Famed author Stephen King praises Ti West’s new horror movie, X. The slasher had its premiere at South by Southwest earlier this month and opened theatrically in the US on March 18. The latest in a long string of A24 horror movie releases, X has so far received strong reviews from critics.
Both written and directed by West, whose past work includes The House of the Devil and In a Valley of Violence, the premise sees a group of people in 1979 take a trip to rural Texas to make a pornographic film, renting part of a strange, old couple’s property. When their hosts start to catch on, and the elderly Pearl takes an interest in aspiring actor Maxine, things start to take a turn for the worse. X stars Mia Goth in a dual role as Maxine and Pearl, recent Scream actor Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure, and Scott Mescudi, better known as the rapper Kid Cudi.
Now, adding his voice to those praising West’s X is King, a writer whose name is practically synonymous with horror after decades of enduring work in the genre. Sharing his review on Twitter, the author labels X “an extremely good horror movie,” noting both its fright-factor and its intelligent construction. King makes sure to point out that audiences who seek out West’s movie are going to have a good time with it, too. Check out his original post below:
With few voices as widely trusted by horror fans, getting King’s stamp of approval can be a big boost to any movie’s chances of making an impact. He famously championed Sam Raimi’s low-budget feature debut The Evil Dead before it had picked up official distribution, attracting the attention of critics and helping to launch the now-accomplished filmmaker’s career. In addition to the positive critical reception and the power of the A24 brand, King’s endorsement of X could result in a bump in box-office takings.
While strong financial performance is usually what leads to a sequel, West has already shot a surprise X prequel movie, Pearl, which sees Goth return as the younger version of her second role. Though it wasn’t originally planned, the director decided to write the second script while in quarantine before shooting in New Zealand, making a last-minute pitch to the studio to film the two movies back-to-back. The gamble looks to be paying off, and viewers who enjoyed X won’t have that long to wait for a return to West’s storyworld.
