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[Keebleman]

This is the new mono-lettered horror movie from Ti West, a full-blooded slasher set during a porn shoot, so gratuitous sex and violence is guaranteed.  It's only the second movie of his that I have seen after from The House of the Devil, and it has in common with that a refreshingly straightforward approach to the genre, some good filmmaking and characters that are a bit more interesting than ones you normally find in this sort of film.

But, like House of the Devil, it also has a pretty boring storyline that is very short on surprises.  It's just a question of waiting for the mayhem to begin and when it does it's not particularly suspenseful or scary.  It is gory in the extreme though.

[BritishHobo]

I had the same feeling as you. I wondered whether seeing the trailer ruined the effect, because it feels like the turn to slasher midway through is treated by the film as if it's a much more mindblowing twist than it is. And then as you say, the actual slashing is hurried through with very quickly, as if it's an afterthought. Sort of comes off like it's afraid of being a straight, unpretentious genre flick, but conversely is afraid of being too artsy and pretentious, so ultimately kinda hits neither.

[Keebleman]

Looking online after the film, I learned that if I had waited until the end then I would have seen a short trailer for Pearl, a prequel which has already been shot.

Another thing I learned afterwards was that Pearl

Spoiler alert

was played by none other than Mia Goth.  I had assumed she was played by a young or young-ish actress but didn't guess at the doubling-up.  (Once the main cast list had gone by and I hadn't recognised any of the names (not even La Goth) I didn't bother looking closely at who played who.)  Doesn't really have any significance beyond being an amusing gimmick, though I suppose it justifies her, presumably, having the lead in the prequel.

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[Noodle Lizard]

Copied from the Horror thread:

I don't think there was a single original idea in there, and I'm sort of left wondering what the point of it was. It's a 70s slasher movie, but it's by A24 and it's by Ti West so it gets a big screen release in 2022. In some ways, it shares more DNA and idiosyncrasies with preexisting pastiches of that genre (Tarantino, Rodriguez etc.) than actual films from that era. That said, it's one of the more graphic films I've seen in a while, a couple of decent kills, so it was nice to see that sort of thing on the big screen again.

That came off harsher than I intended it to, leading with the negatives, but it's also difficult to be too glowing about it either. It's perfectly fine fun, better than yer Blumhouse offerings, worth a watch. It's nice that a film has come out where "normal" people are actually talking about some of its highlights out in the real world, and I can see why some bits would make an impression on people less desensitized to horror/slashers than a lot of us film forum-dwellers probably are. The last horror film I can think of that had that sort of impact was probably Hereditary, which I don't think is all that good, but it certainly had individual bits or images which stuck in people's minds. I used to love nothing more than coming to school the Monday after an anticipated film had been released and talking about it with everyone, but that sort of experience is harder to come by now (perhaps outside of the Marvels). X somehow drew in a lot of people and gave them something a bit different, so that's nice. There's also a decent knob gag in it.

Couple more negatives, mind: a few bits felt like they were trying too hard to become iconic, though they're probably among the most popular bits (I'm thinking of the Landslide sequence), and it perhaps relied a little too heavily on the notion that old people are disgusting for its horror. On the other hand, it was sort of refreshing to see a

Spoiler alert

pretty graphic octogenarian sex scene

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in the cinema, even if it probably was played for grotesqueness more than anything else.

I too missed the post-credits scene/trailer, but I'd give the prequel a watch, sure.

[Keebleman]

I get that there could be accusations of ageism, but one of the movie's themes is "to this favour [we all] must come," which makes it a universal concern rather than one which effects only a particular group.

[Noodle Lizard]

I get that there could be accusations of ageism, but one of the movie's themes is "to this favour [we all] must come," which makes it a universal concern rather than one which effects only a particular group.

Oh yeah, I don't think it's hateful or anything, just a bit unimaginative perhaps - and I don't think any of those bits are nearly as unsettling as the "gross old person" bit in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

Another "nice thing" I'll say about it is that all the young characters were quite sympathetic and likeable, despite their archetypes. Even the "sleazy porn producer" came off as sort of decent overall. I think it approaches success at playing with the motivations/assumptions of the antagonists about these filthy, disrespectful young'uns - in a typical slasher, it's the entitlement and disrespect that tends to earn the young characters' "punishment", whereas here they're they're shown as being incredibly respectful and even compassionate towards the old couple immediately before being dispatched. So there's some clear playing around with horror movie tropes and archetypes -

Spoiler alert

the "churchmouse" being corrupted, and therefore disqualified from being the survivor you'd expect her to be

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- but I don't think it's especially effective, and feels a bit redundant after something like Cabin In The Woods anyway.

[mjwilson]

Looking online after the film, I learned that if I had waited until the end then I would have seen a short trailer

Not in the UK you wouldn't.

[Keebleman]

Not in the UK you wouldn't.

Oh right. Glad I didn't then.

Incidentally, The Next Picture Show podcast has just released a pair of episodes comparing and contrasting this film with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.


https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/tex-mess-pt-1-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-1974/id1057714949?i=1000555550087

[ImmaculateClump]

Ha! This was good, daft fun :D

Spoiler alert

I was rolling my eyes at the terrible old person makeup at first, but once you realise it's not taking itself seriously at all, everything fits nicely.

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[Small Man Big Horse]

I quite liked it too, I think having very low expectations helped after having skimmed the thread, and as others have commented it doesn't do anything that original but I thought it was well written and liked all of the characters/victims, and it was a kind of 3 and a half stars / 7/10 film for me.

[lipsink]

As with pretty much all of Ti West's stuff I loved the first half before all the blood and guts turned up. The tension and atmosphere was beautiful and unbearable at points. As soon as the stabbing and gore appeared I just got a bit bored. Though the

Spoiler alert

old couple shagging was something I hadn't seen before.

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[ImmaculateClump]

I quite liked it too, I think having very low expectations helped after having skimmed the thread, and as others have commented it doesn't do anything that original but I thought it was well written and liked all of the characters/victims, and it was a kind of 3 and a half stars / 7/10 film for me.

Yeah, my expectations were low as well, I must have popped my head in here as well, but that definitely helped. It's a three bagger for me, but a fun one.

[Exposition]

This is the kinda movie I was hoping Ti West would be making a decade ago to follow House of the Devil and The Inkeepers. I'm really glad he finally got there.

[C_Larence]

Watched this yesterday after hearing good things and was thoroughly disappointed. I thought the reveal at the end involving the televangelist was genuinely insulting to the audience. It was treated with some big twist yet had no impact at all on the story either before or after. The last 5-10 minutes were a complete mess in general, but the landslide scene might have been the worst part of the movie, it reminded me of the mid 2000s series "What's New Scooby Doo" which would have a jarring licensed music break every episode. Imagine the story being interrupted to show a montage of Shaggy and Scooby running away from a vampire while Ca Plane Pour Moi plays.

[Noodle Lizard]

Watched this yesterday after hearing good things and was thoroughly disappointed. I thought the reveal at the end involving the televangelist was genuinely insulting to the audience. It was treated with some big twist yet had no impact at all on the story either before or after. The last 5-10 minutes were a complete mess in general, but the landslide scene might have been the worst part of the movie, it reminded me of the mid 2000s series "What's New Scooby Doo" which would have a jarring licensed music break every episode. Imagine the story being interrupted to show a montage of Shaggy and Scooby running away from a vampire while Ca Plane Pour Moi plays.

I found it less offensive than you, but I agree with everything you said. The set-up at the beginning with the cops going "Chief, you better come have a look in here, you're not gonna believe this!" had absolutely no payoff (all I can assume is he was referring to the corpse in the basement, but would that be so difficult to believe after seeing the four or five other mangled bodies strewn about the place?) Nothing really came together - instead at the end we get that televangelist reveal which is, as you say, shite.

I hated the Landslide bit too. Try-hard nonsense, and intercutting it with the old lady being all old reminded me of one of the Sad Piano montages in Derek more than anything else, but I do wonder if it might have been a contractual thing for Kid Cudi or Brittany Snow to show off their musical chops. We should just be thankful it wasn't Ed Helms, lest a sitar be incongruously whipped out at any given opportunity.

[C_Larence]

Don't tease me with the prospect of Ed Helms getting mauled by an alligator.

[SteveDave]

This was alright. Took a long time to get where we all knew it was going to get to.

[zomgmouse]

I thought this was good fun, maybe strengthened by watching it with a friend, but I thought it was maybe his best since (or maybe even better than) The House of the Devil. The moments of gore were well executed and effective (and satisfying!), plus lots of good creepy moments. Nothing extraordinary but very enjoyable. Will definitely be watching the prequel.

[dissolute ocelot]

I definitely felt that the early pre-slashing stuff was much more interesting than the later part, although the whole film was very well made with some very nice shots, interesting editing, and good acting. But I would have liked to see it further developing the dynamics between the characters; instead, once the killing started, everyone was separated off and they barely interacted, so it was just a series of chases and scenes of peril.

Also while I think the idea of the old couple was clever and unusual, it would have worked better if they looked like ordinary human beings rather than Lords of the Rings villains. Always scarier with have normal-looking people.

Still, very impressive.

[zomgmouse]

The sequel to this is coming out soon I believe. I'll be watching!