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NotoriousFraudMar 19, 2017

Congratulations women, now you too can make unwatchable piles of garbage. And shame to every professional "critic" who gave this trite train wreck a positive review.

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2

MattBrady99Aug 1, 2017

"XX" is one of the most embarrassing piece of **** I've seen this year. Never have I been so bored and yet dumbfounded of how clunky the film making is.

This is another anthology film, but it's too bad nothing connects to each other. Only"XX" is one of the most embarrassing piece of **** I've seen this year. Never have I been so bored and yet dumbfounded of how clunky the film making is.

This is another anthology film, but it's too bad nothing connects to each other. Only thing in common is that it's horror. But here's the thing, the movie can't decide what it's trying to be interns of tone. Couldn't tell if it's a black comedy or a horror film. If the answer is both then the film failed hard, because those clash of tones mix with poor film making hurt the movie badly. One segment you get something super serious, but then the next segment is so goofy and silly, it's like I'm watching a different movie.

The segments themselves are not scary or creepy. And what is up with that stop-motion animation. Literately one of the most pointless things in any horror movie ever, as it doesn't add anything, just trying so hard to be creepy.

Not surprising when I found out that some of the directors have never made a movie before or don't really care for the horror genre. Four directors are involved with each segments and all of it was flat.

Doesn't help they got some of the worst actors to star in this "film". The acting was so bad and the dialogue didn't help. There's a scene in the short "The Box", where this father is yelling at his son at the dinner table was so hilarious.

I can't believe this is getting good reviews, as I question if I watched the same movie. There's nothing good.

Overall Rating: It's **** and you shouldn't see it. End of story.… Expand

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3

ChipyTrikeFeb 18, 2017

Pretty, pretty, pretty bad. Only worth seeing for Angela Trimbur. The Birthday, in particular was awful. Third and the forth installments are watchable. Very confused by the high metascore. If you're looking for a new horror anthology toPretty, pretty, pretty bad. Only worth seeing for Angela Trimbur. The Birthday, in particular was awful. Third and the forth installments are watchable. Very confused by the high metascore. If you're looking for a new horror anthology to spend some time with just rewatch V/H/S/ and V/H/S 2.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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5

BrianMcCriticMay 27, 2017

XX is an inconsistent anthology horror film. The stories just didn't captivate me enough, they're fine but underwhelming. The Box was my favorite and if it stayed as good as that we may have had something but there is a gradual fall off.XX is an inconsistent anthology horror film. The stories just didn't captivate me enough, they're fine but underwhelming. The Box was my favorite and if it stayed as good as that we may have had something but there is a gradual fall off. Just average. C… Expand

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DanielGillettJul 31, 2017

This movie has no redeeming qualities. Absolutely nothing in this film is good. The acting, the writing, the stories, the direction, everything is horrible. It seems like this movie was only made just to say "Oh hey look we are women and weThis movie has no redeeming qualities. Absolutely nothing in this film is good. The acting, the writing, the stories, the direction, everything is horrible. It seems like this movie was only made just to say "Oh hey look we are women and we direct movies haha take that men", but they put all of their effort into saying that and forgot to put any effort into the actual film. I've watched short films made by preteens that were better than this.… Expand

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4

DirigiblePulpAug 15, 2017

Most of the short films in "XX" are bad. Like, really bad. Lacking in premise, purpose and cohesion. They don't offer much of a feminist angle, unless you count having a female protagonist as such, and they don't offer anything whatsoever toMost of the short films in "XX" are bad. Like, really bad. Lacking in premise, purpose and cohesion. They don't offer much of a feminist angle, unless you count having a female protagonist as such, and they don't offer anything whatsoever to warrant the existence of this anthology film. Even the wraparound offers literally nothing to the overall experience.

The only short with any merit is Karyn Kusama's entry, "Her Only Living Son", which is a sort of "what if" pseudo-sequel to "Rosemary's Baby". The premise and its slight winks to that other film are good (though not nearly clever enough) but the ending misses the mark.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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2

The3AcademySinsOct 22, 2019

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Overall, XX feels cheap. Now, I don't want you to think this is some kind of attack on the directors. Its irrelevant that they are women when the product that they put out is so sub par. I'll try and review each short film on it's own merit, since the films have no link or throughline with the rest of the movie.

The Box: The most interesting premise in XX is undercut by wooden acting, awkward dialogue, and subpar cinematography. This short would have been a lot better if it ended with the shot of the family eating the mother. It's a real let down. Final score for The Box is 4/10.

The Birthday Party: Absolute garbage. The story is so stupid, so unbelievably stupid, and the movie adds these weird audio stings to try and scare the audience with jump scares that aren't even happening. It then has the unmitigated stones to try and laugh off the whole story as a "suppressed memory." This short is almost unwatchable. Final Score for The Birthday Party is 0/10.

Don't Fall: This is easily the best movie in XX. I'd love to see this one developed a little more. Its a fun creature feature, but it is a little bland. Final Score for Don't Fall is 6/10.

Her Only Living Son: A knockoff of Rosemary's Baby. Just really unremarkable. The script is boring and clumsy. It's not well done in any way, and it borders on abysmal. Final Score for Her Only Living Son is a 3/10.

This really is not a good movie. Please find and watch a better horror film. This is not worth your time.… Expand

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6

S1r-R34lMar 9, 2017

The best short film in this anthology is The Box, which is based on a Jack Ketchum story and is the only story to have decent acting as well as an oppressive and tense atmosphere. The segue between the stories is a Dark Fantasy stop-motionThe best short film in this anthology is The Box, which is based on a Jack Ketchum story and is the only story to have decent acting as well as an oppressive and tense atmosphere. The segue between the stories is a Dark Fantasy stop-motion animation, which is haunting in itself. The other stories in the anthology just aren't in the same class.… Expand

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0

Lugo1993Oct 3, 2017

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have a fair bit to say about this horror movie. For starters, it isn't scary at all. There are four female directors in this piece of $#!t film that poses as a horror anthology. One of whom admits to not liking horror movies because they scare her. So why the hell would you agree to participate in a horror film? It comes to no surprise that she directed the Birthday Party, a supposedly black comedy with one major problem, it is not funny. Furthermore, if it is a black comedy, why were there cheap jumpscares, ALL of which had absolutely NOTHING to do with the movie or the "plot" at all. The objective of this was to show how women can be creative individuals that can be considered equal to or even outshine men? Guess what, everyone already knows that. Women have contributed greatly to our society. Who invented bulletproof vests? Stephanie Kwolek. Who invented the first user friendly computer software for businesses in the 1950's and won the very first Computer Science Man of the Year award? Grace Hopper. Anna Connelly's invention is now mandatory in every building since the early 1900s, the fire escape. Josephine Cochrane invented the dishwasher out of frustration, which are now in a good number of homes not only in the United States, but across the world. Women ARE a creative lot, the same can be said of men. And for this reason, I refuse to sugarcoat my review. This film is nothing short of a last minute project by a team of 4 people who had no clue what the f*** they were doing. I can contest that anyone, given the basics of an idea and nothing more can spew out a better horror themed idea, be it short story or movie, before they evacuate their bowels in the early morning.
Why am I so harsh? But I enjoy the genre that this filth is masquerading as. I ADORE horror. In particular, I love psychological horrors. Horror is an interesting genre that has been played out much recently. A horror anything should give you the premise of what is going on, or the plot, lull you into a sense of false security before taking that comfort away from you, leave in suspense as to what might happen, then, as soon as you get comfortable, the horror returns. If horror doesn't do that, then at the least it should have the theme of horror present throughout in it's visual, soundtrack or emotions that a character portrays and it should be consistent and relevant to the situation at hand, but XX is not. Here is an actual example, in the Birthday Party we see the main character(MC) facing away from the camera, another character walks up behind the MC. Music builds, the camera shifts prespective in time for the MC to turn around, loud noise, MC jumps. Mind you, the setting was in a kitchen, apparently, nor was it even dark, in fact it is bright inside as it is outside on a beautiful sunny day. The payoff of this cheap scare? Absolutely nothing, so what was the point? What purpose does this cheap scare have to the rest of the "story?" But this isn't the worst one. As the mother was cutting the eyes for a costume for her daughter, out of nowhere, for no reason, the daughter yells "boo", scaring the mother. And if you listen closely, very closely, because it's so faint, you could hear slightly ominous music after the "scare" fading out. If you movie fails at horror to a point where you create tension from the most innocent of situations, you should be incredibly embarrassed and ashamed of yourself. The most horrific part of this segment in particular was the absolutely mind boggling stupidity of the MC. Here's what I mean, she find her husband dead. A smart person would call the police, cancel the party, alert any other adults present in the household of the situation and of course not let their child see the body. The MC, due to her sheer lack of common sense or basic intelligence does none of these. He hides in the closet with the body(mind you, she did NOT kill this person and there is no reason for her to do this), then drags the body throughout the house(at least being smart enough to not let her daughter see it), then pays the entertainment to give her the costume, stuff the corpse IN the costume then place the corpse THEN places the disguised body ON THE DINNER TABLE where the party that she did NOT cancel was to be held. Oh, and this is a kid's birthday party, so there are other kids there. If you couldn't guess, someone knocks the corpse over, they take off the mask and the see a man who looks like he could be just passed out but because of "plot" everyone knows he's dead and the children scream...
This actually happened. There is no reason the Metacritic score should be as high as it is. This is a piece of **** film, I won't even bother with censoring. **** this movie, **** what they've done to the genre, **** the characters, **** the writing, **** the abysmal acting, **** the directors for putting this **** together, **** everything,… Expand

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0

ItachiKaiJun 18, 2018

This movie is horrible, with four short (but not short enough) stories that make absolutely no sense. The first one, could have been interesting but the horrible editing and absurd dialogue distract from the already mildly interesting plot.This movie is horrible, with four short (but not short enough) stories that make absolutely no sense. The first one, could have been interesting but the horrible editing and absurd dialogue distract from the already mildly interesting plot. The second one is unbearable ridiculous, and is directly insulting the intelligence of anyone choosing to watch this. The person who directed this segment stated that she does not enjoy horror movies... well, gee. If we only we could tell. The third is the most interesting out of the bunch, but that doesn't really mean anything. The third segment had surprisingly better practical effects than what you'd expect after having watched the garbage that came before it, but again, its not impressive by hollywood standards. The fourth segment has an interesting enough premise, but one last time, fails to deliver anything noteworthy. The sheer amount of awkward, forced dialogue that NOBODY would ever actually say is insulting. This movie is not worth watching, because I guarantee that you will not be able to finish it and not have spent considerable time trying to distract yourself with your phone or something else. I certainly hope that the directors never share anything with the world again, as this was absolute garbage.… Expand

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1

ReinaudAug 2, 2018

Probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Horror anthology movie, which doesn't even get the basics of its premise correct. The short-films aren't linked what so-ever, the only thing they share is that they are all made by women.Probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Horror anthology movie, which doesn't even get the basics of its premise correct. The short-films aren't linked what so-ever, the only thing they share is that they are all made by women. (Agenda-driven directors) The acting is dreadful in all of them, the camera work ranges from decent to beyond uninspiring and the acting suffers from the same inconsistency as pudding. The quality of the dialogue fluctuates like the mood of a teenager and the openingshot is so unnecessary that it feels pretentious. Avoid at all costs.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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5

TheQuietGamerOct 3, 2017

The thing separating this from other horror anthology films is the fact that each segment was helmed by female directors. I applaud the concept as it gives women another chance to step forward in a scene populated mostly by males. However,The thing separating this from other horror anthology films is the fact that each segment was helmed by female directors. I applaud the concept as it gives women another chance to step forward in a scene populated mostly by males. However, the end results are woefully disappointing. The only constraints given to the women in creating their stories were of the budget and time variety. It's the latter I feel that hindered this project so much. Of the four short stories, it is the first two that suffer. "The Box" is simply nonsensical and ultimately very disappointing. It's only real noteworthy feature is that the mother and father seemed to have switched roles. The father is the more caring and worried of the two parents, while the mother seems more aloof to the strange things her children are doing. It's an interesting and much appreciated change in gender roles that breaks away from typical stereotypes. Outside of that one smart move the story as a whole is lacking.

"The Birthday Party" is just dumb. A ridiculous and misguided attempt at adding some zany humor to the mix. It's stylistic choices are irritating and, aside from the ending gag, not funny. Easily the weakest part of the anthology and feels out of place amongst the other three films present here.

"Don't Fall" is my personal favorite as it is easily the most entertaining of the bunch. It's a pretty standard set up of watching dumb stoners go where they shouldn't and pay the price. Pretty much your straight forward gore-fest. Nothing revolutionary or new about it. Having a female director ends up making no difference here. Same stuff as the guys would have come up with. Not like that's a big deal though. The biggest flaw is that it's over in a jiffy.

"Her Only Living Son" is easily the strongest part of this anthology. Like "The Box" and "The Birthday Party," it's primarily about motherhood. However, unlike those two that is actually significant here. It ends up being a touching tale about the bond between a mother and her child. One that tugs at the heartstrings a bit. You really feel the presence of a woman behind the camera here. It also helps that it's Karyn Kusama, a lady who has proved her skills as a director of the horror genre with the excellent film "The Invitation." A great way to close the anthology.

So about half of the anthology sucks. Where XX really goes wrong though is in it's inability to make viewers feel a woman's touch for all but the last of the shorts. It hardly feels any different than the work of men doing the same thing. Maybe that was the point. Still, it's disappointing to not see any new perspectives brought on by this gender swap. Especially when the material here isn't all that great to begin with.

5.1/10… Expand

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7

AGeekNamedBobFeb 20, 2017

Although the film industry has made advances for equality, Hollywood is still lacking in female directors. So much so when a female director is lauded, it becomes a thing of note, such as a few years ago when Kathryn Bigalow received herAlthough the film industry has made advances for equality, Hollywood is still lacking in female directors. So much so when a female director is lauded, it becomes a thing of note, such as a few years ago when Kathryn Bigalow received her second nomination for director. Horror is a genre that features more female directors than others, despite the public reputation of being unkind in character to women (the truth of is debatable and is a discussion for elsewhere). Bigalow herself is known in horror circles in what I stand as her best film, Near Dark. With that, XX is a horror anthology based around the conceit of each of the four stories and the wraparound is written (in one case adapted from a man’s short story), directed and centered on women as the main characters. In addition, all but one story revolves in some way around motherhood, as each writer/director was given the privilege to make the films they wanted, it is likely a coincidence rather than directed. Before moving into the individual segments: the wraparound is largely wonderfully creepy stop motion animation, reminiscent of Jan Svankmajer. Go look up his thoroughly creepy take on Alice in Wonderland. Do it now. Then come back. THE BOX
“The Box” is directed by Jovanka Vuckovic, former writer and editor for Rue Morgue; the best of the horror magazines. She adapts Jack Ketchum’s short story of the same name. I read it about 12 years ago in his collection Peaceable Kingdom. The story follows a mother as her son and others begin to act strangely after looking inside an odd fellow’s titular item. “The Box” is a strong segment, a good choice to lead off the quartet, quietly building unease as a mother’s world falls apart helped along by cinematographer Ian Anderson sterile, crisp shots. One feels for the mother, as cold as she may often be. Like the other mothers in XX, she’s over her head without knowing how to solve her problem. A worthy segment that might not give answers many will desire but lingers in horror without them.

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
It’s strange the strongest segment is the one directed by a first time filmmaker: Annie Clark, known best at St. Vincent. Although the least horrific of the four, it’s the most entertaining and well designed. Led by Melanie Lynskey as a stressed mother on her daughter’s birthday party who finds an awful surprise she desperately tries to cover it up, “The Birthday Party” (written by Clark and Roxanne Benjamin) is continually darkly hilarious occasionally bumping up against the surreal. The other are often funny as well if you have a pitch black sense of humor like do, but this one is more directly with a delicious punch-line. Clark has a great sense of color and shot choice, highlighting the absurdity of the frazzled Lynskey. Here’s to her continuing to look at directing bigger films. DON’T FALL
The weakest in the bunch – and the only one not based around motherhood- is “Don’t Fall”, written and directed by Roxanne Benjamin. Benjamin was a collaborator in last years great anthology SOUTHBOUND and this segment feels like it could have been a cut segment from that film, finding four stoners on a camping trip. It’s not that it’s bad; it’s just lesser in being a straight forward horror demon/slasher feature with little substance. The scares are well made and Benjamin would do wonders with a full length feature of this type with more time to flesh out the characters and allow suspense to build. HER ONLY LIVING SON
The final segment, as the viewer will find out, is a defacto sequel to a well loved horror product revolving around maternity. The viewer is likely figure this out well before the film gets there. Nonetheless, writer-director Karyn Kusama (last year’s top five horror film The Invitation, 2010’s underrated Jennifer’s Body) gives a mother lost in dealing with a son with issues, issues bigger than them both. While there is a creep factor, something lacks. The short feels small, like it needed to go one step bigger. Together, the four segments create a solid, if not a little lacking, anthology of three mothers and a demon (Sundays this fall on NBC). With each portion coming it about 20 minutes, they move through quickly; perhaps leaving each with more to tell, but still worthy. The lesser segments still have interest and quality within them, making XX worth your 80 minutes. GRADE: B-… Expand

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4

AquamantorJun 25, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Perhaps the most surprising thing about XX is how radical it isn't. Billing itself as a horror anthology with all female directors telling stories from female perspectives, I at least expected something interesting or different from the horror it created. This, largely, was not the case.

The Box: 4/10 - This short sets up pretty unfair expectations for the other ones, namely in that it is actually creative. It has absolutely nothing else going for it at all (not scary, inconclusive storytelling, falling back on gore for its only creepy scene), but it is creative. The real problem is that this is a story that works on the higher levels (deep-seated parental fears about being unable to help your children/family), but fails ultimately to be scary on the base level.

The Birthday Party: 5/10 - Not horror. A black comedy with horror-esque musical crescendos for scenes that aren't scary. It says a lot that this is one of the most decent shorts in the whole anthology. There isn't any point where it actually manages to be funny, but it does tell a DECENT story that reflects an anxious woman's desire to make everything "okay" for her daughter's birthday. It should be noted that we're halfway through the anthology now and half of the stories have been revealed to be about wealthy white women. Radical.

Don't Fall: 1/10: I don't give a 1 easily. I was tempted to give it a 2 just to be fair to it, but this is the absolute worst kind of horror, rendered here without a shred of creativity. A group of dumb, fairly unlikable young adults are introduced then systematically murdered by (yes) a "Native American curse" monster, rendered with garbage-tier special effects. Two of them are lesbians, I guess? All are white. Wow, we're getting progressive up in here.

Her Only Living Son: 5/10 - I'm honestly disappointed in the talented Karyn Kusama. Maybe she just doesn't do shorts well. The big problem is that this is a Rosemary's Baby/The Omen wannabe that shoots for camp for most of its length, then suddenly decides to take itself very seriously at the end. I will be fair and admit that that ending IS impactful, but I wish that the whole story had built up to it. For the FIRST TIME, in the LAST SHORT, we have a protagonist who visibly lives in a lower-middle-class home. But she's still white.

The Framing Sequence: 7/10 - The creepy stop-motion animation between the actual short films is the best reason to watch this movie. It has all the originality and artistry that this actual anthology SHOULD HAVE had. I can't rate the movie as a whole higher for it, honestly, because it takes up too little of the length. But if you're going to watch this for any reason, it should be this.

One last thing to note: Telling stories from a woman's perspective is not radical at all in horror. Even a cursory glance of the modern genre reveals that at least 50% of horror films have woman protagonists, if not more. Many of these movies, even the ones that don't directly star women, are reflections of the consequences of sexism or violence against women. This movie is less "woke" than the average 2000s horror film, and its lipstick-logo symbolically represents the face it puts on, daring critics to commend its empty white feminism, lest they be labeled sexists. Looking at this and the rottentomatoes score, it seems to have worked.… Expand

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2

AdamCatalystOct 24, 2020

Unbelievably bad horror anthology. The stories range from underdeveloped at best, to unwatchably incompetent at worst. If you feel like watching this, the first two stories are notably weaker than the last two, the third is unremarkable, andUnbelievably bad horror anthology. The stories range from underdeveloped at best, to unwatchably incompetent at worst. If you feel like watching this, the first two stories are notably weaker than the last two, the third is unremarkable, and well, the last one is the second best to the third. The second one isn’t even a horror story, and is some of the most grossly inept filmmaking I have ever seen. Shockingly bad that anyone would fund this.… Expand

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7

OrukayuJan 22, 2023

2017 horror, thriller and mystery movie. The film consists of 4 short stories written and directed by 4 different women. I think the IMDB rating is low. I can say that I liked every episode. Movies make you wonder and it ends with curiosity.2017 horror, thriller and mystery movie. The film consists of 4 short stories written and directed by 4 different women. I think the IMDB rating is low. I can say that I liked every episode. Movies make you wonder and it ends with curiosity. Since there are women's stories, the feeling of motherhood is brought to the fore. The stories are in order:

The Box (I think the most interesting part) Birthday Party (Final scene and music are great) Don't Fall (from the most common scenarios) Last Living Son (The pinnacle of maternal emotion)

In addition, the animation in the transition scenes is also very interesting and has a story.

There is no sex or nudity in the movie.… Expand

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