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'X' star Brittany Snow on why the film is 'escapism at its finest'

The movie premiered to rave first reactions at the South by Southwest festival on Sunday.
"X," which follows a group of filmmakers who set out to make an adult film in rural Texas in 1979, had it debut at South by South West on March 12, 2022.
"X," which follows a group of filmmakers who set out to make an adult film in rural Texas in 1979, debuted at South by Southwest on Sunday.A24

Warning: This article includes some spoilers.

AUSTIN, Texas — Ti West's new film, “X,” is part erotic slasher film, part dark comedy. And according to star Brittany Snow, it's got all the elements that make a movie "escapism at its finest."

“This movie really gives everybody what we need right now,” Snow said in a recent Zoom interview. “There’s a lot of levity and charming people and characters in this movie, as well.”

The movie, which premiered to rave first reactions at the South by Southwest festival on Sunday, is set during a '70s amateur porn shoot at a secluded farmhouse in Texas. There, an older couple, Howard (Stephen Ure) and Pearl (Mia Goth in prosthetics), take a special interest in their young guests.

The film, released by A24, follows adult actors Bobby-Lyne (Snow), Maxine (Goth) and Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) and their respective partners, Wayne (Martin Henderson), Jackson (Scott Mescudi, known as Kid Cudi) and RJ (Owen Campbell). As the night progresses, the older couple’s lurking takes a deadly turn.

“Horror and porn, they have a symbiotic relationship,” West, who is known for indie horror favorites such as “The House of the Devil” and “The Innkeepers,” said at the SXSW premiere. “They are the two outsider genres.”

Snow said she thinks the film is "kind of subverting a genre."

"It's doing all of the things that you would come to expect from a great horror film in terms of tension, suspense, sex, a genre-specific piece — and also humor at the same time," she said.

Goth, who plays both Pearl and Maxine, said despite her characters being two different women, they shared a “very similar spirit.”

“I think that’s what’s so unsettling for Maxine, and why that’s so exciting for Pearl,” Goth said in a recent Zoom interview. “Maxine was just younger and perhaps a little braver than Pearl, who is probably living in a lot of regret and shame for the life choices she’s made in her life.”

“They’re kind of just mirroring each other, and it’s a lot,” Goth said.

Snow agreed, explaining that one scene midway throughout the film essentially captures the entire theme of the movie: the fear and tragedy of not living your life to its fullest.

In the scene — which is juxtaposed against unnerving, close-up shots of Pearl preparing for bed — the entire ensemble cast is lounging in the living room of their stay, as Jackson strums the guitar while Bobby-Lynne begins crooning a rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”

That juxtaposition, along with the song’s lyrics, distilled how tragic and scary life can be — “the beginning of something and how that could never happen for some people, and the disappointment of that,” Snow said.

What follows after the song ends is a series of violent murders — some of which were imbued with a touch of dark comedy.

At the end of the day, Snow and Goth both said they want moviegoers to enjoy the ride.

“I think we all could do with a little bit of fun right now,” Goth said.

Fans of the film are also in for another treat. Following the premiere, West revealed that a prequel film to “X” is already on the way. The movie, titled “Pearl,” was filmed in secret, in New Zealand during the pandemic. 

“X” is will hit theaters Friday.

CORRECTION (March 14, 2022, 9:10 p.m. ET): A previous photo caption in this article misstated the date on which “X” premiered at South by Southwest. It was Sunday, not Saturday.