexually active characters would be picked off before the heroic virgins. Here, West makes that unspoken rule explicit, and so casts Howard and Pearl’s pent-up fury as all the more unsettling.

Outshining those thematic underpinnings, though, is West’s pure craft; he designs each scare sequence with consummate care, and refrains from using cheap jumps or overwhelming music to push up the tension. X has one of the best “character explores a dark cellar” scenes that I’ve ever seen—a standard of the genre, fine-tuned to perfection here. The set is simple—just two ramshackle homes and a field between them—and the budget seems fairly small, but the richness of West’s script and the depth of his characterization make everything feel expansive. The horror genre has, of late, been hijacked by purportedly “elevated” takes that avoid the simplicity of something like a slasher. X provides a map for how to do the classics right while still taking the formula somewhere original.

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Writer-director Ti West’s X is a horror movie that draws on the influences of 1970s slasher flicks while simultaneously exploring sex at different ages and perspectives. The result is a well-paced, slow-burn horror film that is confident in driving forward its momentum before going all out in its finale. There are elements of the narrative that could have been deepened, but X works on so many levels that it’s easy to dismiss them. Smart, well-paced, intentional, and fraught with fascinating themes and character arcs, X is a worthwhile slasher film that is aided by a great cast.

Set in 1979, the film opens with a couple of police officers arriving on the scene of an old farm in Texas. They are disgusted by what they see and it’s clear that viewers are in for quite a ride before the film backtracks to 24 hours earlier to reveal exactly what happened. Burlesque owner Wayne (Martin Henderson) has his sights on making adult films and recruits girlfriend Maxine (Mia Goth), an aspiring actress who wants to make it big in Hollywood, to star in the porn film The Farmer’s Daughter . Joining them on this filmmaking journey are Maxine's co-stars Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), Jackson (Kid Cudi), the director RJ (Owen Campbell) — who doesn’t want to make a porno, but a great film — and Lorraine (Jenna Ortega), RJ’s girlfriend who is quiet and seemingly disapproving. They start filming not long after arriving at a farm home Wayne rented from Howard (Stephen Ure) and his wife Pearl, a creepy couple living in the farm's main home who lurk in the shadows.

Related:  10 Best Horror Movies That Aren't Scary, According To Reddit

X is perhaps most interesting when exploring Pearl, her reactions to porn and sex in general, and the deep yearning she still has for it. Much of her frustration stems from her wanting to be touched and her husband being hesitant to have sex with her because he could have a heart attack and die from the exertion. This creates a distance between them, but something awakens in Pearl at the arrival of the youthful bunch. Her fascination with Maxine, in particular, reawakens her lust; at the same time, Pearl’s judgement of Maxine, despite the fact she reminds her of herself, is steeped in her disdain of the younger’s youth and appearance. This dynamic makes for quite a few juicy interactions that are laden with unbridled desire, a desperate need, and an understanding on the part of the audience for Pearl’s actions, as well as Maxine's.

What makes X stand out is in the way it subverts expectations. The old couple's motives aren't exactly cut and dry, and the film delves into women's sex lives and desires without shaming them for it. Sex is a motivator throughout, as is the curiosity to explore it. In many horror movies , having sex — be it for the first time or in general — leaves one open to becoming a victim of the killer on the prowl. But X flips that on its head in unexpected ways that work for the story being told and winds up being fairly sex-positive in doing so. Besides the unexpected takes on sex, the horror film also thoughtfully touches upon age, as well as who gets to be desired and feel desirable in the eyes of society as a result.

The gore itself is plentiful and cinematographer Eliot Rockett films death scenes from different angles that amplify each moment without lingering too long on anything that is deemed unnecessary. A scene that sees one of the characters discovering another’s dead body has the right amount of shock and terror before the camera pans away to focus on the former’s attempted escape. The first kill is accompanied by "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult and it seems especially fitting for the scene, making it all the more creepy and intense.

X isn't afraid to lean into the patient, yet suspenseful energy that makes slasher films so intriguing to watch and it doesn't completely sacrifice its plot to do so. While X could have dug a bit deeper into certain aspects of the story, the film’s twists, layered themes, and intriguing character dynamics blend together to make it one of the best horror films of the year so far.

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X is playing in theaters as of Friday, March 18. The film is 105 minutes long and is rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, and language.

Director Ti West presents X, a horror slasher film set in 1979 in rural Texas that follows a group of amateur filmmakers attempting to shoot a pornographic film. When the group gets further along in the film, and the elderly homeowners take notice, they slowly realize they've drawn their formerly gracious hosts' ire - and jealously.

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Ti West’s direction paired with Eliot Rockett’s cinematography is a damn delight. They capture the late 1970’s with style and excellence.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 23, 2024

Although a slower burn than its trailer would suggest, X still manages to be an effectively nasty 70s slasher throwback, with enough sex and violence to satisfy horror fans.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jul 12, 2024

A modern slasher masterpiece that loves its ancestors.

Full Review | Jul 11, 2024

The film feels like an ouroboros and repeat viewings of the movie will make you realize that the film told you exactly what was going to happen if you were paying attention.

Full Review | Jun 2, 2024

Never have I walked out so pleased with a movie that also had me absolutely disgusted. A true horror gem.

Full Review | Aug 9, 2023

A throwback to old school Video Nasties & B Rated horror movies. Ortega and Goth steal the show…. I left intrigued with what the prequel/sequel will be but A24 has another hit for indie films & I can’t stop thinking about the film

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

X felt like it was meandering without a purpose. And maybe that was the point–to enjoy the ride without being bogged down by a hefty plot. Those going to the theatre to see the nudity and gore of the horror movies of yesteryear will leave satisfied.

Separately, X and Pearl might not have made my 10 Best of 2022 list; together, how could they not?

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 13, 2023

A gruesome slasher reminiscent of classic horror.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 6, 2023

Ends with a wholly satisfying finale and avoids the pitfalls of frustrating the audience, as so many independent horror films seem to do. It’s a slower burn for sure, but what a bloody, gory, rewarding ride.

Full Review | Jan 4, 2023

I can give X the benefit of the doubt [with hindsight], accepting it as an entrypoint into a much larger world regardless of how incomplete it ultimately feels on its own.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Dec 30, 2022

X was true to its name, explicit sexual scenes, horrify scenarios & every more on the stories backdrop. But as a horror film Ti West nails it with his touch on horror story telling and worst case scenario perspective for every character it’s a insane ride

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Dec 26, 2022

It's crass and ghastly, with an on-the-nose premise fit for the often- sensationalist slasher genre and the salacious X-rated cinema embedded in this story.

Full Review | Dec 16, 2022

The film itself goes beyond being merely a ‘blood and guts killer time’ with an array of porn star characters. It feeds into your adrenaline and spikes it up to ten.

Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10 | Dec 15, 2022

If you're looking for a slow burn horror flick with plenty of atmosphere and faux-grindhouse aesthetics then X gon' give it to you!

Full Review | Original Score: B | Dec 10, 2022

The characters are fleshed-out and kooky — you’ll mourn when they meet their inevitable slaughter. And for a slasher, the acting is remarkably good: Jenna Ortega and Mia Goth in particular are scene-stealers.

Full Review | Dec 3, 2022

X reanimates perennial fears of aging, older women, and one’s fading relevance.

Full Review | Nov 8, 2022

X is a daring slasher, filled with unexpected twists that leave viewers stewing in uncomfortable moments and horrifying realizations.

Full Review | Sep 13, 2022

X is a bold horror film that might just be the best dirty movie you’ve seen all year.

Full Review | Sep 8, 2022

If you go into this with your eyes open, it delivers a well-crafted slasher horror on all counts, even if its finale and body-count are hardly a surprise.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 1, 2022