‘Get Out’, ‘Hereditary’ and the issue with elevated horror
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Hear Me Out: Ti West’s domination of the horror genre cannot be ignored
You don’t have to cast your mind back far at all to appreciate the cinematic success of American filmmaker Ti West, with his latest movie, X, being released earlier in 2022 to critical and commercial acclaim. Paying homage to the history of cinema, West’s film was a curious piece of idiosyncratic horror cinema that, unbeknownst to audiences, would kick off an unprecedented trilogy of terror.
Radiating a self-evident passion for the genre, West learnt his craft from the very bottom of the industry ladder, touching on almost every aspect of horror on his way up, making low-budget flicks such as The Roost, Trigger Man and Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, before his first critical success with 2009’s The House of the Devil. Itself a distinctive eccentric question mark, sporting a distinctive look and style that recalled the heyday of 1980s horror, the genre pastiche would pave the groundwork for West’s modern successes.
Comparing modern horror to adult movies during his press tour for House of the Devil, West told Interview Magazine in 2009, “Horror is really unfortunate now. It’s like porn,” before adding: “There is no time spent on the ‘real life’ aspect anymore. It becomes just one kill or cum-shot after another. Mainstream horror is only about titillation”.
Clearly, whilst West has enjoyed a celebrated career in the industry, he was aware of how the genre needed to change to accommodate modern tastes. Indeed, the likes of Robert Eggers, Jennifer Kent and Ari Aster have helped to repair the genre’s reputation since 2009, but in 2022, West has demonstrated how he intends to subvert the constructs of horror, creating a new trilogy in the space of a mere few months. It all started with X.
Paying homage to the era whilst toying with its sheer structure and identity, West’s X instantly proved itself as one of the most unconventional horror films of the 21st century, taking a slow, methodical approach to the genre that carefully creates atmosphere whilst meddling with the history of ‘80s horror. But, almost more importantly, the film concretes West’s dedication to experimentation, subverting a toying with cliché, constantly taking you to places that seem familiar before pulling the rug from beneath your feet.
Constructed with careful cranking tension, West’s movie is an exemplary piece of horror filmmaking, spending much of its time establishing a tone and setting up its characters before descending into chaos. Neither is the film merely skin-deep, too, with the third act decoding the relationship between sex and violence that has long been sown into the very fabric of the genre, creating a valuable piece of modern horror history that closes the gap between the censorship of ‘80s slasher horror.
Standing alone as a special modern horror movie, X is also a movie about cinema that prods and mocks franchised terror whilst itself setting up a wider universe that has recently been confirmed with the prequel movie Pearl and even an upcoming sequel named MaXXXine. Creating a trilogy of movies in the space of mere months, West is due to bring the genre full circle, devising a franchise of horror that speaks to the commerciality of 1980s slasher flicks as well as the pretentious concept of contemporary ‘Elevated Horror’.
Look up and take notice; Ti West is pioneering new ground and taking horror cinema to dark corners it hasn’t dared go before.
