X · reception & legacy
2022 · Ti West
How X has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
A festival-buzz hit out of SXSW 2022 that was liked immediately, but its stature grew retroactively once it became the opening chapter of a whole trilogy — plenty of fans now rank it against Pearl and MaXXXine rather than on its own.
What's debated
The eternal fan debate isn't about X itself so much as X vs Pearl — which is the trilogy's true masterpiece — plus the recurring 'elevated homage or just really good pastiche?' question.
Its footprint
It minted Mia Goth as the internet's reigning scream queen, and the surprise-trilogy rollout (each film teasing the next) became a model other horror franchises now get measured against.
Where it stands
A cornerstone of the 2020s A24 horror wave and a Letterboxd staple — the entry point everyone tells you to start with before Pearl.
Named by the director
Influences Ti West has publicly named — the director's own word, distinct from the inferred lines of influence.
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) — West repeatedly named it as the film's foundational touchstone for its raw, sweaty 1970s rural-horror texture.
- Boogie Nights (1997) — West cited it for the scrappy-crew-making-a-porno milieu and the affectionate view of low-budget filmmaking.
- Tobe Hooper — West pointed to Hooper's grimy regional-horror style as the aesthetic he was channeling.