XX (2017)
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A collection of distinct horror tales told through various lenses of fear.
The story
XX is an anthology film featuring several distinct stories. The framing narrative involves a stop-motion-animated dollhouse with a mysterious, living interior. The first segment, 'The Box,' follows a family whose lives are altered by a mysterious gift from a man on a train. The second segment, 'The Birthday Party,' follows a mother attempting to hide her husband's corpse during a child's celebration. 'Don't Fall' follows four friends on a desert expedition who encounter an ancient evil. Finally, 'Her Only Living Son' depicts a mother's desperate attempt to protect her son from his dark destiny.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film is framed by stop-motion-animated segments of a dollhouse where objects like sewing needles and a morphing apple are alive. In 'The Box,' a boy named Danny sees a man with a red box on a train; his family eventually dies of starvation after interacting with the contents. In 'The Birthday Party,' Mary hides her husband's body in a panda costume during her daughter's party, leading to a chaotic revelation of the truth. In 'Don't Fall,' a creature from an ancient cave painting takes over the body of Gretchen during a desert expedition, killing her friends. In 'Her Only Living Son,' a woman named Cora hides her son Andy from his destiny as the spawn of Satan; despite his transformation into a monster, he chooses his mother over his father's power, and they die together in a final embrace.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 80
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jovanka Vuckovic; Annie Clark; Roxanne Benjamin; Karyn Kusama
- Writers
- Jovanka Vuckovic · writer; Jack Ketchum · adapted; Roxanne Benjamin · writer; Annie Clark · writer; Karyn Kusama · writer
- Cast and characters
- Natalie Brown · Susan Jacobs; Melanie Lynskey · Mary; Breeda Wool · Gretchen; Christina Kirk · Cora
- Genres
- horror; anthology
- Themes
- maternal protection; supernatural horror; sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- eerie; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- anthology; stop-motion; supernatural
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews, praised for its diverse female voices and its status as a milestone for horror anthologies.
- Production trivia
- One segment is an unofficial sequel to Rosemary's Baby.; The film features a stop-motion-animated framing sequence.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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