XX

Magnet Releasing | Release Date: February 17, 2017

3.1	USER SCORE Generally unfavorable reviews based on 42 Ratings

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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

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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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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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

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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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

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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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

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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