Movie Review: XX
Sadly, we have seen the horror genre falter many times because of the lack of originality and storytelling on display. There are only those two or three unique instances a year where audiences witness a well executed film from that genre. Here, we have “XX”, a movie split up into four short films written by four different women. As pleasant as it is to see four women writers in a genre mainly dominated by men, this project was frustrating in the sense that it was ambitious, but ineffective.
Since each short story had four different writers, it only makes sense that I review each one separately. The only real aspect that all four have in common is, a lead female role of some sorts.
To start, we have the first segment which is titled, “The Box.” This story was written and directed by Jovanka Vuckovic. While riding on the train with his mother Susan, a young boy asks a suspicious man what is inside his box. The old man describes it as a present, and allows the boy to look inside. After that event, the boy refuses to eat at all, and his parents start to worry about him.
While I see the uniqueness, this one like most fell flat on its face. While the message of compromise between husband and wife is there, the execution is way off. Which is a shame, because something like this could be relatable for some mothers who may not totally understand what their kids are going through. I felt a Twilight Zone vibe off of all of these stories, and this was just the start. By the end, I didn’t feel the emotional connection that should have been there.
Next, we have “The Birthday Party,” which was written and directed by Annie Clark, and co-written by Roxanne Benjamin. Mary, a mother of one, is trying to hold a birthday party for her daughter, Lucy. Things become freaky when she finds party guest, David dead in one of her rooms. Now, Mary must frantically hide the body before the guests arrive.
(Im’ sorry if this becomes repetitive, a lot of the problems are the same). Although this segment was the most ambitious of the bunch, the execution was once again, ineffective. The underdeveloped characters makes it hard for the audience to really care about Mary. On top of that, I feel like the message isn’t as relatable here. Apparently, it has something to do with how nosy people can be which is true, but it doesn’t strike any emotional chord with me.
For our third short story, we have “Don’t Fall”, which was written and directed by Roxanne Benjamin. Four friends decide to go on an expedition in the desert where they discover an ancient cave with evil spirits from the past. All hell breaks lose after this encounter with the old drawings.
This was by far the worst story out of the four. The underdeveloped characters and uninteresting antagonist made it feel like a distasteful generic horror flick for mainstream teenagers. This one definitely plays to the crowds the most. We still have the lead female role, but this one was the least genuine. The idea of demonizing a woman who has been heckled by her friends for too long was unoriginal and felt like a stupid scary story that you tell your friends and family while camping.
Thankfully, “XX” leaves the best for last. “Her Only Living Son” is probably the best representation of modern day womanhood out of the four. Written by Karyn Kusama, single mother Cora’s rebellious son, Andy, is about to turn 18. His peculiar behavior has lead Cora to really try to tap into his mind.
This one actually had developed characters, which is tough to do in its twenty minute running time. We got to understand why Andy is so troubled, and much of what he goes through is something that many may experience. Also, Cora is very relatable as well. Due to the fact that she is a struggling single mother whose husband left for Hollywood, audiences can understand why she wants to stay attached to her now grown up son.
Although the four films had a female lead role, most of the time this project felt pretentious. These women were obviously trying to make a statement in society, but they clearly weren’t able to display that message effectively. It’s evident that the mainstream audience found their execution to be confusing, as only 17 percent liked it according to Rotten Tomatoes. Critics actually gave it a 70 percent, which is questionable.
We need movies to push boundaries, especially in this society. Even though “XX” had good intentions, the emotional disconnect between the writers and its audiences created a train wreck that just couldn’t be stopped.
