Movie review
March 17, 2022 · 106 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
In 1979 rural Texas, a crew of young filmmakers rents a farm to shoot a low-budget adult movie and ends up fighting for survival against the property's reclusive elderly owners. The story centers on ambition, sexual desire, jealousy, and the physical and emotional realities of aging, particularly through the mirrored experiences of its two lead female characters. These themes appear as recurring psychological drivers within a classic slasher framework rather than as vehicles for modern activist messaging, identity politics, or institutional critique.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for X.
Woke representation / casting
Modern diverse ensemble cast (Black male performer, Latina crew member) placed in 1979 Texas porn-crew roles that align with the "ambitious outsiders" premise; no visible forcing, signaling, or narrative weight on demographics.
Woke political dialogue
Occasional background televangelist broadcasts deliver era-appropriate moralizing against promiscuity; no contemporary activist language, institutional lectures, or ideological monologues.
Identity-driven story themes
Strong recurring emphasis on female sexual desire, aging, beauty standards, and personal repression through the central Maxine/Pearl mirror and ensemble arcs; these elements clearly drive character motivations and horror beats in a way average viewers notice.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Depicts 1979 conservative religious repression as breeding violence and monstrosity in the elderly couple; offers period cultural contrast on sexual shame versus liberation but stays within slasher psychology rather than modern systemic or activist framing.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Limited to scattered, low-visibility online dismissals of aging/body themes as "woke"; no meaningful backlash, news coverage, or audience debate treating the film as pushing activist, identity-political, or left-wing content.
Creator track record context
Ti West maintains a consistent record of craft-focused horror without activist, diversity-driven, or politically themed prior work or public statements.
Production
