WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X, in theaters now.
Ti West’s X didn’t hold back when it came to gore, honoring grindhouse horrors and the slasher genre from the very beginning. And, as usually happens in slasher movies, as Mia Goth’s Maxine and her friends think they are succeeding in blending sex and art to change the porn industry in the ’70s, they discover their hosts are actually killers. Of course, that revelation leads to a slew of horrific deaths, so let’s rank the most gruesome ones.
7. Howard Had A Heart Attack in X
In the finale, the proprietor, Howard, and his wife, Pearl, tried to drag a victim into the house. However, the girl’s body underwent a death rattle, stunning Howard, who had earlier complained about a bad heart when discussing being unable to have sex with Pearl. And this time, his ticker would give out for good as he collapsed on the wall, suffering and dying.
6. Jackson Got a Shotgun to the Chest in X
Kid Cudi’s Jackson was the star of the porno, and when the videographer, RJ, went missing, he tried to find him. However, after finding the submerged car of a previous victim, he started to panic and got blindsided when Howard blasted him in the chest with his shotgun. The old man never liked Jackson, which made it seem like he was racist when he killed off the film’s lone Black character.
5. Wayne Got a Pitchfork to the Face in X
Wayne was the first one to go looking for RJ, and he ended up in Howard’s barn. Unfortunately, as he stumbled over and looked through a peephole, Pearl shoved a pitchfork through his eyes and into his skull. It was a Mortal Kombat-esque Fatality, which ended with her throwing dirt on him to try to cover up the instant murder and showing she was smarter than she appeared.
4. Bobby-Lynne got Eaten by an Alligator in X
Jackson’s girlfriend, Bobby-Lynne, was one of the female leads alongside Maxine, and she also tried fervently to find her missing friends. But her pursuit led to Pearl pretending to be an ally, only to accost her on the pier near the pond. Pearl hated how seductive these younger women were, so she shoved Bobby-Lynne into the water, allowing an alligator to grab her by the head and devour her in seconds.
3. RJ Got Carved Up in X
RJ’s murder that set the whole thing off when he tried to leave the farm in his van after he found out his girlfriend, Lorraine, who worked the grip and sound, took part in the sex shoot with Jackson. However, Pearl blocked RJ from leaving, and when he got out, she tried to seduce him. Upon rejecting her, she stabbed him in the face and carved him from the neck up in a graphic moment before doing a little dance.
2. Lorraine Got Her Face Blown off in X
Lorraine was tricked and locked in the basement by Howard, only to be freed by Maxine when she ran into the main house. However, Lorraine rebuked Maxine and bolted through the front door, which made her target practice for Howard. He blasted her face open with his shotgun in a terrifying jump-scare sequence, leaving bits of the teen’s jaw and skeleton exposed before he and his wife tried to drag her inside.
1. Pearl’s Head Got Squished in X
After Howard died, Pearl tried to blast Maxine away with the shotgun when the young lady confronted her. She missed, however, and the kickback flung her several feet off the porch. The fragile Pearl broke her hip and couldn’t move, which allowed Maxine to grab Howard’s keys, get in his van and reverse over Pearl’s head. She squashed it in another gooey scene as the woman accosted her, giving the final girl one last empowering moment before escaping with victory.
See how these deaths occur in X, now playing in theaters.
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