A24’s most recent venture into horror plays with the conventions of the classic slasher. X is a delicately crafted horror film that manages to comment on the female experience by reimagining the conventions of two seemingly separate genres: horror and porn. X pays homage to the films that inspired it while still pushing the boundaries of the genres it subverts.
A group of young adults, who all fit the typical archetypes of slasher film victims, head out to a small farm in the American countryside where they plan to shoot an adult film. Once they arrive at this farm, one quickly begins to note that something is not quite right with a creepy old man aiming shotguns at them and a disturbed old woman staring at them through a window.
The film, however, goes beyond being a simple slasher fest and, to understand how, one needs only to examine the title of the film, X: this film is the literal intersection between violence and sexuality. This intersection is emphasised when the film uses several sharp contrasting jump-cuts between the filming of sex scenes and tropey horror scenes (which also includes a fair share of homages to classics of the genre like Psycho and The Shining). This technique draws attention to the similarities between the two and how women’s bodies are viewed in each.
The continued juxtaposition of violence and sexuality serves as a way of commenting on the lived experience of women in a patriarchal society. The cuts imply a relationship between violence and sexuality; however, it does not stop there, as the cuts continually disrupt your immersion in the film. This is done in order to draw your attention to the fact that “film” is a space wherein these issues are most easily viewed, or it is suggesting that film is responsible for the modern, or perhaps postmodern, relationship between violence and sexuality. The film has a particular focus on the “male gaze” and on how these two genres have come to shape how women are viewed in our general society. The film, while highlighting the shortcomings of these two genres in its subversion, also attempts to reframe sexuality through their recontextualisation.
The period in which the film is set brings with it a view of sexuality and femininity underpinned by patriarchal ideals. The women in this context are controlled by and subject to the violence of the patriarchy: they are viewed as either the Madonna or the whore and there is no inbetween. The film, furthermore, attempts to bridge the gap between this archaic understanding of women, particularly in film, with a recontextualised understanding.
One way in which the film does this is through the relationship between protagonist and antagonist, both masterfully played by Mia Goth. This relationship highlights that, in a patriarchal society, the line between describing a woman as the protagonist or antagonist is often blurred. The fact that these two opposites are played by the same actress illustrates this blurred line, while also highlighting the struggle that comes with ageing in a society where significant value is placed on physical beauty. This is alluded to early in the film when Goth, in her role as the protagonist, is found floating in a lake: an image akin to Ophelia in her last moments. This allusion to the classic Shakespeare play further emphasises the complex relationship between sexuality and violence in the experience of women throughout history. Goth serves as the postmodern Ophelia: doomed to the same fate… or is she? Through viewing the film with this in mind, one can begin to see it as a feminist rewriting of horror, porn and Shakespeare.
One of the main ways in which the film pays tribute to slashers of the past is through its use of tropes in the horror genre: the classic “handheld” camera stalking a character through a forest is readily used to create tension and there are also plenty of those old-school fades to black. While these campy traditions would have made for a fine slasher film, X pushes beyond these tropes and uses an intricate repertoire of modern techniques – whether that be with character close-ups or Wes Anderson-esque symmetry. The film further employs the clever use of natural lighting, wherein yellows, blues and reds are all used to create meaning or help connect the film to its predecessors.
Another interesting aspect of the cinematography is the constant switch between a standard digital camera and a grainy film camera, which is used for the “porno” shots. The digital camera’s crisp, clear footage is familiar to audiences and aims to fully engross them in the narrative, while the film camera produces old-school, grainy footage that reminds the audience that they are watching a film within a film. This switching continually breaks the audience’s immersion and forces them to confront the reality of what they are viewing: it allows the audience to bring their critical mind to the “digital” parts of a scene as well.
This is a confrontational film that uses juxtaposition as a weapon against its audience. It not only forces you to face the delicate balance between sexuality and violence, but also brings to light the relationship between film and these two concepts. It reimagines horror and porn by blurring the line between them. A film that is most definitely not for the squeamish, but for those that enjoy a good slasher, you will love this. Beware, however, as you might get an unexpected dose of critical self-reflection.
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