XX (2017)

Being gender blind is as harmful as being colour blind. Ignoring the reality of women's voices not being heard in cinema is tantamount to silencing women's voices. So an exercise like XX, a horror anthology which gives a platform for women directors to tell their stories of what terrifies them, is fascinating in and of itself. Exploring how women experience horror outside the common parameters of the male gaze is what sets XX apart from other mainstream horror films.

Like any anthology, XX has its highs and lows.  The film is broken down into 4 stories with a fifth framing sequence (probably the creepiest part of the film) leading us into and through the rest. While one is straight up horror (a monster stalking and killing a group of campers), the rest are more explorations of creepy themes. One of those is more dark comedy than true horror. XX is a real mixed bag both in terms of content and impact.

For me the strongest pieces were the ones which explored the haunting fears more than the monstrous ones. Both Jovanka Vuckovic's The Box and Karen Kusama's Her Only Living Son delve into the disquieting terror that comes to parents as they wrestle with their responsibilities. Both were unsettling and powerful if not outright "scary." Both touch on the way our parenting roles are gendered in western culture and both end with difficult sacrifice. Kusama impressed me with 2016's The Invitation which struggled with parenting loss as well. I am eager to see where she is going next.

The one that left me the least impressed was the out right horror film Don't Fall, a fairly typical feeling monster movie which doesn't have enough time to get us to care about its story before it's over. The short running time just didn't allow for the sort of tension to build which this story needed.

So XX offers some things more fascinating than other parts but it is worth checking out just to explore how horror can look different when seen through various eyes.

XX
Directors: Roxanne Benjamin, Sofia Carrillo, St. Vincent, Jovanka Vuckovic, Karen Kusama