X – THE MARK OF DEATH – A SLASHER, BUT WITH SOMETHING EXTRA

Bruno Ricardo de Souza Dias
EEdition: Marco Aurélio Lucchetti

Historically, one of the most successful subgenres of horror among audiences is... Slasher, This genre is characterized by films featuring a psychopathic killer who violently and explicitly stalks and murders a group of people. This killer, who often wears a mask or some kind of disguise to conceal their identity, may have obscure or random motivations..
As an example of Slasher, I'll cite one of the earliest examples of this subgenre: Night of Terror (Black Christmas), produced in Canada, directed by Bob Clark and released in 1974.
Starring Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, Keir Dullea, and John Saxon, Night of Terror It was inspired by an urban legend and features as its central characters the members of a college sorority who, during the Christmas holidays, begin receiving threatening phone calls and are subsequently murdered by a serial killer.

Olivia Hussey (1951-2024), playing one of the threatened students in Night of Terror.

Night of Terror It even had two remakes. One in 2006 and another in 2019. The 2006 version is known in our country as... Black Christmas. The 2019 edition, however, received the title of [title missing] in Brazil. Bloody Christmas.    

Aleyse Shannon, Imogen Poots, Brittany O'Grady and Lily Donoghue, representing the sorority girls, in Bloody Christmas.

In 2022, the renowned production company A24 released X – The Mark of Death, a film that seeks to pay homage to and reference classic films by Slasher. However, between the lines, he shows that he goes beyond the genre itself..
Directed, written, and produced by American Ti West, X – The Mark of Death This gives rise to what would be known as X Trilogy. This trilogy consists of the prequel Pearl (2022) and by sequence MaXXXine (2024).

A scene from Maxxxine, featuring British actress Lily Collins.

Set in the late 1970s, the plot of X - The Mark of Death It follows a group of six people who, in order to make a pornographic film entitled The Farmer's Daughters, rents part of an isolated farm in Texas.
The group consists of: Maxine (Mia Goth), an aspiring porn star; Wayne (Martin Henderson), Maxine's boyfriend and executive producer of the film; Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), a veteran of pornographic films; Jackson (Scott Mescudi), another veteran of porn; RJ (Owen Campbell), an idealistic filmmaker; and Lorraine (Jenna Ortega), who is a sound technician and RJ's girlfriend.

And the artists and technical team of The Farmer's Daughters They arrive at the filming location.
DFrom left to right: RJ, Lorraine, Bobby-Lynne, Jackson, Maxine, and Wayne.

At first, Lorraine feels embarrassed about participating in the making of a pornographic film. But after watching some scenes being filmed, she reveals her desire to be one of the actresses in the movie, which doesn't please RJ at all.    

The farm where it's being filmed. The Farmer's Daughters It belongs to Howard and Pearl, an elderly couple with strange behaviors. Howard is quite temperamental. He is always mentioning or brandishing his shotgun. As for Pearl, also played by Mia Goth, she displays a silent obsession with Maxine, showing jealousy of her youth and beauty.

Old Pearl and young Maxine, two characters played by Mia Goth.

RJ and his crew begin filming without informing their hosts what kind of film they are making. Later, when Pearl starts acting disturbingly and people begin to disappear, the atmosphere on the farm becomes tense. Then, the attempt to realize a cinematic dream transforms into a desperate fight for survival, with the elderly couple revealing macabre secrets and motivations linked to repression, aging, and frustrated desires.

Lorraine lets out a scream the moment she begins to discover the dangers lurking on Howard and Pearl's farm.

X – The Mark of Death It is undeniably a great tribute to slasherThe film captures the essence of the 1970s, accurately replicating the aesthetics and spirit of the era. The cinematography, by Eliot Rockett, utilizes lenses and lighting that emulate the grainy texture of classic films. Slasher. Another strong and very interesting aspect of Ti West's film is the soundtrack, composed by Tyler Bates and Chelsea Wolfe. The soundtrack plays a fundamental role in creating the atmosphere with nostalgic tones.

In the scene above, showing Bobby-Lynne in the foreground, Eliot Rockett's talent as a cinematographer is evident.

It's impossible to talk about X – The Mark of Death ...and not acknowledge Mia Goth's outstanding performance. She shines as both young Maxine and old Pearl. And this was only the beginning of her career as a horror film star. Mia also shines in the rest of the... X Trilogy and in Infinity Pool (Infinity Pool), film released in 2023.

The makeup team of X – The Mark of Death She puts the finishing touches on Mia Goth, who has already been transformed into the old Pearl.

Mia Goth, playing Gabi Bauer, the main female character in Infinity Pool.

In X – The Mark of Death, Ti West goes beyond the basics in genre films. Slasher, Because it manages to subvert expectations. Instead of the typical indestructible, masked killer, like Michael Myers from the saga... Halloween, or Leatherface, from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, In his film "The Man from U.N.C.," 1974, the director presents physically frail villains. Furthermore, by linking the villains' motivations to youthful envy and sexual repression, the film's motivation is also crucial. X – The Mark of Death It leaves everything with an intense psychological depth, making us reflect on themes such as aging, sexuality in old age, and conservative puritanism.

The villain Michael Myers, who appeared in Halloween (Halloween – The Night of Terror, 1978), a film directed by John Carpenter.

One of the memorable moments of X – The Mark of Death That's when Pearl watches Maxine sleeping.

The fact that Ti West did not appeal to jump scares Free jump scares, that is, those that appear out of nowhere, usually with something jumping and screaming on the screen, are another highlight..
X – The Mark of Death It draws parallels between pornography and horror, both marginalized film genres considered, even in the 21st century, an affront to more conservative societies. The religious narrative in the background, with televised sermons, can also be considered a critique of fanaticism and moral hypocrisy.

Bobby-Lynne and Jackson, a reference to the stars of American pornography from the 1970s.

The production company A24 is known for ensuring, even if minimally, that the director has greater creative freedom over their work. Therefore, in X – The Mark of Death, The bloodiest scenes of violence, using prosthetics and mannequins, were performed without much restraint, reminiscent of horror films. gore Typical of classics by directors Lucio Fulci or Tobe Hooper. Its rural and sometimes claustrophobic setting, in addition to the existence of a lake on the property (in this lake there is a terrifying crocodile), intensifies the atmosphere of fear.

Jennifer O'Neill, screaming at the top of her lungs, in Premonition (Sette Note in Nero, 1977), one of the numerous horror films directed by the Italian filmmaker Lucio Fulci (1927-1996). 

Original (Italian) poster of Premonition.

Maxine swims peacefully in the lake, unaware that the place is the habitat of a crocodile.

Another distinguishing feature of X – The Mark of DeathHis numerous references to cinema, especially to classic horror and suspense films, show how Ti West is a passionate and dedicated cinephile. I believe his clearest reference is the aforementioned [film title]. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, directed by Tobe Hooper. The rural setting in Texas, the group of young people in a van And the isolated farm directly reminds us of that iconic horror film. Psychosis (Psycho, The duality between Maxine and Pearl, 1960, one of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpieces, alludes to the psychological complexity of Norman Bates, played by Anthony Perkins. The sexual repression of the villains evokes the repressive morality typical of Hitchcock's films. As for Pearl's gradual madness, it recalls the mental deterioration of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in [film title missing]. The Shining (The Shining, 1980), directed by Stanley Kubrick. Deep Throat (Deep Throat, The film (1972), directed by Gerard Damiano, serves as a reference point for all other classic pornographic films with more ambitious pretensions. “artistic” from the period that Ti West's film seeks to honor. Friday the 13th (Friday the 13th, 1980), directed by Sean S. Cunningham, is one of slashers most iconic. In it, as well as in X, In this context, sex is associated with death, and we have a punitive morality; but, implicitly, there is a subversion that challenges the puritanism of society. Finally, in the same way that Panic (Scream), 1996), directed by Wes Craven, X – The Mark of Death It uses metalanguage and discussion about the rules of Slasher in a more evident and reflective way.
Upon rewatching the film, I was able to spot those references. Now, if I watch it again, I will certainly notice others.

Original (American) poster of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Original (American) poster of Psychosis.

Anthony Perkins (1932-1992), playing Norman Bates, in Psychosis.

Jack Nicholson, portraying the character Jack Torrance, in The Shining.

Original (American) poster of Deep Throat.

Linda Lovelace (born Linda Susan Boreman, 1949–2002), the star of Deep Throat.

Original (American) poster of Friday the 13th.

Original (American) poster of Panic.

In conclusion: X – The Mark of Death It's the starting point for one of the most interesting trilogies in recent horror cinema, and it's a very good film overall. From it, we began to pay attention to the work of director Ti West, as well as the brilliant performances of Mia Goth.

Original (American) poster of X – The Mark of Death.

X – The Mark of Death (X, United States, 2022, 106')
Direction: Ti West
Road map: Ti West
Photography: Eliot Rockett
Assembly: David Kashevaroff & Ti West
Music: Tyler Bates & Chelsea Wolfe
Cast: Mia Goth (Maxine and Pearl), Jenna Ortega (Lorraine), Brittany Snow (Bobby-Lynne), Scott Mescudi (Jackson), Martin Henderson (Wayne), Owen Campbelll (RJ), James Gaylyn (Sheriff Dentler), Simon Prast (Ernest Miller, a television pastor), Stephen Ure (Howard), Bryony Skillington (clerk)

Bruno Ricardo de Souza Dias has a degree in History and is a great connoisseur of films.