Review of XX (2017) by Bill P — 11 Jul 2017

[A little spoiler ahead] Like most anthology horror, this is uneven, but a nice addition to the genre. Episode 1 (The Box) is nicely constructed but the plot is disappointing with no resolution. All mystery, no answer.

I've never liked the style of "I'll give you a mystery, then not tell you what it was." Number 2 (Birthday Party) is satisfyingly creepy and comic. Fans of Hitchcock's the trouble with Harry will appreciate it.

Number 3 (Don't Fall) is a format monster story of no great interest, except that it does in about 20 minutes what most monster movies take 90 to do. Number 4 (Her only living Son) is a well done possession/offspring story of a young man who is the second coming of.

..whoever is coming to claim him on his 18th birthday. Weird, creepy, and quite well done. The tales are separated by some really creepy stop action animation which sort of has a narrative and is beautifully done.

I don't know that it's all women directors matters very much - the horror genre is a format and these didn't strike me as different than any other tales of the same format, but... it's nice to see more women getting directing work so there's that.

Fans will enjoy this film; people unfamiliar with horror will not.