Ti West’s atmospheric X utilizes several filming locations to evoke time and place, but shockingly none of these are anywhere near Texas. First released domestically on March 18th, 2022, Ti West’s “erotic slasher” X has opened to rave reviews. In particular, critics have cited X‘s desire to return to a classic slice-and-dice formula that firmly acts as a homage to slasher classics such as John Carpenter’s Halloween and Dario Argento’s Tenebrae.
X follows a film crew as they arrive at a secluded Texas farm to shoot a pornographic film in the late 1970s, which idealistic director RJ (Owen Campbell) believes will be “a piece of cinema.” Seemingly blinded by their ambitions to capitalize on a burgeoning home video porn industry, the young group remain largely unaware of a covetous presence in the farmhouse next door in the form of Pearl (Mia Goth). However, as night falls, Pearl’s lustful intent turns violent, with Maxine (also Mia Goth), Lorraine (Jenna Ortega), Wayne (Martin Henderson), Jackson (Scott Mescudi), Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), and RJ forced to contend with the viciousness of Pearl’s jealousy and insecurities.
Aside from X‘s opening scene, the entirety of Ti West’s movie takes place at Howard (Stephen Ure) and Pearl’s farmhouse, creating a taut, insular-feeling slasher akin to Tobe Hooper’s seminal The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. West utilizes a handful of select filming locations to transport audiences back to 1979 rural Texas, deftly highlighting the social and technological changes happening in the south as evidenced by the contrast between RJ’s porn crew and the stuck-in-time existence of Pearl and Howard. As a result, here’s each X movie filming location explained.
Pearl & Howard’s Farm – Fordell, Whanganui District, North Island, New Zealand
The vast majority of Ti West’s X filming took place at a rural farm in the settlement of Fordell, NZ, which includes scenes on Pearl and Howard’s land, the swamp where Bobby-Lynne meets her demise, and several of the smaller farm properties used in the movie. X‘s production team constructed a large barn to accommodate several of the movie’s most memorable scenes, including Wayne being stabbed to death brutally with a pitchfork and the porn crew’s movie scenes using the hay bales on hand.
Pearl & Howard’s Farmhouse – Bulls, Rangitikei District, North Island, New Zealand
In addition to the Fordell shooting location, X uses the small town of Bulls to make up the remainder of its shots of Pearl and Howard’s homestead. The murderous couple’s townhouse was created using interior shots of Bulls’ old town hall, while additional establishing shots of Howard and Pearl’s farmland were created using the fertile farming area in the Rangitikei District at the junction of State Highways 1 and 3 north of Wellington, NZ.
Additional Locations – The City Of Whanganui, North Island, New Zealand
Several interior scenes for the horror Easter egg-filled X were also shot in and around the city of Whanganui itself, including the inception of Maxine, Lorraine, and company’s road trip idea. Whanganui is also where X likely created the televangelist scenes playing on Pearl and Howard’s TV, given Whanganui’s historic church that bears a striking resemblance to the chapel interior depicted in X.
