Review of XX (2017) by Ageeknamedbob — 20 Feb 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 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.