X is a American slasher film written, directed, produced and edited by Ti West. It stars Mia Goth in dual roles: a young woman named Maxine, and an elderly woman named Pearl. Set in , the film follows a cast and crew who gather to make a pornographic film on an elderly couple's rural Texas property, but find themselves threatened by the homicidal couple.
A24 announced X in November Goth underwent extensive prosthetic makeup for Pearl, and special effects were employed to depict violent scenes in the film. Characterized as a contemporary take on psycho-biddy , X draws inspiration from horror , exploitation , and pornographic films, and emphasizes the interplay between beauty, aging, and self-worth.
The score was composed by Tyler Bates and Chelsea Wolfe. X had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 13, , and was theatrically released in the United States five days later by A It received generally positive reviews from critics.
In , police officers arrive on a lonely farm in rural Texas and find numerous dead bodies wrapped in bags. They then enter the farmhouse and find something shocking in the basement. Twenty-four hours earlier, aspiring adult film star Maxine is on a trip to shoot a pornographic film with her producer boyfriend Wayne, fellow burlesque dancer Bobby-Lynne, Marine Corps veteran Jackson, director RJ, and RJ's quiet girlfriend Lorraine.
The group arrives at a farm owned by Howard and Pearl , an elderly couple who have a guesthouse they rented for the shoot. Howard disapproves of the group, but Wayne excuses this due to not informing Howard of their intentions. While Bobby-Lynne and Jackson act out a scene, Pearl invites Maxine into the farmhouse and expresses an unusual fixation on her, as Maxine looks exactly like Pearl when she was young. Howard returns home and Pearl rushes Maxine out, urging her to keep it a secret.
