From director Ti West comes a film, X, that combines the horror and adult film genres. X manages to surpass the limits of graphic killings and slashings of Wes Craven’s Saw franchise, while also including a lot of sexual content. Fair warning—this is a film that may be more than some moviegoers can handle. But it is well done and I actually loved it.

X takes place in in 1979 in rural Texas. A group of filmmakers rent out a property to make an adult film. The porn gang includes Maxine, Lorraine, Bobby-Lynne, Jackson, RJ, and Wayne, played by Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Brittany Snow, Kid Cudi, Owen Campbell, and Martin Henderson, respectively. The film starts with laughter, a lot of sex, and the gang partying down like there’s no tomorrow. But the fun starts to go downhill when landlord Howard, played by Stephen Ure, realizes what they are doing on his property. Then the porn stars must fight for their life from this insane landlord, as he stalks them in the woods where alligators lurk and traps await them.

All slasher thrillers have some obvious commonalities, and X is similar to some other slasher films I love, like Vacancy(2007), both versions of The Last House on the Left (1972 and 2009), Sinister(2012). Besides the gore, horror films always leave the audience wondering how the good guys could possibly make it out alive when the killer is around every corner. In X the good guys have more places to hide, but that means there are also more places for the crazy landlord to hide. Plus, the land itself is dangerous with the alligators and other traps lurking.

X was filmed on a Sony Cinealta Venice camera, which greatly enhances its cinematography quotient, and the overall enjoyment of the film. No camera captures natural light and vivid colors like the Venice.

There aren’t many slasher thrillers that can shock fans of this genre, but X does manage to shock at times, and it’s just different enough to make it not your typical brand of horror. It really is a knockout work of art. Three and a half stars for X.

Director Shawn Levy makes futuristic sci-fi fantasy movies with a humor twist. Some of the humor in his previous flicks could be sarcastic or raunchy, but not so with his newest, The Adam Project. It’s a fun and heartfelt movie, and one that the whole family can enjoy.

The Adam Project starts in the year 2050 and then transitions to 2022, with a stop in 2018 for good measure. The film introduces us to young Adam, played by Walker Scobell. 2022 Adam is just a boy living with his single mom, played by Jennifer Garner. Adam’s father has died, and Adam is isolated and sad. But his life suddenly changes when a man falls into his world and asks for his help. This man is also Adam, and the special surprise for young Adam is that this is actual him, but all grown up. Big Adam, played by Ryan Reynolds, has time traveled from 2050 to 2022. Together, they pair up to try and rescue the future.

Ryan Reynolds’ performance in The Adam Project is stellar (no pun intended). He goes from a video-game character in Free Guy (2021) to playing a time traveler partnering with his younger self in this film. Reynolds is perfect because he has a unique acting style and he has a knack for giving us unexpected laughs. I also loved the chemistry between Reynolds and Scobell. Especially poignant is when the Adams travel back to 2018 and find their father Louis, played by Mark Ruffalo.

The future orientation of The Adam Projectreally drew me in, and the transitions between years is interesting and well done. The film is simply a treat. Well worth a watch on Netflix. And again, it’s a movie that the family can watch together. Three and a half stars for The Adam Project.

Indie filmmakers Matt Leal (director) and Matthew Festle (writer) have released ShadowMarsh, a limited-budget horror film that takes horror creativity to a whole new level. And full disclosure—yours truly had the privilege of being an associate producer and even had a minor acting role in the film!

ShadowMarsh introduces us to Jacob Tomlin, played by Mike Ferguson, and Jacob’s niece Piper Tomlin, played by Ellen Woomer. They move back to Shadowmarsh, the town where they both grew up. The town is quiet now but evil from a long ago event is still lurking. Jacob is close with town sheriff Sam Tate, played by Lew Temple. Also prominently featured are Toby Harris, played by Jackson Everest, and Lori Meyers, played by Corinne Mica. The story includes many other local people who have heard of the ancient evil around them, but very few of them take it seriously. As the terror mounts many of these unbelievers have to fend for themselves.

ShadowMarsh is the second film offering from Three Keys Media and aficionados of horror flicks will agree that it is unlike any horror film that fans have ever seen. The horror is uber realistic, making the film grotesque yet visually enticing. It also builds some impressive suspense, and even has an interesting bit of political ideology thrown in.

The small-town setting of Shadowmarsh is perfectly suited to the film. And the title of the film—the same name as the town itself—telegraphs some of the darkness to come. All things considered, the film is an absolute success for these emerging filmmakers. So far, distribution is via dvd, blu-ray, or even old school VHS through the filmmakers’ website, https://threekeysmedia.storenvy.com/.
Jump on the site and grab a copy—you won’t regret it. Three and a half stars for ShadowMarsh.