XX (2017)

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I created an account just to review this movie.First I have to say this movie is polarizing, people seem to either appreciate the focus on a female perspective or reject it, probably due to its unconventional presentation, but I think that is refreshing considering how tv and movies spoon feed us nowadays. We are told what to think and how to feel, who the bad guy is, who the good guy is but in XX things aren't as cut and dry. The focus on anxiety, depression, status, religion, family, children, is all from the female perspective, with a supernatural twist of course. And I think the female directors/actresses did an amazing job. I fully recommend this movie to anyone who is looked my for something different.

The only reason anyone know what this is, is because it's made by women which in today's world must automatically mean it's great. If we don't believe it's great, we're sexist or something. This was just bad.

Magnolia Films has made an industry of anthology horror films over the last few years and all have been fairly successful. Their VHS series of films have had good and bad parts to them all and then they went on to make THE ABC'S OF DEAH. Now they've taken yet another route, this time offering and anthology film with all four episodes directed by female directors. As with the other films, some work and others don't.The first episode is "The Box", telling the story of a family Christmas shopping and returning on the subway. The little boy in the group is sitting next to a stranger with a wrapped gift box on his lap. He asks to see what's in the box and the man obliges. Afterward the child loses his appetite when home and for days refuses to eat. Sharing the secret with each family member results in the same problem. How far it will go is the question.Next up is "Birthday Party". If like me you have a twisted sense of humor you'll love this one. A mother is in the midst of planning the perfect birthday party for her little girl when she discovers her husband has killed himself in his home office. This will not do for the party or for her social status. In an attempt to hide what has happened she resorts to putting him in a bunny costume and sitting him at the birthday table with all the guests around. Nothing can go wrong, right? Third in this outing is "Don't Fall". This one revolves around a group of four friends who go camping in an RV. As with all horror films nothing can go the way one expects and eventually one of them turns into a monster. It then becomes a matter of survival pitting the rest against the creature outside.Lastly is "Her Only Living Son". A woman raising her son on her own is having issues with him. He's just reached the teen years and is in that acting out stage. But there is a secret about him even he doesn't know that might mean his teen years are far more dangerous than those of most teens.Do the stories all work? Well in some ways they do and some better than others. Some offer something fresh to the horror genre and others feel like they were derived from previous films. In the end it will be up to the individual to decide just how well they like or dislike this film. For me it was a decent experience but not likely a movie I'd watch a second time. I would recommend it to horror fans for at least one viewing though.Perhaps next time around rather than creating an individual films for all female directors they would just include them in the more successful series they've already started. The odds are this one won't find anyone calling out for a sequel.

10 ottobre 2017, #2: the title, presumably referring to the chromosomal pairing, is rather distasteful and detracts a bit from my appreciation of an otherwise competent 4-short horror anthology written and directed by 'females' (all of whom had to be karyotyped as a requisite for participation, i guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) i loved the stop motion animation intro and interludes, vaguely reminiscent of Adam Jones's music videos for Tool. the first and last shorts are my favourites, the former for its and compelling, open-ended story that leaves you guessing, and the latter, directed by Karyn Kusama (known for Jennifer's Body and the live action Æon Flux movie), for the excellent acting and unique twist on an otherwise tired cliché of a horror movie plot. the other two are flawed though entertaining and memorable nonetheless. not too shabby for a bunch of genital waggling cis folks