How many times have I let the dust build up here? Right now my honest answer is, at least once more, Miss Swann. As always.
But I'm brushing off the dust here again, throwing the switches to see if the circuits still work and if the juices still flow. They're flowing. Yes, they're flowing.
About a month ago, I started watching X, the movie by Ti West. I shut it off after a few minutes, my mind drifting and me realizing I wasn't in the mood for anything I had to seriously focus on. I've watched bits and pieces of it since then, but nothing more than a bit at a time. Sunday night I finished it, and I'm glad I did.
Now from here on I'm going to get into spoilers. So if you haven't seen X, step away and fix that. I'll still be here when you finish.
Damn, was that good or what?
A lot has been said about starting a movie by building tension right from the beginning. I think that one of the reasons I didn't finish X in one sitting is because I wasn't expecting it to do that as effectively as it did. The opening teases us with just enough of a hint at the ending to let us draw our own, likely false, conclusions on how things would turn out. Then we cut to our heroes, two beautiful ladies take center stage, joined shortly by a third. Three men, and three women. Maybe we don't like all of them, but we can relate to them. We're already emotionally involved.
The tension builds. There are conflicts within the group because they're all working toward a single purpose, yet no one's motivations quite line up with anyone else's, do they? They head out to the country, silent and isolating, where they meet an old couple who are definitely not on the same page as our heroes. Lust, frustration, jealousy/envy, and betrayal all keep things rolling at an increasing pace. Add spices like guns, cocaine, (most people are still puritanical enough to get uneasy witnessing casual drug use) all the issues surrounding sex, and the fact that being around people who are really old gives us an uncomfortable reminder of our own mortality, and you've got a damn good recipe.
There are little treats sprinkled here and there, too. The movie referencing itself ('one god damned fucked up horror picture') and other films. The first and last shots of our protagonist have them repeating the same action. All those moments when suddenly something we've become familiar with now has a deeper, shocking reason for being there.
There's a prequel, and I'm looking forward to it, wanting to see if it can fill those big shoes that X delivered. Will they connect the two stories as well as I hope they do? (Those holes in the wall of the barn, hell of a coincidence that they were spaced just right, isn't it? Or were they made for that purpose, years before our three women and three men ever arrived out in the country?) I don't know, but I'm going to find out.
As for me, my pen and keyboard are cranking out fiction again, so I'll be dropping things in the dark, murky waters once more and seeing what gets hooked. Like getting back up on a bike, you can still do it and you can also remember the pain of every time you fell. I still feel it.
By the way, it's okay. I won't tell on you, hiding back there. Yeah, I know you kept reading even though you hadn't seen the movie yet. Don't worry, those surprises are still waiting for you.
Still writing.
