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'X' Review: Ti West's Horror Masterwork Leaves You Breathless In Both Terror and Ecstasy

Packing both horror and humor, X is pure cinematic perfection from its patient set-up all the way to its explosive climax.

When considering the all-time great films that have made use of the exquisite cinematic potential of horror, there must now be a place for the explosive experience that is writer-director Ti West ’s riveting and raucous X . With wild abandon, it is a film that carves out a place amongst not just the best horror from A24 , but of the glorious genre writ large. It is a meticulous and patient work that also packs a wicked sense of humor that never lets you go once it has you in its grasp. Even as it wears many of its horror influences on its sleeve, West weaves his own thrilling and terrifying tale of a 1979 Texas porn shoot gone oh so very wrong.

We know this explicit production takes a turn for the worse as the film opens on the chaotic and bloody aftermath where bodies are strewn everywhere at a remote farm. The police are at a loss, pacing around the scene in cowboy boots and trying to avoid stepping in the pools of blood. It is an otherwise peaceful setting save for this carnage and the film keeps much of the viscera initially hidden, ensuring that there is still an abundance of tension to be found in seeing all the pieces come back together. Our story then properly begins 24 hours before the violence with Mia Goth ’s magnetic Maxine alone in a dressing room. A dreamer with a bit of a cocaine habit, she has big plans for herself that she reflects on in the first of several mirror scenes. Goth is already a standout horror performer, having been a memorable presence in Suspiria and High Life , though it is X that now cements her as an icon of the genre.

This moment is interrupted by Martin Henderson ’s cocksure Wayne who bursts into the room, proceeds to dial up the smarm in a smooch with Maxine, and informs her everyone else is waiting to get on the road. In just this opening scene, you learn so much about both of them and their relationship with each other. It is only the beginning of how West builds complete and complex portraits of people with an efficiency that speaks to both his craft as a writer as well as the assured performance of each actor. This extends to the entire porn production posse which is made up of a wonderful cast of quirky characters. There is the suave male talent Jackson ( Kid Cudi ) who, in addition to being a veteran, is also particularly known for his talents in the bedroom (at least in his own mind). Alongside him is his girlfriend as well as co-performer Bobby-Lynee ( Brittany Snow ) who packs an unending amount of irreverent snark. There is the awkward director RJ ( Owen Campbell ) who wants to make a serious art film in line with the French New Wave. Assisting him with the boom mic is his unassuming and cross-wearing girlfriend Lorraine ( Jenna Ortega ) who gets the nickname “church mouse.”

RELATED: ‘X’: Ti West Reveals He Shot a Prequel Film with Mia Goth In Tandem with the Original

This ragtag group of smut connoisseurs is taking a bit of a road trip as they are hoping to make their own porn film. Some, like Maxine, believe it will bring them fame and make them like Linda Carter . Others, like Wayne, see it as a chance to make some money by tapping into an otherwise yet-untapped market where people can watch porn at home. As they all hop in a van that is appropriately and humorously emblazoned with “Plowing Service” on the side, the clearest reference point is to the early tone of the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre . In fact, even as West’s film is very much its own thing, it is an experience that is a more worthy successor to such iconic horror than the abysmal Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel that came out exactly one month prior to X . Yes, both of these new films pack an abundance of brutality and gore, though it is in how West approaches his story that makes it such a superior work. The horror is found in the fearsome aspects of the broken people at its core, delving deep into the murderous underpinning of our world with a captivating eye. The persistent use of a rambling pastor preaching on television compliments this perfectly, revealing how the places people find solace when isolated have a more sinister undercurrent.

When our characters arrive at a remote farm, we begin to hear the repeated use of an evocative score that is a combination of haunting yet melodic chanting that is then mixed with creepy breathing. Even as the film is packed with a bunch of other fitting music, much of it happening diegetically, it is this score that really puts you on edge. The first interaction Wayne has with the property owner, an elderly man who seems to want nothing to do with them, is as ominous as it is awkward. It soon becomes clear that neither the man nor his wife has any idea whatsoever about what the group is intending on using their small boarding house for. Thus, the sex film is surreptitiously shot. In addition to creating a distinguishing color palette as well as a more narrow aspect ratio, West approaches the porn production with a playfulness that is also mixed with something more sinister. A scene where a lonesome Maxine explores the farm is intercut with the purposely cheesy dialogue of the porn that shifts from being humorous to haunting very quickly. It is one of many times West expertly intersplices seemingly incongruous visual sequences together for dramatic effect.

There are also frequent moments where the film will quickly cut to three brief glimpses of a distinct visual from another scene that then informs the other. It is a remarkably effective and unsettling element that disrupts the film’s cinematic grammar visually. Each time it happens, it puts you on edge and ratchets up the growing feeling that something is seriously wrong. What that something is will not be revealed here as the darker elements of the story are worth experiencing with as little foresight as possible. This is especially true considering how patient West is with the whole film. Of course, this won't surprise anyone who has seen his similarly dedicated and foreboding 2009 film The House of the Devil . Both films let scenes play out to an absolute breaking point, leaving you in a state of constant anticipation and curiosity about what exactly is coming next. One such moment of many to be found in X is a beautiful extended shot of a small body of water from above that finds both horror and humor in how long it goes on. When other films might cut away much too soon and undercut the terror of this moment, West lets each of these scenes play out until you are out of breath in anticipation.

This only makes the unrestrained climax of X all the more rewarding as these setups and quiet hints are paid off perfectly. Like a punchline to a joke, these moments were met with a rising up of elation that reached a roar. It is a film that kills both in its comedic sensibility and gruesome inclinations. At my screening, you could both feel the audience release all their pent-up energy and hear them exclaim in joy at these moments. It all reveals how West is completely in control, both narratively and formally, as he wrenches the maximum amount of payoff out of every single moment he can. From the way the headlights of a car change color in an extended violent outburst to a more reserved subsequent scene where a character remains asleep, everything is impeccably attuned to create maximum impact. It makes for one of the most fully realized pieces of horror cinema in recent memory that never sets a wrong foot even as its characters do nothing but. It is a dynamic, deadly work of filmmaking that achieves all its lofty ambitions and then some to become an absolute masterwork.

X is in theaters now.

The Slasher Film X Is a Modern Classic

The movie evokes the grind-house energy of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre while also pulling off thoroughly modern cinematic tricks.

A month ago, another installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series was released, an attempt to modernize the horror franchise while still harkening back to its gritty 1970s roots. It was a creative failure, too reliant on digitally enhanced gore and thudding callbacks. The task of matching an all-time classic seemed impossible. But a new horror film proves that challenge was hardly insurmountable: Ti West’s X is a lurid slasher based in rural ’70s Texas that brings plenty of invention to a tried-and-true setting.

X blends old and new, rather than just proffering empty references. The film evokes the grind-house energy of the original Texas Chainsaw while also pulling off complicated cinematic tricks that wouldn’t have been possible 50 years ago. West is a director with a deep understanding of period aesthetics—his breakthrough 2009 work, The House of the Devil , was a precise homage to the VHS video nasties of the ’80s; it looked like a once-banned movie that had just been unearthed. X could be another tribute, and even hints at the nasties genre with a teasing prologue in which a local sheriff comes upon a crime scene littered with mysterious film canisters.

West’s latest is titled after the now-defunct rating once given to the most shocking movies; fittingly, the canisters contain a few spicy reels of pornography. X follows a semiprofessional film crew that journeys to a small town to make a skin flick, renting a house on the land of two elderly farmers. Eventually, their shenanigans attract their hosts’ attention, the dynamic turns sour, and characters start to die, but X takes a surprisingly long time to move into slasher territory. West carefully builds out the relationships between each worker on the shoot while incorporating detailed backstory for the creepy older couple, meaning the monstrousness that unfolds later has real narrative purpose.

Read: The most purely enjoyable horror movie made in years

X is spearheaded by a pair of performances by the same actor, Mia Goth, who plays Maxine, one of the stars of the porno, and (buried under pounds of excellent makeup) Pearl, the reclusive older woman who takes an interest in the scandalous goings-on. The dual showcase is a remarkable one for Goth, who previously stood out in supporting roles in Emma , High Life , and A Cure for Wellness . Maxine is headstrong and assured of her future stardom. Pearl is a wispy ghost of a woman, reminiscing on her youthful beauty. West could have easily presented the character as pathetic, or stirred up by an inscrutable demonic fervor, but he instead lets the audience get to know Pearl and her ornery husband, Howard, before the two start chasing the youngsters around the farm.

The other unlucky guests are played by Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Scott Mescudi, and Brittany Snow, each of whom gets to have fun with characters who are vague without being mere cannon fodder. West is genuinely interested in analyzing the clash that takes over the farm, not just between old and young but between the repressed and the liberated; the carnage the couple carry out is motivated by their own confused feelings about sex. In the slashers of yore, an eye-roll-inducing motif was that sexually active characters would be picked off before the heroic virgins. Here, West makes that unspoken rule explicit, and so casts Howard and Pearl’s pent-up fury as all the more unsettling.

Outshining those thematic underpinnings, though, is West’s pure craft; he designs each scare sequence with consummate care, and refrains from using cheap jumps or overwhelming music to push up the tension. X has one of the best “character explores a dark cellar” scenes that I’ve ever seen—a standard of the genre, fine-tuned to perfection here. The set is simple—just two ramshackle homes and a field between them—and the budget seems fairly small, but the richness of West’s script and the depth of his characterization make everything feel expansive. The horror genre has, of late, been hijacked by purportedly “elevated” takes that avoid the simplicity of something like a slasher. X provides a map for how to do the classics right while still taking the formula somewhere original.

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‘X’ Review: Ti West’s Rollicking Porn Slasher Brings the Spirit of the ’70s Back to Movie Theaters

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The renegade intensity of Ti West ’s “ X ,” another homage by the “House of the Devil” writer-director to independent cinema’s past, and his first horror film in over a decade, is his willingness to ask: What if a slasher, but with porn? That genre bending — in a rollicking, wicked dark horror comedy about intrepid filmmakers just barely scraping by, the fetishization of youth, and how the weight of aging into a sexless marriage can lead to mayhem — brings the spirit of the rule-breaking 1970s moviemaking back to modern audiences. While West isn’t always operating on the same levels as his influences, his signature flair for tension through simmering slow-burn pacing remains unparalleled.

“X” kicks off on a secluded Texas farm surrounded by local police. The opening scene, framed within a barn, peers outside toward a simple wooden home peeking above the brush landscape. As an incessant buzz of flies swarm, the camera tracks outside revealing a trio of cop cars. There is a blood-soaked sheet covering an unknown body. A recently used ax grips the porch and a wide streak of crimson leads to inside the quaint, albeit creepy home. On the television plays a Southern televangelist, one of those local holy roller church services that never seems to go off air. Yes, something bad happened here.

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Backtracking to 24 hours earlier, we meet the coke-snorting, assured Maxine ( Mia Goth ), who works as an exotic dancer for the grifting, brutish Wayne (Martin Henderson) at his Bayou Burlesque. The couple, who share an uncomfortable muse-artist relationship, believe they’re destined for more, and Wayne is willing to bankroll a low-budget hardcore porn titled “The Farmer’s Daughter,” which Maxine will star in, to prove it.

The burlesque owner also enlists Bobby-Lynne ( Brittany Snow ), a blonde bombshell in the mold of Marilyn Monroe, and her ex-military boyfriend with a giant dong, Jackson ( Kid Cudi ) to star in the movie too. Rounding out the skeleton crew are RJ (Owen Campbell), a hungry director wanting to make an artistic adult film through the school of French avant-garde cinema, and his quiet but observant girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega). They board Wayne’s blue van, a vehicle emblazoned with the winking name “Plowing Service,” to a secluded farm owned by an elderly couple.

This group of brazen filmmakers aren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. Nor are they totally precious with the art of moviemaking. But they do possess the will to create, to live a life outside of anonymity by making their mark on the world. Wayne might carry himself with the gusto of a big shot, but he’s making this porn on a shoestring guerrilla-style budget: RJ is only armed with a handheld camera, Lorraine operates the lone boom mic, and the farm they’re using for the shoot fell into Wayne’s lap through a supposed sweetheart deal.

Only one problem visibly exists: Howard (Stephen Ure) and Pearl (a heavily prosthetic-laden Goth). The elderly couple, a grotesque combination of swollen and reedy features, replete with mangled teeth and disintegrating white hair, are unaware that this band of filmmaking outlaws are making a porno on their own property.

West plays out this anxiety for eerie dread and sly laughs, often drawing parallels between Maxine and Pearl. The latter, in her time, commanded attention as a free-spirited beauty. But now she pines for youth, fetishizes smooth skin and wants the kind of sex Howard seems incapable of giving anymore. There is a friskiness, for lack of a better term, to Pearl in the barely steadied but hurried way she moves. We immediately know she’s disturbed. We can also see the hulking mass of repulsiveness that is Howard. And we’re not quite sure who’s the villain or who’s the victim.

Not to be forgotten, of course, this is a porn film within a horror film. It’s telling how often West plays the sex scenes for laughs: the sassy Bobby-Lynne does the mostest performing, loud moans and all. The workman-like Jackson (Kid Cudi has always possessed a steady, unmoored presence) is all concentration. And RJ’s lens, featuring a warm 16mm patina, always seems focused on the wrong shots at the wrong time. As much as West mines for gags, he holds a clear admiration for the full commitment required to make an adult film, and is equally enamored by the allure of sex in relation to moviemaking. Lorraine and Wayne, for instance, can’t help but be transfixed while watching Jackson and Bobby-Lynne perform their scene together. Is it the grinding of those bodies that enraptures them? Or is it the sight of acts committed to film that grips them? West steers us to the former, but never wholly dismisses the latter.

West giddily relaxes on this liminal plane, patiently building tension through stillness and ambiguity. DP Eliot Rockett loves scenes of extremely long shots, allowing the high grass landscape to consume the actors. He further adores leveraging negative space for big frights. In one scene, a bird’s eye view sees a character floating in the middle of a grim pond, the only other figure is a stealthy alligator, swimming toward her. The sparse tableau provides intense results.

In the film’s second half are sharp kills, with even sharper edits by West and David Kashevaroff, wagering exacting match cuts for gory thrills. The ensuing freakout supplies a nourishing amount of blood, replete with ingenious kills, and a charming sense of humor to the absurd violence that positions “X” away from a self-serious horror realm to a film not afraid to have some fun. After a couple star-making roles in “Suspiria” and “High Life,” Goth rises among the ranks of scream queens, while projecting a hardened edge. Snow as Bobby-Lynne delivers the script’s copious dirty one-liners with aplomb.

While “X” is an ingenious rejiggering of genre archetypes, a few shortcomings hold it back: The instigating reason behind the murders, intoxicating sex, feels underdeveloped. The mystery behind the elderly couple is a tad too cute, too knowingly brisk. Still, the melding of two seemingly different but closely related energies — those of adult films and bloody slashers — is a fascinating angle from which to interrogate the horror of aging in relation to sexual status. The maxim “you can never be too old,” applies nearly everywhere, except in West’s “X.”

“X” premiered at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival. A24 will release it in theaters on Friday, March 18.

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Ti West’s X aims its slasher-movie homage straight at classic horror fanatics

Mia Goth stars in a dual role in a movie that pays tribute to Texas Chain Saw Massacre, in its own striking way

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This review of Ti West’s X originally came from the 2022 media expo SXSW. It has been updated for the film’s digital release.

The House of the Devil director Ti West never left horror. It’s been nearly a decade since his last horror movie, The Sacrament , but he’s stayed busy in horror TV, directing episodes of Scream: The TV Series , The Exorcist , Them , and more. He returns to his big-screen roots with X , a deliciously gory, delightfully funny homage to 1970s indie filmmaking that lures viewers into a false sense of security with a fun hangout movie, then unleashes all hell on the screen. By the time the credits roll, it makes sense that A24 would confirm this as the distribution house’s first horror franchise .

In 1979, strip-club owner Wayne (Martin Henderson) decides to gather a group of friends, employees, and a couple of idealistic filmmaking-enthusiast tagalongs to shoot a porn film that will make them all famous . There’s Wayne’s girlfriend Maxine (Mia Goth), Bobby-Lane (Brittany Snow), and Jackson (Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi), who will star in the film. Of course, this won’t be just any old porn film. As writer, director, editor, and cinematographer R.J. (Owen Campbell) explains, he’s here to prove that it’s “possible to make a good dirty movie.” He’s ready to employ avant-garde techniques and everything, and he’s brought along his girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) as boom-mic operator. Of course, given that this is a ragtag production, corners are cut — most notably, the cast and crew are staying at a remote farmhouse owned by an elderly couple who are supposedly unaware of what they’re planning to do. Soon enough, bodies start dropping.

Though the premise of a porn shoot turning into a horror show could easily result in a schlocky parody, Ti West has more in mind. The adult-film angle serves two purposes — it puts a meta spin on the practically mandatory nudity and adult content of R-rated slasher films, and it uses the adult industry to speak about indie filmmaking at large. The first half of the film is a love letter to independent filmmaking, to the satisfactions of grabbing a group of like-minded friends and a camera, and heading to a remote location to make movies. At the Q&A following the film’s SXSW premiere, Ti West spoke about the similarities between horror and porn in the 1970s — specifically, the desire to break free from studio systems and make a name for yourself, with nothing in hand but a good idea.

Given that this is a horror film about a group of young people in Texas, there are clear homages to Tobe Hooper’s original 1974 movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , especially in the beginning, where West is following a group of friends having a good time, unaware of the carnage waiting for them. West carefully waits to unveil the carnage, choosing to focus on character work and setting a creepy mood through long takes and ominous cutaways. (The A24 way!) The story isn’t all gloom and doom — West is clearly having a ball making this an enjoyable comedy, too. Double entendres and crude jokes fill the first half of the film, like the team’s van reading “Plowing Services.” Even when the killings begin, most of them have a lighthearted tone.

This is in no small part due to the cast, especially Brittany Snow, whose turn as a wannabe porn star makes for a hilarious return to horror for the actress. Meanwhile, Mescudi does an impressive job as the guy full of bravado and confidence, a veteran who fears nothing, even when he should. Still, this is Mia Goth’s movie: She pulls double duty as both the lead character and as house owner Pearl, subject of a planned spinoff prequel. Goth infuses both characters with a burning desire to obtain fame, and a deep fear of losing it. Even when buried under tons of makeup, her performance shines through.

As funny as X gets at times, however, it’s just as effective at providing scares as it is at provoking laughs. Once the kills begin, West unleashes heavy gore and entertaining death scenes, enhanced by effective, novel editing that West and his co-editor David Kashevaroff use to enhance the scares, or create new ones. From smash cuts and juxtapositions to cutting away from a kill to an unrelated scene to screen wipes and split-screens, X makes for an unpredictable experience.

Sadly, as great as the makeup is, it follows the recent unfortunate trope of villainizing the elderly, implying that aging naturally turns people into vicious villains . Get ready for gratuitous scenes of naked elderly people, designed to suggest that aging is gross and scary.

Tired stereotypes aside, though, West delivers a crowd-pleasing return to horror that’s a love letter to the genre without becoming a parody. This is no Texas Chain Saw Massacre rip-off , but it is still the best Texas Chain Saw Massacre film of the year. Ti West is back — may he not leave us again anytime soon.

X is now widely available for rental or purchase on Amazon , Vudu , and other digital platforms. The prequel, Pearl , is coming to theaters Sept. 16.

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Mia Goth (Maxine) Jenna Ortega (Lorraine) Brittany Snow (Bobby-Lynne) Kid Cudi (Jackson) Martin Henderson (Wayne) Owen Campbell (RJ) Stephen Ure (Howard) James Gaylyn (Sheriff Dentler) Simon Prast (Televangelist) Geoff Dolan (Deputy)

In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the crew find themselves fighting for their lives.

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‘X’ Review: Trash, Art and the Movies

Ti West’s latest is a slasher film about the making of a porno film, but the result might not be what you expect.

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By A.O. Scott

“X” is a clever and exuberant throwback to a less innocent time, when movies could be naughty, disreputable and idiosyncratic. Two kinds of movie in particular: the dirty kind and the scary kind. Set in 1979, before the internet made pornography ubiquitous and before anyone was pontificating about “elevated horror,” this sly and nasty picture insists that the flesh and blood of down-and-dirty entertainment is, literally, flesh and blood.

Not that the director, Ti West, is simply replicating the cheap, tawdry thrills of the olden days. West, whose earlier features include “The House of the Devil” and “The Sacrament,” is both a canny craftsman and a genre intellectual. In the midst of the sex and slaughter, he conducts an advanced seminar on visual pleasure and narrative cinema.

And also a brief course in film history, with particular attention to “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and shout-outs to “Psycho” and “Debbie Does Dallas.” That X-rated landmark (later adapted into an Off Broadway musical ) provides inspiration for the six Texans who show up at a decrepit farmstead to shoot a hard-core oeuvre called “The Farmer’s Daughters.” The actual farmer, an apparently childless geezer named Howard (Stephen Ure), has rented them a bunkhouse on his property. He and his wife live in the creaky, creepy main house.

The cast and crew consists of three performers — two women and a man, the classic heterosexual porn ratio — a director, a technician and a swaggering entrepreneur who claims the title of executive producer. This guy, Wayne (Martin Henderson), is also romantically attached to one of the stars, Maxine (Mia Goth), who dreams of the Hollywood big time. Her veteran co-stars, Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) and Jackson (Scott Mescudi, also known as the rapper Kid Cudi), are also a couple, as are RJ (Owen Campbell), the director, and Lorraine (Jenna Ortega), who handles the sound and is, at least for a while, the designated prude.

Since “X” is a slasher film, it’s not spoiling anything to note that most of these people will not make it out alive. An ax, a pitchfork and a shotgun are all in easy reach, and for good measure there’s an alligator in the pond. Howard and his wife, Pearl, give off sinister vibes, and West’s knack for zooming, cutting, manipulating point of view and layering sinister sounds creates an unmistakable anticipation of doom.

But the sequence of deaths, the motives for the mayhem and the identity of the survivor may not quite match your expectations. Most notably, the old circuitry connecting horror and female sexuality — canonically diagramed in Carol J. Clover’s 1992 study “Men, Women and Chain Saws” — has been rewired. By the time it’s all over, the film has moved out of period pastiche into interesting new territory, exposing a feminist dimension in the horror tradition that may have been there all along. (Since West is reportedly already at work on a prequel, further exploration may be in store.)

In the meantime, you can sample the familiar, trashy pleasures of sin and skin, with a piquant sprinkling of meta. This is a movie about moviemaking, after all, like “Argo” or “Day for Night” or “Singin’ in the Rain,” and as such it teases the viewer with knowing winks and easy-access insider references.

Many of these come at poor RJ’s expense. With his stringy hair, wispy beard and wet-noodle physique, he’s a film-nerd caricature. He wants to bring experimental techniques — “the way they do in France” — to “The Farmer’s Daughters,” and worries Wayne with his commitment to the avant-garde. Still, he’s not entirely a satirical scapegoat. His sensitivity about the kind of movie he’s actually making (especially once Lorraine sheds her disapproval) isn’t played for laughs. His toast “to independent cinema” is a punchline, but it could also be West’s motto.

When RJ argues against the importance of plot, he has a point, one West both upholds and challenges. Horror and hard-core both use narrative as a flimsy excuse to show the audience the action it really came to see. And while the sex in “X” is strictly R-rated, the movie isn’t shy about appealing to voyeurism. There’s nothing coy or arty about the bloodletting.

The twists of the story — the shifts in attention from Wayne and Maxine and their colleagues to Howard and Pearl — are hardly arbitrary. West, unlike his pornographers, has things to say as well as bodies to show. Most of all, he has an aesthetic that isn’t all about terror or titillation. “X” is full of dreamy, haunting overhead shots and moments of surprising tenderness.

One of these arrives in the middle, while everyone is still alive and wearing clothes, and Bobby-Lynne, accompanied by Jackson on guitar, breaks into a heartfelt rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.” (One thing that definitely sets “X” apart from its ’70s influences is a robust budget for musical clearances.) The song serves no narrative end, or any prurient or profound purpose. It’s an unexpected gift. So is “X.”

X Rated R. Not quite what the title promises, but still. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes. In theaters.

An earlier version of this article misstated where the theatrical production of “Debbie Does Dallas” ran. It was an Off Broadway musical, not a Broadway one.

How we handle corrections

A.O. Scott is a co-chief film critic. He joined The Times in 2000 and has written for the Book Review and The New York Times Magazine. He is also the author of “Better Living Through Criticism.” More about A.O. Scott

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X review: A horror movie about what really horrifies us

X , from arthouse distributor A24, is a slasher movie about what really horrifies us. Writer/director Ti West ( The House of the Devil ) is too intelligent and thoughtful a filmmaker to believe that conventional boogeymen top our list of fears. He knows that a youth-obsessed society is far more terrified not only of growing old, but of confronting the fact that the elderly may still possess some very inconvenient desires.

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The movie is set in 1979 Texas and stars Mia Goth as Maxine, an aspiring young porn performer who travels with her older producer boyfriend (Martin Henderson) to a remote farm outside Houston to shoot an adult film. Along for the ride are two other performers (Kid Cudi and Brittany Snow), as well as the director and soundperson (Owen Campbell and Jenna Ortega), the latter of whom quickly decides that her best talents lie in front of the camera, not behind it. The ambition of all involved to make cinema out of porn echoes the similar aspirations of the adult film industry folks in Boogie Nights . And that is only the first of many, many references to other films in X .

True to form, the farm is isolated and creepy, and the group’s first interaction with the ancient proprietor (Stephen Ure), Howard, comes at the business end of a shotgun. Howard makes it clear that he disapproves of any youthful shenanigans on his property (and that’s well before he realizes what they are actually up to). He claims he wants to protect his elderly wife, Pearl, from any shocks. But just who needs protection — and from whom — quickly grows complicated.

Everything, in other words, screams for the group to get the hell out of there. But X wouldn’t be in the tradition of slasher films like Friday the 13 th or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (the film pays homage to both) if the characters had sense enough to not walk into situations that clearly spell their downfall. And yet, these aren’t the typical dumb, helpless twentysomethings common to the genre. On the contrary, they are capable and intelligent. But West wants to show that despite their physical superiority over the, ahem, monsters on the loose, the visitors are nevertheless doomed by their ignorance and inexperience, underestimating the threats on the farm until it’s too late. It never even occurs to them to consider what some people might still want — or be capable of.

West has worked in horror for a long time and he is in full command of both the genre tropes and his craft. His camera is fluid but not showy, and he finds the right muted colors and textures to convey the grain of ’70s film stock without making the movie look like a carefully curated Instagram account. He has said that he wanted to make a more “highbrow” slasher pic, and it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t succeeded.

The movie opens with, then later repeats, a shot from inside a barn that invokes Charles Laughton’s Night of the Hunter, in which Robert Mitchum terrorizes a family on a farm. There are also at least one verbal and two visual references to Psycho . West follows an early scene in which a character mentions the French New Wave by staging a grizzly homage to the famous traffic accident sequence in Jean-Luc Godard’s Weekend . A shot of Maxine running away from the farmhouse is straight out of Terrence Malick’s ’70s classic, Days of Heaven . Cinephiles and breathless film students will surely spot many more references over repeated screenings.

Thankfully, the allusions are carefully integrated and resonate thematically with the films they invoke. West has made cinema that engages in intelligent dialogue with other cinema — a far cry from the glaring in-universe references in, say, Star Wars and Marvel movies that perform fan service but typically have no grander purpose.

X earns its place among A24’s best

Given all that, is the movie too highbrow for its genre? Does West’s insistence on interrogating the relationship between cinema and youthful beauty compromise some of the suspense? Maybe a little bit. The middle act could be tighter. And the final “twist” bludgeons the viewer with its irony. It’s an unnecessary reveal that is too on the nose compared to the subtlety of what’s come before it.

Overall, though, X is a movie that works well even for those who haven’t had a few semesters of film studies. The cast is charismatic. There are moments of visual wit, such as when the film cuts from a passionate kiss to a cow chewing cud. And the final third of the picture delivers all the gore and shocks demanded of the genre. Still, in the tradition of A24 arthouse horror such as Hereditary , Midsommar , and The Witch , the movie puts ideas in the foreground as much as it does bloodshed. West knows that slasher and porn films are less about violence and sex, respectively, and more about the shock and titillation of social transgression. With X , he has made a movie in which the most unsettling moments compel the viewer to question what society really considers taboo and why.

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clock This article was published more than  2 years ago

Senior citizens terrorize sexed-up 20-somethings in the silly retro slasher flick 'X'

Old folks go ‘Boo!’ in borderline offensive horror film about amateur adult filmmakers (and we use the term adult loosely)

The cheesy aesthetic of late-1970s and early-1980s filmmaking — harnessed, to hugely popular appeal, if not great artistic effect, in “ Stranger Things ” — is front and center in “X,” a sexy meta-slasher flick that uses the look and feel of both the era’s horror movies and its adult films to dress up what is essentially an otherwise commonplace saga of the bloodied-but-unbowed Final Girl (in B-movie parlance, the last surviving member of a group, victimized by a killer, to confront the murderer).

Written and directed by Ti West (“Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever”), the 1979-set ″X” follows the unfortunate fates of the cast and crew of an ultra low-budget adult film called “The Farmer’s Daughter.” Set on a rural Texas farm and following the predictable contours of many a dirty joke centering on the stock character — make that caricature — of a sexually rapacious young woman and a lucky male traveler, the film-within-a-film is a series of nudges and winks hinting at bygone tropes and stereotypes. Some are more offensive than others: An afroed Scott Mescudi, a.k.a. Kid Cudi, plays the sexually prolific traveler, who gets to make on-camera whoopee with not only his blond girlfriend (Brittany Snow), but the girlfriend (Mia Goth) of the film’s producer (Martin Henderson) and the girlfriend (Jenna Ortega) of its director (Owen Campbell). Campbell, whose character is a aspiring cinéaste who references the French New Wave, gets the nudgiest, winkiest dialogue. “It’s possible to make a good dirty movie,” he says to his sweetheart, Lorraine, who initially disapproves of all this hardcore carnality — until she, for implausible reasons, decides to join in.

It certainly is possible to make such a movie, but I’m not sure “X” is the most compelling argument.

Still, it has certain je ne sais quoi, if graphic nudity, self-referential humor and serial murder — neck stabbing, eye gouging, alligator munching and shotgun blasting — are your thing. The victims, as in many movies of this ilk, are young people who enjoy sex. And the villains are the elderly proprietor of the remote farm where the crew has set up shop (Stephen Ure) and his equally elderly wife. Oddly, they’re the villains not because they don’t enjoy sex, but because they do. The wife, Pearl, who looks likes she’s about 150 but still enjoys a roll in the hay, is resentful that her superannuated husband is unable to perform because of a weak heart, so she takes out her sexual frustration on the kids. The fact that she’s played by Goth, doing double duty in fairly convincing if cartoonish old-age makeup, is troubling. It suggests that senior citizens are inherently scary or something to laugh at — and ones who are randy are scarier, and more laughable, still.

Perhaps to this film’s young target demographic — arguably, people who weren’t even born yet in the year in which it’s set — there is nothing more terrifying than an old lady who still feels sexual desire. To anyone old enough to have lived through 1979 — and to harbor no nostalgia for the inartfulness of DIY porn and VHS slasher movies, “X” is less of a treat.

On the other hand, who knew that a stupid movie — part bloodbath, part skin flick — would offer the viewer not only so much to think about, but so much to look forward to? A prequel has already been shot, starring Goth as the younger Pearl.

R. At area theaters. Contains bloody violence and gore, strong sexual material, graphic nudity, drug use and crude language. 105 minutes.

X (United States, 2022)

X is a fun movie – a throwback to the Grindhouse pictures of the 1970s and the slasher genre of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. With a tongue-in-cheek, devil-may-care approach, writer/director Ti West embraces many of the tropes that have since fallen into disfavor (copious T&A, for example) and splashes them all over the screen. The caveat, of course, is that a love of gory horror is a prerequisite for enjoying X .

West, as is his wont, doesn’t jump right into the action. Favoring a slow-burn to a burnout, he spends some time with the characters and, although none develops the full three dimensions, they have better rounded personalities than the plastic targets who populate most slasher films. Roughly the first half of the movie is an homage to ‘70s soft core/exploitation pictures, although there’s always creepy Howard (Stephen Ure) hanging around in the background to remind us that things are eventually going to get bloody. (There’s also a wraparound structure that opens the movie with police investigating what looks like a slaughterhouse massacre, so we know there’s going to be a substantial body count.)

The premise is simple enough – in 1979, a group of six adults have come to an out-of-the-way corner of Texas to make a porn movie. The director, RJ (Owen Campbell), has artistic aspirations. He prefers to call his picture an “independent film” and he’s focused more on the integrity of the production than its commercial prospects. The dollar signs are the purview of executive producer Wayne (Martin Henderson), who has arranged his merry band to rent a guest house from the geriatric, somewhat frightening Howard. RJ’s cast includes the well-endowed Jackson (Scott Mescudi), whose afro is as impressive as what he’s packing in his trousers; the free-spirited Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), who’s up for anything; and Wayne’s squeeze, Maxine (Mia Goth). Also along on the trip is RJ’s girlfriend, Lorraine (Jenny Ortega), who handles the sound equipment before deciding that she’d like a taste of what the other women are having.

The movie is funny – intentionally and in the right ways. West plays with tropes while at the same time honoring them. Despite having very little budget, he’s able to recreate the 1979 aesthetic with such aptitude that one can be forgiven thinking he found the movie rather than making it. (He takes a pointed jab at the “found footage” genre.) There are a lot of references, Easter Eggs, and in-jokes. The most obvious inspiration is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the Tobe Hooper 1974 original) but there’s a little Halloween and a dash of Friday the 13th to be found. (The use of Blue Oyster Cult’s “The Reaper” is a direct nod to the John Carpenter film.) West finds a way to use all of the horror/slasher cliches in such a way that they’re hip and engaging rather than tired and trite. It all comes down to tone.

In 2022, horror has become a template-based genre that is more often than not made-to-order either for teenagers or 20-somethings who adore jump-scares. X is a reminder that, while the slasher genre had some very deep valleys, some of the most effective horror emerged from it (especially in the early days before the films became little more than orgies of inventive eviscerations). With X , West seeks to recapture some of the fun, edginess, and energy of those productions while at the same time delivering a few surprises. That he succeeds makes X a must-see for those who claim an affection for this sort of film.

Comments Add Comment

• Halloween (1978)
• Frankenstein (1931)
• Blair Witch Project, The (1999)
• Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
• Captivity (2007)
• Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
• Emma (2020)
• Pearl (2022)
• Infinity Pool (2023)
• Suspiria (2018)
• Nymphomaniac Volume II (2014)
• Cure for Wellness, A (2017)
• (There are no more better movies of Jenna Ortega)
• Scream (2022)
• Scream VI (2023)
• (There are no more worst movies of Jenna Ortega)
• (There are no more better movies of Brittany Snow)
• Prom Night (2008)
• John Tucker Must Die (2006)
• Pacifier, The (2005)

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‘Anora’ Review: Sean Baker’s Whirlwind Sex-Work Romance Sparkles Like the Tinsel in Its Leading Lady’s Hair

The director of 'The Florida Project' reaffirms his knack for spotting talent — and suspending judgment — in casting Mikey Madison as an exotic dancer who thinks she's found her whale.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

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The uncut gem of this year’s Cannes competition, “ Anora ” is a rowdy Safdie-style movie about two cultures (Russian and American), two languages (Russian and English) and two currencies (money and sex). Like countless Hollywood fantasies that have come before, it tells the story of how young people from different worlds fall in love, run into immediate obstacles and deal with the consequences — except the couple in this case consists of a New York stripper and the reckless son of a Russian oligarch. How long would you give it?

Popular on Variety

After a few one-on-one visits to his opulent pad (a waterfront mansion with maid service and private security), Ani finds herself negotiating the rate for a week of exclusive attention. They settle on $15,000, cash upfront. Baker isn’t coy — but nor is he pervy — about the transactional sex between these two, presenting it without judgment. Neither degrading nor glamorous, Ani and Ivan’s sessions are instead gently humorous. She tries to get to know him, while Ivan mostly wants to get off, turning his attention to video games or TV as soon as they’re done.

Eager but inexperienced, Ivan races through lovemaking like some kind of spastic rabbit, and after a few such disappointments, Ani offers to slow things down and instruct him a bit. It’s right about then that Ivan tells Ani that he’s in love … and a short time later that he suggests they get married. At this point, Ani is caught up in the extravagant YOLO vibe Ivan gives off — a kaleidoscope of partying out and sleeping in that’s infinitely better than her working-class home life (briefly glimpsed between shifts at the club). Ivan flies Ani to Las Vegas, where the wedding chapels are open 24 hours. Some people go to Vegas and get a tattoo; she gets a four-carat rock and a marriage certificate.

It’s right about here that a Cinderella story would end “happily ever after.” Not “Anora.” Baker’s just getting started. Ani’s dream lasts for all of 45 minutes, and then Ivan’s parents get wind that their prodigal (and profligate) son has married a “prostitute,” as she’s frequently misidentified. They’re outraged by the shame that Ivan has brought upon their family, although Madison is so sincere in the role of Ani, it’s hard to see their side of things. Sure, Ani’s eyes widened when when she saw the view from Ivan’s bedroom or the collection of luxury vehicles in his garage. But she’s no gold-digger. (And so what if she were? He’s got his currency, and she’s got hers. She’s also American, which means a fast track to a green card.)

There’s still a feature film’s worth of excitement to come, as Ivan’s godfather, Toros (Karren Karagulian), gets involved, dispatching a pair of thugs — a fellow Armenian named Garnick (Vache Tovmaysan) and the Russian-speaking “gopnik” named Igor (Yura Borisov). Baker brings the same spontaneous, seat-of-your-pants energy to “Anora” that he did to “Tangerine” before this, making what follows every bit as impulsive and unpredictable, captured in delicious, slightly oversaturated widescreen. The audience is on Ani’s side, but there are no “bad guys” here — just concerned family and friends understandably alarmed by Ivan’s actions.

With a wispy, little-girl voice like Dakota Johnson’s and the cat-fight intensity of Tura Satana (“Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!”), 2022 “Scream” actor Madison surprises as Ani. Working where she does, her character has every reason to be cynical, and yet, Ani still believes in true love, even if Ivan hardly seems deserving of her faith. Beneath her sparkling hair tinsel and butterfly nails, she’s smart and resourceful, representing in this one unforgettable character the ambitions and obstacles of centuries of sex workers. Baker has always had an instinct for spotting talent, and here, he doesn’t have to show Madison pole dancing à la Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers” for audiences to buy into the authenticity (it may actually be an advantage that she’s not already a star, or impossibly proportioned). We read Ani as real, and we feel deeply invested in how this shotgun wedding plays out.

For his part, Eydelshteyn brings a spindly Timothée Chalamet-like quality to the role of Ivan, adapting his body language to the way Ani sees him: Prince Charming at first, but increasingly pathetic once his parents are invoked. Familiar face Karagulian has appeared in all Baker’s features, but gets his biggest role yet as a man unwilling to risk his privileged connection to the Zakharov clan for Ivan’s high jinks. Quietly stewing on the sidelines is Borisov, who looks like he could kill someone (Ani insists he has “rape eyes”) but winds up being the only one genuinely interested in bridging the gap between their two worlds.

Taken alone, “Anora” is a profane kick. But seen in the context of Baker’s recurring fixations — from “Starlet” to “Red Rocket” — it stresses his belief that sex work is real work, that it’s more central to society than society wants to admit, and that by identifying with those we typically objectify, we can’t help but love them.

Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival, May 21, 2024. Running time: 139 MIN.

• Production: A Neon release of a Neon, FilmNation Entertainment presentation of a Cre Film production. Producers: Samantha Quan, Alex Coco, Sean Baker. Executive producers: Ken Meyer, Clay Pecorin, Glen Basner, Alison Cohen, Milan Popelka.
• Crew: Director, writer, editor: Sean Baker. Camera: Drew Daniels.
• With: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan. (English, Russian dialogue)

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Hunter x Hunter Anime Gets Official Ink Stamp Collection to Sign Paperwork in Style

Gon, Killua, Hisoka and over 130 character designs from the Hunter x Hunter anime TV series will be available as a customizable ink stamp collection.

Although the Hunter x Hunter series has suffered serious setbacks caused by the deteriorating health of its author, Yoshihiro Togashi , the fandom remains active and patient for its return. While fans wait for the manga’s comeback, new and alluring merchandise based on the Hunter x Hunter franchise is on the horizon.

Via PR Times , Okada Shokai Co., Ltd. -- owner of the online shopping site Inkan Stamp SHOP Hankozu -- is selling a prestigious ink stamp collection based on the Hunter x Hunter anime series. The custom-made stamp collection features a whopping selection of 139 character illustrations for fans to choose from. Of course, this means Gon Freecss, Killua Zoldyck and the rest of their family and friends (and enemies) from the anime TV series are included. Three types of fonts are available, ranging from traditional to cute-looking. Fans also have the option to customize the stamps with various messages, such as "It's okay," "Okay," "I saw it" and "Thank you."

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However, the real selling point for many, especially those living in Japan (where it's common for people to stamp official documents rather than sign them) is that these Hunter x Hunter character stamps can be used in lieu of an actual signature. Theoretically, this means franchise fans can apply for a bank loan with an inked image of Kurapika. The 139 character illustrations are divided into the following story arcs: "Hunter Exam Edition," "Zoldyck Family Edition," "Sky Arena Edition," "Phantom Troupe Edition," "Greed Island Edition," "Chimera Ant Edition" and "Election Edition."

Various retailers, including Amazon , currently selling the stamps for 2,600 yen (US$16.70) and in specialized packages for 4,200 yen (US$26.98). The Hunter x Hunter stamps come in special character cases based on Gon, Killua, Leorio Paradinight and Kurapika, with these character cases likewise organized by the anime’s most popular story arcs.

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While the Hunter x Hunter manga has been on hiatus for years, there have been recent positive updates from Togashi to suggest the popular Shonen Jump series will soon resume publication . In May, Togashi made a social media post showing the draft manuscript for what appears to be Chapter 405 of the manga. The next day, Togashi uploaded another image of a draft manuscript for Chapter 405, demonstrating the continued progress he’s making on Hunter x Hunter despite past health problems.

Currently, there’s no exact date for the return of Hunter x Hunter . However, previous installments of the manga are still available to read in English via Viz Media. The 1999 and 2011 Hunter x Hunter anime series are also available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix.

Hunter X Hunter

Hunter X Hunter is a long-running manga from YuYu Hakusho creator Yoshihiro Togashi. It has had two anime adaptations, one in 1999 and one in 2011, along with several films, OVAs, and video games. Hunter X Hunter follows the adventures of Gon Freecss as he tries to follow in his father's footsteps to become a Hunter by passing the notoriously difficult Hunter Trials. Along the way, he teams up with other characters, including Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua. 

Source: PR Times

Marvel's X-Men movie reportedly finds its writer, and MCU fans say it's an underwhelming choice

A new report suggests Marvel has found the X-Men film's screenwriter

Marvel Studios has reportedly found the lead writer for its live-action X-Men movie in Michael Lesslie.

Per Deadline , the comic book giant has tapped The Hunger Games prequel film's screenwriter to pen the highly anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe ( MCU ) flick. Deadline has claimed that Marvel and Lesslie are still negotiating the terms of his contract, so the latter's involvement isn't official yet. 

If Lesslie is confirmed as the X-Men film reboot's chief scribe, though, he'll be the first person – apart from Marvel President Kevin Feige, who's set to produce the movie – to join the project.

EXCLUSIVE: Following the success of its animated series ‘X-Men 97,’ Marvel Studios is now ramping things up on its live-action ‘X-Men’ movie as Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes scribe Michael Lesslie is in negotiations to pen the movie https://t.co/Ycgnqg6RXx May 21, 2024

Feige previously admitted it would be years before an X-Men movie would be made, but it seems Marvel has re-evaluated its stance following a surge in the super team's popularity. 

X-Men 97 , a sequel to the beloved 1990s classic X-Men: The Animated Series ( X:TAS ) and whose first season recently ended on Disney Plus , was a huge success for the comic titan. Indeed, the animated series dominated the news cycle throughout its 10 week run on the streamer, wowing established fans with its honoring of X:TAS and the X-Men's illustrious literary history, as well as introducing the iconic mutants to a new generation. 

Little wonder, then, that nobody can wait for the in-development X-Men 97 season 2 to debut on one of the world's best streaming service s. Be sure to read my X-Men 97 season 1 ending explained article to see what it sets up ahead of the show's return.

But I digress. With X-Men 97 re-establishing the X-Men as one of Marvel's most valuable properties, it's little surprise that the studio wants to get the ball rolling on the mutants' MCU debut. 

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It'll be many years before the group returns to the big screen as part of Marvel's cinematic juggernaut – a director and primary cast members also need to be found – but it's nonetheless pleasing to see that there's some movement on its development. 

Indeed, the last major piece of news we have on the film was a wild MCU rumor suggesting that it might be titled The Mutants – and that piece of conjecture is three years old at this point. Here's hoping that Lesslie's likely involvement will mean more announcements – official or otherwise – are made in the not-too-distant future.

A Less(lie) than ideal appointment for some Marvel fans

Pleasing as it is to see that someone other than Feige is now involved in the MCU's X-Men film, Lesslie's apparent hiring hasn't universally gone down well with Marvel fans. A quick look at some of the replies in threads on ResetEra and various Marvel Reddit pages , regarding Lesslie's supposed appointment, reveal a number of fans aren't pleased with Marvel's choice for the film's head writer, with some calling it a "pretty risky choice", "underwhelming", and "boring".

It's easy to see why sections of the MCU's fanbase are irked by Lesslie's rumored (remember, his hiring hasn't been confirmed by Marvel) appointment. A quick look at Lesslie's previous writing credits include the critically panned Assassin's Creed , a 2016 film adaptation of Ubisoft's popular video game series, as well as 2015's Macbeth film and the aforementioned Hunger Games prequel flick. 

The latter pair also received middling reviews, with critics praising the former (general audiences weren't as enamored with it, as evidenced by its Rotten Tomatoes score), while critics were underwhelmed by The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes , which cinemagoers largely enjoyed (again, per Rotten Tomatoes ).

Of course, the views of these individuals aren't representative of the entire MCU fanbase, nor will anyone care who's written the movie if it turns out to be a fantastic live-action reboot that captures the essence of what makes the X-Men so special. We'll find out if Lesslie is the right person for the job once Marvel's new X-Men movie hits theaters, whenever that'll be. 

Until that time comes, there are other X-Men-centric projects to look forward to. As well as the previously mentioned X-Men 97 season 2, another mutant-filled film in Deadpool and Wolverine – the only Marvel movie of 2024 – is the next Marvel Phase 5 flick to land in theaters, with one of 2024's most anticipated new movies arriving on July 25.

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As TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as this Moon Knight TV spot .

Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across. Got a scoop, interesting story, or an intriguing angle on the latest news in entertainment? Feel free to drop him a line.

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Demi moore addresses extreme nudity, violence in cannes shocker ‘the substance’.

Co-star Dennis Quaid called Moore's performance in Coralie Fargeat’s body horror movie “the beginning of an incredible third act” for the actress.

By Scott Roxborough

Scott Roxborough

Europe Bureau Chief

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Demi Moore said performing in Coralie Fargeat’s body horror shocker The Substance required accepting a “level of vulnerability and rawness” with regard to her own body on screen.

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Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle

Despite a strong field, Karasuno High volleyball team advances past preliminary round of Harutaka tournament in Miyagi prefecture to reach the third round. Despite a strong field, Karasuno High volleyball team advances past preliminary round of Harutaka tournament in Miyagi prefecture to reach the third round. Despite a strong field, Karasuno High volleyball team advances past preliminary round of Harutaka tournament in Miyagi prefecture to reach the third round.

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• $73,140,851

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 25 minutes
• Dolby Digital
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