A box with a killer secret. A dead body at a birthday party. A monster in the desert. The spawn of Satan.
The horror anthology film XX isn't for everyone. I prefer my anthologies to be at least somewhat linked by narrative, like Southbound (2015) or Trick 'r Treat (2007); some people don't like anthologies at all. The only thing linking the short films here is the concept that these are films created by women filmmakers. It's a surprisingly effective gimmick, though, as the filmmakers assembled have strong, distinct styles and tell some chilling tales. There's nothing here to make you scream aloud -- the roughly twenty-minute-each short films just don't have the time -- but moments and feelings will stick with you.
As well they should. The films feature stories of women in (arguably) female-specific situations. Three of them feature mothers. All four comment on the unique standards and expectations our culture assigns to women, and how unfair or outright ludicrous that can be. What is a mother to do when her family refuses to eat? What is a mother to do when her beloved son becomes a man and seeks dominance? What is a girl to do when she doesn't want to be scared by her prankster friends anymore? What is a woman to do to keep selling the fable of idealized suburbia to neighbors and her own daughter? Perhaps not always the most compelling premises, and perhaps more intentional than what I describe, the shorts nevertheless keep our interest due to their collective combination of humor and horror.
XX also radically challenges the constructs of traditional storytelling and filmmaking style. There's a creepy living dollhouse made in stop-motion that frames all the short films. The shorts themselves do not develop much character depth or plot intricacy, obviously, but they do feature dynamic direction and editing that whet my appetite for their makers to do juicier, meatier work. We jump right into the action (or inaction) and are often left still in the midst (or lack) of it. What happened before, to set up this horror? What happens next, after the horror has struck? We may never know, and I'm not convinced we should care. These are brief meditations that force us to think, and that is more than some films can boast.
P.S.: Though the star power is limited (no doubt due to the project's low budget), Melanie Lynskey kills her role as the put-upon mother in "The Birthday Party". Oh, and keep your eyes open for Kyle Allen (The Path) and Mike Doyle (lots of things, including The Invitation and Jersey Boys) in "Her Only Living Son".
IMDb: XX
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