X Brings Back the Old-School 70s Slasher that Doesn’t Hold Back on the Gore and Kills

I remember the first time I had seen the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The feeling that I felt was pure dread, and I was in shock the first time I had seen the film.

I didn’t think I would ever be able to experience that kind of tension again.

Then, Ti West brought a modern masterpiece to horror fans, taking place in the ’70s. The story follows a girl named Maxine, who is traveling with a group of people who are determined to film a movie.

I won’t say what kind of movie…because it’s uh… crazy.

Let’s just say… they are determined to make an art project. Yeah, let’s go with that.

The crew decides that they want to be film their movie on a property that is owned by an old couple. Right off the bat, the audience is aware that something is weird. The old lady, Pearl, is kind of creepy.

She appears to really fancy Maxine, in a, uh… disturbing way.

And her husband, Howard, is kind of a major jerk. While Maxine is already aware of the creepiness from this strange couple, she decides to go ahead with her crew and begin filming their movie.

Unfortunately, the entire group comes to learn that the couple is batshit EVIL and INSANE, and the majority of the group pays the price.

With their lives.

Maxine’s entire group gets murdered one by one.

I was so bothered by how everyone met their end in the film. They honestly seemed like pretty decent people (except for one girl, Lorraine, that decided to betray her boyfriend in the worst way possible).

Like, damn, girl. Now that was harsh.

Here is how everyone bites the dust:

The leader of the group, Wayne, gets a pitchfork through the face.

(This was the jump scare death scene).

The camera dude, RJ, gets stabbed to death.

(This death was difficult to sit through).

The blonde chick, Bobby-Lynn, gets fed to an alligator.

(That death really sucked).

The chill dude, Jackson, gets shot offscreen.

(His death got me so mad. I was hoping he would survive).

The girl who betrayed her boyfriend, Lorraine, gets shot in the face.

(Good riddance).

The last one standing is Maxine.

Luckily, she is the final girl, so she will be the one to survive!

When the couple come back to their house to take care of Maxine, she gets lucky when Howard suddenly has a heart attack after killing Lorraine. Maxine confronts the couple when she realizes this, leading to a showdown between Maxine and Pearl.

Maxine pulls out a weapon on her, but finds out too late that the gun has no bullets. Pearl takes her chance with trying to kill Maxine with Howard's gun, but her plan instantly backfires when Pearl flies through the door of her own home from the power of the shot. Maxine takes her opportunity to end Pearl once and for all, running over her head with the vehicle she uses to escape from the farm.

This death scene was gnarly as hell, and man, the practical effects were amazing.

We then get a final twist that I did not see coming.

Throughout the entire film, we kept getting glimpses of a pastor talking to a group of people on television. He then reveals that Maxine was his daughter, leading to a shocking conclusion that she had run away from her father, that was most likely some kind of cult.

The film ends with authorities finding the carnage left behind at the farm.

Ti West delivered a cult classic masterpiece to horror fans, and I will never forget the first time I watched “X” in theaters. That ending was so damn great!

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn