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"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" meets "Boogie Nights" in writer/director Ti West's "X."

Alec Toombs's avatar
Alec Toombs
Mar 16, 2022
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The only Ti West movies I’d seen prior to “X” (in theaters Friday, March 18) were “Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever” (which he’s disowned) and the Ethan Hawke/John Travolta Western “In a Valley of Violence.” I’ve also seen West act in films such as “You’re Next” and “Drinking Buddies.”

West’s reputation as a filmmaker suggests he’s a master of slow-burn horror with entries such as “The House of the Devil,” “The Innkeepers” and “The Sacrament.” West’s languid pacing is prevalent in “X,” which plays like a hybrid of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and “Boogie Nights” (one of my top five fave flicks of all-time) with a dash of “The Amateurs” and “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” thrown in for good measure. The resulting product will likely please hardcore horror fans, but may be too effectively icky for the masses.

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