Everything was off to a strong start in 2022 for A24. After Yang (2022) had proven their eye for supporting up-and-coming directors who had a unique vision in familiar genres. The story found the emotionality in a future that wasn’t that radical a departure from today. For their next film, they would borrow a similar page from the past. Ti West selected the studio to produce his passion project X (2022), which would explore the ways that independent film came to be in the 1970s. It would be sleazy and vulgar, which is just the way it should be. On some level, it was also the most A24 way to make a movie about filmmaking. It wouldn’t mark the start of their first franchise, but it was still enough to create a legend that remains one of their most celebrated works.
The story begins sometime after West had made his western In the Valley of Violence (2016). Despite being well-regarded for his work on the silver screen, he found his career transitioning to TV. He received several offers from at least a dozen shows over the next few years. He admitted to loving the consistent work and was satisfied with what he produced. However, there came a point where he contemplated whether he would ever want to return to filmmaking. His concern was that he had found a new passion and thus lost touch with the medium that had established his career.
From there, the ideas began to spiral into what became X. The original conceit focused on what it meant to create an independent film. Sometime later, he found the missing piece. It had been roughly a decade since he had directed a horror film, The Sacrament (2013), and he was eager to explore the genre again. Specifically, he was curious to finally make a slasher film in the vein of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), meaning it would be set in the 1970s in a rural community. In an effort to expand his potential, he explored other genres that had been independently produced during the period. He eventually landed on pornography. The film features a winking nod to a Spalding Grey film called The Farmer’s Daughter (1976), which he had starred in before becoming a more renowned writer. Along with that, the visual approach would imitate the style of grainy, cheap camerawork that was used at the time.
Once he had a draft written, he sent it to A24 with the belief that they might be interested. While he was skeptical of them going through with it, he insisted that they made the type of fresh horror that appealed to him. With X, he wanted to create something “elevated,” and turn the smutty genres into art. Much to his surprise, they accepted his offer in 2020 and, thus, set them up for a swift production. Like other films in the X franchise, West insisted on keeping details a mystery from the public, meaning the eventual release would come as a surprise.
One of West’s demands was that it had a summertime feel. This would quickly become a problem with 2020 marking the start of the pandemic lockdown and the rise of COVID-19 cases. There was no guaranteed way to make it in The United States in a timely manner. Along with the fact that the eventual start would more coincide with a wintry exterior, the group would decide to move operations to Australia, where, among other details, there had been zero Covid-19 cases.
As was customary at the time, the cast and crew were forced to quarantine for two weeks before the start of filming. This meant regular testing and long hours of freedom. West, with the assistance of actor Mia Goth, decided to spend the time writing a proposed sequel to X that would find her character Pearl receiving an origin story. It would also mean that both had to stay in Australia for longer, which Goth immediately accepted. According to West, A24 would receive the script for what would become Pearl (2022) prior to the start of X filming and greenlight the film.
There are conflicting reports on the budget of West’s films. X was believed to be made for a million dollars, though Australian reports suggested that it was significantly higher. While it was still less than $15 million, it was a contrast to West’s illusion of making things on a shoestring budget.
With that said, one of the major contributions to the film’s cutting corners was West’s connection to local artists. It was said that James Cameron’s production on the Avatar films was on hiatus, which meant that everyone involved transferred to working on X. He also would collaborate with WETA, who provided the special effects, including old age make-up for Goth’s character. Goth in particular had an exhaustive preparation with over 30 pieces of prosthetics and several hours in the make-up chair, along with constant touch-ups.
Other noteworthy collaborators included co-composers Tyler Bates and Chelsea Wolfe. Unlike Bates, Wolfe wasn’t a professional composer and thus was coming to the film fresh. Along with guidance from West, the score would be reflective of 70s horror films that included a lot of synthesizers and vocal work. Wolfe’s big contribution was harmonic melodies. Bates claimed that his goal was to make a score that sounded somewhere between Debbie Does Dallas (1978) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968). Wolfe would also provide a cover of “Oui, Oui Marie.”
The cast also spoke about having a great time. Brittany Snow was concerned with the sex and nudity, believing that it might veer too far into the male gaze. West assured her that everything would be tastefully handled. Similarly, Jenna Ortega talked about how she sympathized with sex workers and believed that they deserved more respect. It could also be noted that among the A24 tropes, Ortega joined the likes of Selena Gomez in Spring Breakers (2013) in being a former Disney star who was starring in a risqué work. In this case, it was arguably more explicit given how directly the film was about sex and death. Similarly, Scott Mescudi (known better as Kid Cudi) would star and join Chance the Rapper in Slice (2018) as a rapper who starred in an A24 horror film. West also hired an intimacy coordinator to provide the best working experience imaginable.
Something important to consider is that by the time X would premiere at South By Southwest in March 2022, Pearl had also been filmed and was in post-production. The sequel was kept as a secret until the premiere, where West acknowledged that another film was on the way. He joked that slasher films needed to have “a lot” of sequels, thus alluding to the series expanding upon the first two films. With that said, further discussion of Pearl and its sequel, MaxXxine (2024), will happen during appropriate upcoming entries. For now, the final word on Pearl will be that the post-credits scene featured the first glimpse from the film where Goth was seen dancing.
With an adjusted budget of $5.3 million, the film would be considered a box office success. A week after its South By Southwest premiere, it would be released in theaters nationwide, eventually resulting in an international gross of $15 million. West would also share a personal letter via A24’s mailing list called “Blood and Guts,” where he detailed the making of the film and how he came up with the world behind a barn in Australia. He also emphasized the themes of the story, which include a longing for the past and the exploration of film style and production methods.
It would also become one of the biggest critical darlings for A24 in 2022. According to critics' aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the film would earn a hefty 94% approval rating. Leading the praise was Sarah Vincent, who noted, “The film feels like an ouroboros and repeat viewings of the movie will make you realize that the film told you exactly what was going to happen if you were paying attention.” Samuel Leggett Jr. of JVS Media & Productions/Team JVS shared in the delight when suggesting, “X was true to its name, explicit sexual scenes, horrify scenarios & every more on the stories backdrop. But as a horror film Ti West nails it with his touch on horror story telling and worst case scenario perspective for every character it’s a insane ride” Alachia Queen was one of the few who disagreed when claiming, “X, first hour of the film is an homage to 70s psycho-sexual-film making and the last 45 minutes is a psycho-biddy/slasher. It's interesting to say the least but at no point was this a scary film.” Overall, X was establishing itself as one of the studio’s most recognizable titles and the start of its first trilogy.
While it wouldn’t receive major attention during the prestige awards season, it would receive attention from a variety of smaller institutions. Saturn Awards would nominate it for Best Horror Film. Similarly, MTV’s Movie & TV Awards would nominate Goth for Most Frightened Performance. Funnily enough, she would lose to Ortega for her work in another horror title, Scream (2022). As the years have gone on, X has continually been sold as one of A24’s most popular works, including two sequels. They would also do special rereleases through AMC Theaters for various titles that included X alongside heavy hitters like Midsommar (2019). Overall, it’s safe to say that West’s choice to risk rejection resulted in a very lucrative partnership.
The mix of trashy genres allowed for an engaging look at the rise of independent filmmaking through the 1970s while creating an ethos that was in line with A24’s edgy branding. The overt amount of sex and violence presented a world of visceral pleasure that also tapped into some creative and intellectual pursuits. It was the perfect blend for a culture wanting to make sense of the weird, warped vision of the past. The same could be said for their next film, which would throw even more cans of worms into an even bigger blender and result in one of the most astounding accomplishments in the studio’s short history. It was the return of filmmakers known for farting corpses and “complicated relationships with horses.” This time, they would push everything into everywhere and present the unlimited potential all at once.
Coming Up Next: Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
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