West Marks the Spot

I was big-time in the tank for the director Ti West a decade ago when he dropped The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers, two inspired and actually scary throwback-feeling fright flicks, but the past decade's been less kind -- his Koolaid-Cult movie The Sacrament was a mess, and I don't think I managed to force myself to watch his western In a Valley of Violence because a movie starring Ethan Hawke and John Travolta just ain't my bag. He's mostly been doing TV since then, with episodes of The Exorcist, Scream, Them, and Tales From the Loop (that last one I adore) under his belt, but this year marks his big-screen return with a movie called X, which will be released by no less than A24 in March and which just got a trailer...

X has very good concept...

"In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives."

... and it has a very good cast: Jenna Ortega is in the new Scream and I liked her a lot; Kid Cudi was surprisingly good on Luca Guadagnino's We Are Who We Are series; I love me some Martin Henderson (mmm Martin Henderson). And then (speaking of Guadagnino) there's the queen of them all, Miss Mia Goth! Post-Suspiria Mia is my everything, and I really don't understand why she's not in everything -- maybe she's been picky? She's just got such an astonishing look and vibe and you'd think everybody would be lining up to work with her. Let's hope this serves as a reminder...