The Horror Returns - THR: Bonus Episode - X (2022)

Episode Date: March 28, 2022

Kevin, Brian, and Lance review the new Ti West movie, X. Thanks for listening! The Horror Returns Website: https://thehorrorreturns.com THR Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thehorrorreturns THR Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehorrorreturns/ Join THR Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1056143707851246 THR Twitter: https://twitter.com/horror_returns?s=21&t=XKcrrOBZ7mzjwJY0ZJWrGA THR Instagram: https://instagram.com/thehorrorreturns?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= SK8ER Nez Podcast Network https://www.podbean.com/pu/pbblog-p3n57-c4166 ESP Anchor Feed: https://anchor.fm/mac-nez E Society YouTube Channel https://youtube.com/channel/UCliC6x_a7p3kTV_0LC4S10A

victims for those of you delight and dread who fantasize about fear who glorify go welcome you have found the place where the horror returns listeners beware this podcast contains major plot spoilers and the foulest of language. Join us in celebrating the old and the new, the best, and the worst in horror. This is Lance here with Nez and also Brian, and we're bringing another one of the shorter episodes we're going to talk about another movie we checked out in the theater lately.

This is X. We did have a four-year-old co-host. We decided to let her go. not the best movie to discuss with a kid. So it's just going to be, you guys get us three. So we'll start out with a description. In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when they're reclusive elderly hosts catch them in the act.

Okay. The cast find themselves fighting for their lives. Director, writer Ty West, also known for the innkeepers in the house of the devil. A little bit of trivia the day after the film's South by Southwest premiere, writer-director Ty West, revealed during pre-production for the film, he had used his time during a mandatory two-week quarantine in his hotel to write a prequel called Pearl. As the production for X-Rapped and also because the sets were already constructed, the Astor Mia Gauth, if she wished to remain in New Zealand in film Pearl, which she readily accepted. The prequel is due for release later.

later in 2022. Another thing we got here, Ty West has previously collaborated and starred in the 2011 smash hit film, You're Next, which oversaw his character alongside a group of others contending with killers at a secluded

home and its property. So it's all the, all the trivia we got for now. X, what do you think, Nez? Well, spoiler alert for the end. I didn't know what to expect with this film. I didn't know what it was about.

I just went and seen it. And I watched this movie three times. And man, this movie was awesome. The first time I was like, I had to soak it all in. I had to get past the hour of pornography before actually, before actually anything happened because I was like, come on.

Something happened other than what they were showing us, which wasn't bad. I didn't recognize anybody in the cast except for the main I guess producer or whatever. The guy that was running the whole thing. I recognized him.

Not Matthew McConaughey. Yeah, that guy. I'd seen him and other things. I'd seen him in other things. I didn't know Ty West had wrote and directed this. So I was

like all right cool let me just see what it is because everybody was talking about it and saying how good it was so i was like all right let me just go see this and i was shocked that it was playing in the theater and a little one-horse town that i live in so i figured all right well this is a big film so but man once it was said and done i thought it was awesome uh i had no idea that there was something at the end of the credits um i was watching something on youtube and they had said that there was something. So I was like, dangan, I got to see it again. So yeah, luckily it was on YouTube. Somebody filmed it and put it on YouTube, so I was able to see it. So I'm like, ah, cool, right on. We're, uh, we're getting more. So I'm, I'm all in. I mean, I loved what

was happening. I loved all the characters. I didn't really know who that Mia goth girl was until I looked up what else she had done. Then I was like, ah, okay. I know who she is. But yeah, overall, I thought the film was awesome. I liked it. Um, I think it might have been a little overhyped for me because there was a lot coming in about this before the release and I liked it for the most part I just wish it would have got going a little bit quicker you know like Ness said there was probably what damn near hour of porn and making porn and talking about porn which I don't have no problem with porn but okay I don't know for a slasher movie I'm like just

you know, come on, let's get going. I enjoyed the story. I liked everybody in the cast. We've been talking about Jenna Ortega. She's in everything. Seeing later kind of bothered me because she, to me, she's a beautiful girl, but she still looks like a young kid. She's 10.

Yeah. Oh, shit, Nass. I don't know about that. She looked hell of young. I didn't realize Kid Cuddy was in here, the rapper. Yeah, I didn't recognize him in the trailer. I didn't realize that was him. When the movie first got going, I honestly, I had to double check and pull my phone out

and look to see if this was Matthew McConaughey because he was really. I don't know if that's where he was trying to go with his performance, but that's exactly how I thought of it. The gore, I thought was pretty good. some of the kills I wish we could have seen because there was a couple of off-screen deaths which I don't know that choice as a

director but you know it is what it is and the way it ended I kind of I agree with Nez I do want more and shout out to Nez for sending me the video because as soon as the credits

gone started a coming me and the wife was gone I did the same So you guys are going to have to talk to me after when we're in the spoiler territory, I guess. Okay. Well, I'll send you the video. All right.

Cool. All right. So you guys were, Net-Nez, you sound like you were really happy with it. Brian. You were kind of so-so, huh? I really liked it. I just wish it would have just got gone. You know, there's a couple movies I've seen lately that it just took too long to go.

and the end saved it for me. I liked everything that happened, and I just wish, you know, we're really not watching porn, so do we really need to see them film a porn movie, which made no sense. I didn't understand what the story of the porn movie

is Kit Cuddy just banging. Everybody. The farmer's daughter? I guess, man. The farmer's daughter that turned into the farmer's daughters. I didn't. Right. He said it goes, he goes, this doesn't make sense when they brought in the other girl.

I guess she was the adopted daughter, right? Yeah, I mean, I didn't mind all that, but yeah, waiting pretty much 59 minutes in before we actually got anything. I mean, I didn't mind what was going on. It was buildup, but it didn't need to be an hour. It could have been a half hour of buildup and then go into what's going on and then kick us in the face with all the blood and gore. Because I thought all that was good because it was pretty much practical the whole time. There was some CGI in that it was all right. It wasn't the greatest.

But I was really happy that they went to practical effects. So I loved all that. Like I said, I'd seen this multiple times. So the first time I was like, hmm, okay. And then I had to see it again and again. And then I was like, oh, okay. So I really loved what was happening. And to what's going to come, I am curious on what that is all about.

But I was like, do we need a prequel to what's happening here? I know Ty West had recently said, I guess this is a planned trilogy. Really? Yeah. Okay. So I don't know if the third one's going to take place after or in between these ones. So he hasn't really said. Hmm.

That's interesting. I'd rather have a continuation to this one. Don't. Okay, you're going to give us a prequel, but don't give us a prequel to the prequel. I mean, just see what comes. See what's going to happen further in this. Okay. All right.

Well, well. Yeah, see, I had a little bit. a little bit of a different thought about it than either of you guys. So that's good because we all had different perspectives on it. But I'm a, you know, historically I'm a huge Thai-West fan because I do love the slow burn. So I was kind of actually, I was really enjoying that first hour of character development and slow burn. Because if you think of as other movies like The House of the Devil, they spend like 15 minutes in a pizza restaurant talking about toppings on a pizza.

and shit like that. So that's kind of the director that he is. And I like that buildup. But what we didn't get with this one, in which we won't really talk about until spoilers. But I was kind of expecting a big slam bang, you know, slap in the face at the end, like you typically get from his movies.

And I just kind of thought it was more of just a straight forward horror movie, which was cool. You know, it wasn't a bad film. But I'm really, man, it didn't hit me in the jaw like his movies usually do and go bat shit crazy in the last 10 minutes. I guess spoiler alert, but I got to say that's kind of like the only, you know, the only thing I had a problem with was that I kind of expected more of a Thai West ending. I didn't think it was a horror movie.

I thought it was more of a suspense. Thrill, thriller, mystery suspense on who these people were at the farmhouse. and because like I said it was a lot a lot of buildup unnecessary buildup yeah well that's Ty West man he always does that but then once we got to what was going on at the end we knew who these people were and we don't know who they are but we knew what was going to happen

from here on out I did have some issues with all of that but when we get to spoilers I'll let you know what I thought was like what really but okay right Overall, again, I really love this film. You guys want to go ahead and go ahead and the scores then? Yeah. Because it's kind of hard to talk about this one, right?

Yep. What do you think, Naz? I give this a 10. This was... I loved it. But I didn't... I wouldn't have gave it a 10 if I just watched it the one time. Right.

So if I had to rate that very... If I have to rate the first time I saw, I'd probably give it like maybe seven and a half. Oh, big difference. All right. But after seeing it and going, oh, yeah, all right, yeah, it's a 10 now. Cool. Is this your first 10 of the year? Me?

No. No. Okay. Uh-uh. Horror-wise? No, because I gave Scream 5 or scream whatever. That was a chance. That was hell of good.

All right. I'd seen that five times. That was hell of good. Well, as soon as they hit Paramount Plus. Brian, is this a 10, man? No, I'm giving it 8. Like I said, I liked majority of it. I like the acting, the story.

What really just kind of heard it for me was the pacing. And it might have been a little bit of the the critics and all the responses coming in right before the movie came out. Yeah. The best horror movie of the year.

and people were talking about the ending just completely. I don't know if I'm just, like, desensitized, but I didn't come out at the end, like, oh, my gosh, what did I just watch, you know? Yeah, I got the same feeling. I expected more from a Thai West ending, you know. Maybe it was that after-credit scene that I missed, right? Yeah, but I will give it an eight, and I will say this is probably... It's a good score.

I think this is probably close to Ty West's best movie. for me. Holy shit. Okay. That's saying a lot. Shit, I'll go seven and a half. I'm probably doing a lot of seven and a half this year so far. But yes, for me, Scream was up there. And Nez, I like Studio 666 quite a bit. I think those two are in the lead for me. I was a 10 as well. Yeah, I, yeah, I love that movie. But I, this one, man, I don't know. Man, I just expected more in the end. I thought there was going to be a big twist or something, which I never got. I thought something was going to happen that wasn't telegraphed, but I don't know. It was a good straightforward, you know, suspense movie, if you want to call it that, but that was about it for me.

So, um, spoilers. Yep. This is a motherfucking spoiler alert. You've been fucking warned. This is a motherfucking spoiler alert. you've been fucking warned this is a motherfucking spoiler alert you've been fucking warned real quick Lance how was the Texas accents I thought they were pretty

accurate for the most part like you said you had McConaughey Jr. over there that wasn't the same guy that was no that wasn't the same McConaughey dude that was in oh fuck the Forever Purge because he tried to pull the McConaug

too, right? This guy was he was in ring. He was in the ring. Yeah. The first one. Okay. All right. Well, I don't know. I mean, I kind of recognized everybody that was in this one. The other guy, the kind of nerdy dude,

the cameraman, what was he in? He was in something recently too, I thought. I wanted to say he was the nerd in Cabin' the Woods, but no, right? The only thing I see real quick that he is in that I've seen, he was in that movie

Super Dark Times. Is that an Australian movie? I don't know. Okay. I don't know. American American movie.

All right. He looks familiar to me for some reason, but... His character was a pus. Right. Right. Yeah.

Neither you say no. Okay, that's the scene I was talking about that Jenna Ortega decided she wanted to do porn. Right, right. It made me feel weird because she looked so young. Yeah. And I get that she wanted to come out of her shell because they kept calling her church mouse and stuff like that.

But man, you at least talk to your boyfriend before you're just going to do it. Yeah. And him just neither she's going to do it or she's not going to do it. And if she does it, man, leave, man. Don't sit there and fucking film it and then crying to shower like a bitch later. man. No, man. Yeah, that's tough, man. That's tough. Yeah. I kind of felt bad for him, but at the same

time, I was just like, no, man, you stayed and you filmed it. Right. He kind of knew what he was getting into, right? He set himself up. I don't think he was like a pornographer. He was just more of a filmmaker. And then when his

woman got, I assume she got fired up from watching it all. I saw what kids Cuddy was packing and yeah I think him trying to prove that a filmmaker can make a good porn movie I think he let that get in the way

of stopping his girlfriend okay he was like Bert Reynolds and uh boogie nights yeah well that the Matthew McCona A junior guy he could definitely sweep talk people into doing shit too couldn't he he was

he kind of had away with words didn't he yeah my my issue with it was the the the two elderly um people okay um okay we're gonna get a bad makeup right uh well not the best now with four uh 4k and hd and all this yeah you can really see uh that it doesn't look the greatest but um i didn't realize that was me agath at first but when they first showed her I knew it was a younger woman, but as I was, I was thinking, is that her? And then once the movie was over, I was like, oh, it was her. So, but I didn't buy the elderly couple killing everyone.

I was kind of like, the shotgun blast. Shotkin blast, okay, maybe the surprise when that guy took the nail or whatever that was to the head, which I thought that was cool. but as some of it I was kind of like really you couldn't overpower this old lady but I don't know I was just all right it's a film I mean we just looked the other way on what was happening that was my only issue with it but I thought the kills were cool especially when they when it got to practical effects I thought that was cool when they ran over that dude at the end and with the van watermelon head I thought that was awesome um I did love the alligator. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah.

You knew, when they showed it earlier in the film, you knew that was going to come back to some point. When they walked over by the water, I was like, ah, okay. I knew where it was going. They kind of telegraphed that, didn't they? Speaking on that with the alligator, there was some beautiful shots in this movie. Like, wide shots just showing the whole farm, and then, like, Ness was talking about the alligator. when you first seen it, that above shot, what you saw the whole lake or pond or whatever.

And I think I read something early today, Britney Snow, the actress that's the one that died from the alligator. She said that was mostly practical effects with the little CQ. Yeah, you could see it was more practical than CGI. Of course there was some, but I thought they did a really good job. I mean, they didn't go overboard. They didn't go. What I really loved with this was

They didn't like Kill us with the CGI blood Because I hate when they used that They didn't They didn't pull a machete with a CGI blood Or a escape room with a CGI fire Huh? Fire wasn't that bad

Oh but Yeah I mean this movie was Was awesome I loved what was going on But other than them Fighting with the older elder elderly people. Right. I go back to my number one gripe about the film was it didn't need to take an hour for it to get where it was going to go.

Yeah. But again, man, that's Ty West. You know, he's like a he's like a slow burn guy. It made sense to me that he would do something he said in the late 70s because that's kind of like his his filmmaking style. This was out in the sticks in your area, right? Yeah, it was outside of Houston. I think it was, yeah, supposed to be kind of near Houston and Louisiana, right? Yeah, but it was filmed somewhere on the other side of the world.

Right. Did you guys realize that in the weird, like, religious TV show that apparently everybody in this area watches that the little girl that the guy was talking about was me a guy's character? Yes, yeah. Well, not the first time, but I got it. Yeah, my wife caught that, like. immediately and I was just like, how you figure that? And then I looked it up after we,

I was like, oh, you are right. But I'm not going to tell you, you're right. Yeah, like she ran away from home, I guess. And, you know, she was like the lost lamb or whatever. What did I miss in the after credits, guys? Uh, it was, go ahead. It was just going to, it just showed you, uh, the younger version of Pearl.

It said, okay. The show was it, in 1979? or whatever when this happened and then it goes back to like I don't know how far back I can't remember but when she's a younger woman and then they show because they show the farm

how it looks all old and then it just it looked brand new and then they started showing all the set of so younger version of the earlier adventures of Pearl and they even show the alligator in the water so I assume it was as old as her yeah essentially it was

a teaser for Pearl yeah okay that makes sense so that there's some more to me i got kind of the religious craziness is going to be happening in this in this prequel so but yeah i'm i'm excited i thought this was going to go deeper than that with everybody watching that same program like i thought the lady from the gas station was going to somehow be involved later and i mean maybe it is that way we just haven't really seen because maybe that's what what the third movie is. It picks up where Mia Goss's character

leaves the farm and she tries to go to the police and everybody's kind of in on it. Okay. They know about Pearl hanging up. Maybe maybe after this one then. Which I really want

to know what her thing is because she had that one guy hanging up with his pants down in the basement and then she was getting on naked with Mia Gauth in the bed and right. She didn't want the other ones because they weren't right or something, so

yeah. She wanted to get down, but the grandpa's heart wasn't my heart, my heart. He got down. Yeah, yeah, he did. I was like, whoa, what's going on? You guys are right. You brought up a good point. They should have gone further with that religious show, I think, right? Or maybe they're saving that story for the other two movies then.

I think it's going to be in the next. one. All right. Yeah, I definitely wanted to see more of that for sure. That was kind of like a teaser. I don't know. Like I said, I kind of, you know, I enjoyed the film. I just like, once it got toward the end of it, I was like, well, is something really big going to happen?

Like, y'all remember the House of the Devil, how that movie ended? Like, it was super, super slow burn the whole way. And then the last 10 minutes just fucking, she would walk into one room and there was like a cult there and then walk into another room and there was shit going on with a demon. And I was kind of

expect and something like that. Maybe we'll get at the next, but is, is Ty West going to direct the other, the other two, I guess? He already, he already. He already made, yeah. Okay. All right. Well, we'll check it out.

All right. You guys good for this one? Yep. All right. Thanks for listening to another episode. We'll be back really soon, right, guys? Yeah. See you guys next time. Party on.