Horror movies like X are known to be violent, unpleasant, and disturbing. While not all canon works must be filled with blood, gore, and horrifying imagery to shock and excite viewers, this is one way the genre might succeed.
While there will always be some violence, certain movies go above and beyond, expanding the parameters of dread.
One of the most recent instances of this extreme horror genre is Ti West’s X, which is both funny and terrifying.
The plot involves a film team recording an adult movie at a farmhouse owned by a mysterious old couple who don’t take it well when they learn what’s happening.
Below is a list of the best movies like X.
1. Scream (2022)
- Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
- Cast: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Melissa Barrera, Jack Quaid, Mikey Madison, Jenna Ortega, and Dylan Minnette
- IMDb rating: 6.3/10
It’s difficult to talk about landscape-altering slasher movies like X without mentioning Wes Craven’s work on the Scream franchise, the most self-aware and meta-horror movie ever.
Knowing this, Ti West chose to include self-reflexive references to horror movies like X by hiring Jenna Ortega from the newest Scream as Lorraine.
X manages to season its plot with mordant comedy and a ludicrous sense of self-awareness that is as new and compelling as what Scream set the way for 25 years earlier.
This is despite the fact that A24 horror movies are not renowned for being enjoyable or humorous.
2. Don’t Look Now (1973)
- Director: Nicolas Roeg
- Cast: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo Serato, Renato Scarpa, and Giorgio Trestini
- IMDb rating: 7.1/10
Although there are no chainsaw killings in “X,” it has been compared to “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” mostly because of the atmosphere it creates.
To make up for the absence of Leatherface, West films are a tribute to the 1970s’ avant-garde cinema.
The decade that witnessed the emergence of New Hollywood directors like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola produced plenty of entertaining motion pictures.
Look no further than Nicolas Roeg’s 1973 giallo-adjacent thriller “Don’t Look Now” for vintage horror.
The movie is based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier. It stars Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie as grieving parents working in Venice after the unintentional death of their daughter.
3. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
- Director: Shin’ya Tsukamoto
- Cast: Tomorô Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shin’ya Tsukamoto, Naomasa Musaka, and Renji Ishibashi
- IMDb rating: 6.9/10
Tetsuo: The Iron Man should not be confused with Iron Man, the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is one of the amazing movies like X.
Tetsuo: The Iron Man is a low-budget body horror movie about a guy who discovers that more of his body parts are changing into metal daily rather than a joyful, franchise-launching superhero movie.
The visual style of this movie is unique, yet the low budget doesn’t make the imagery any less terrifying or realistic.
Even though it’s excellent, the movie’s distinctive visual style and editing are such a relentless assault on the senses that the fact that it’s just 67 minutes long is a comfort.
4. The House of the Devil (2009)
- Director: Ti West
- Cast: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig, AJ Bowen, Dee Wallace, and Heather Robb
- IMDb rating: 6.3/10
“The House of the Devil” is the obvious next step for those who have fallen in love with West’s artistic vision and careful narrative.
West’s crazy concept of spending time with his most tragic characters results in movies that are more about the journey than the destination.
The horror is secondary to something more relatable, like how “Hereditary” is a family drama before Paimon appears.
The 2009 movie “The House of the Devil” starts with a young, penniless college student dealing with expenses and difficult circumstances before she even secures a mystery babysitting job.
The director, as with “X,” plays in the sandbox of the time, using movie grain, freeze-frames, and zooms as did directors of the ’70s and ’80s while adding curveballs to confuse viewers who are familiar with horror.
5. Mother! (2017)
- Director: Darren Aronofsky
- Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Brian Gleeson, Domhnall Gleeson, and Jovan Adepo
- IMDb rating: 6.6/10
To say that Mother! could be the most difficult movie to see in his whole career is something since Darren Aronofsky has a gift for depicting horrific and nightmare images on the screen.
It would be an understatement to describe Mother!
It is the story of one lady whose peaceful home life is shattered by an endless stream of uninvited visitors.
It’s difficult to explain why the movie is so terrifying since you must see it for yourself, and describing the most horrifying sequences would reveal too much.
It’s the type of movie you may see once and never again, and despite how uncomfortable it might be to sit through, it is unquestionably one of the memorable movies like X.
6. Eyes Without a Face (1960)
- Director: Georges Franju
- Cast: Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Juliette Mayniel, Alexandre Rignault, Béatrice Altariba, Charles Blavette, and Edith Scob
- IMDb rating: 7.6/10
The French horror movie Eyes Without A Face is highly unsettling for 1960, even if it may not be as frightening as many movies like X that came after it decades later.
Psycho may have been the most startling horror movie that year, but its narrative doesn’t contain face transplants or horrifying medical procedures that still seem real more than 60 years later.
It is also a melancholy and depressing horror movie, reflecting the classic Universal monster movies of the 1930s and 1940s with its somber black-and-white photography and sorrowful characters.
Few earlier horror movies still stand up as intense decades later as Eyes Without A Face, even though many may be regarded as severe for their time.
7. The Last House on the Left (2009)
- Director: Dennis Iliadis
- Cast: Garret Dillahunt, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Bowen, Josh Coxx, Riki Lindhome, and Aaron Paul
- IMDb rating: 6.5/10
If X resembles Scream’s hilarious self-awareness, it also echoes Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left, one of the most divisively upsetting horror movies ever created with blatant violence.
The plot follows the angry retaliation of two parents whose daughter is sexually harassed by deadly thugs.
The scenario is so believable that it may be considered an intense movie.
In addition, West purposefully mimics the shaky, grainy, scratchy film stock and look that gave Craven’s movie a sick documentary vibe instead of a polished Hollywood production. It is obvious that Wes Craven owes X a great deal.
8. Multiple Maniacs (1970)
- Director: John Waters
- Cast: Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Cookie Mueller, Edith Massey, and Susan Lowe
- IMDb rating: 6.5/10
West may be referred to as a shock artist for “X” because of the frontal male nudity, plenty of sexual time, and enough arterial blood to spray-paint the Alamo.
John Waters is the perfect host for people who like allowing themselves to feel uncomfortable and for those who find beauty in the perverse.
From “Female Trouble” to “Pink Flamingos” and beyond, the Baltimore director takes pleasure in subverting convention and elevating vulgarity, turning his movies into works of art.
One of the best movies like “X” is “Multiple Maniacs,” a classic from 1970 that features Divine and her Cavalcade of Perversion in a carnival of depravity disguised as a dark comedy.
Mass murder, glue-sniffing maniacs, deviancy, and enough sex-crazed profanity to make Ken Russell blush are all included.
9. Titane (2021)
- Director: Julia Ducournau
- Cast: Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle, Garance Marillier, Laïs Salameh, Mara Cisse, Marin Judas, and Diong-Kéba Tacu
- IMDb rating: 6.5/10
Titane, which won the Palme d’Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, is a daring and original horror movie that turns out to be as affecting and moving as it is upsetting and unsettling.
It’s challenging to try to sum up the plot. However, it involves a woman with a peculiar obsession with metal, who appears to have been impregnated by a car, kills, and fakes her identity when she goes on the run.
Also, she forms a special bond with a firefighter who is grieving the loss of his son.
The emotional pull of the movie’s second half is all the more powerful because the movie’s first half is so unrelenting and frightening.
Although it may not be for everyone, its ambition, and fearlessness promise that it will be one of the most enduring movies like X in 2021.
10. Suspiria (2018)
- Director: Luca Guadagnino
- Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Tilda Swinton, Doris Hick, Malgorzata Bela, Dakota Johnson, Angela Winkler, and Vanda Capriolo
- IMDb rating: 6.7/10
Fans of X are virtually guaranteed to leave with a newfound respect for Mia Goth’s harrowing lead performance.
Suspiria, a Luca Guadagnino adaptation of perhaps Dario Argento’s scariest movie, is a must-see for fans of classic horror movies like X.
Suspiria is more of a story of evil witchcraft than a straight-up slasher movie, but it still has many hot kids treated with hostility by their older, judgmental hosts.
Unknown characters, sects that resemble cults, and excessive gore are all prevalent in this frustrating slow-burner.
11. The Fly (1986)
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel, Leslie Carlson, George Chuvalo, and Michael Copeman
- IMDb rating: 7.6/10
The Fly is one of those rare remakes that is even better than the original.
It stars one of Jeff Goldblum’s most well-known characters in what may be horror icon David Cronenberg’s greatest work.
Its most basic form revolves around a research experiment that gradually turns Goldblum’s character into a fly.
It may seem absurd, but The Fly is a compelling and unsettling horror movie because of its amazing effects and sincere sadness.
While the 1950s original is still entertaining to watch, Cronenberg’s remake remains a very excellent movie because of the realistic effects used to illustrate the terrible transformation.
12. Starry Eyes (2014)
- Director: Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer
- Cast: Alex Essoe, Amanda Fuller, Noah Segan, Fabianne Therese, Shane Coffey, Natalie Hauck, and Pat Healy
- IMDb rating: 6.0/10
The actors in the movie all have lofty goals and freely participate in the production for different reasons, much like Maxine, and they are all rudely interrupted by violence.
Horror offers many methods to discuss the life cycle of ambition and the mechanisms that put it down, even if dramas are typically the ones to do it.
The best way to explain “Starry Eyes,” an indie classic directed by Kevin Kölsch & Dennis Widmyer, is as Chris Evangelista puts it: “‘A Star is’ Born with less singing and more body horror.”
In the fictional town of Tinseltown, where dreams are said to die, struggling actor Sarah Walker (Alexandra Essoe) strikes a classic Faustian bargain in hopes of finally getting her big break.
Essoe performs strongly in “Starry Eyes,” which is not surprising given her outstanding performance in Mike Flanagan’s genre movie “Doctor Sleep.”
Like “X,” “Starry Eyes” is light on jump scares and heavy on sudden, climactic ultraviolence.
13. Revenge (2017)
- Director: Coralie Fargeat
- Cast: Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe, Guillaume Bouchède, Jean-Louis Tribes, Barbara Gateau, and Avant Strangel
- IMDb rating: 6.4/10
Unlike any movie that has come before it, Revenge takes a tired horror idea and makes it much better.
After being violently beaten and left for dead by several guys in the middle of the desert, a woman hunts down the perpetrators and exacts revenge, refusing to stop until they are all held accountable.
The horror sub-genre may seem like it’s been done before, but vengeance is by far the greatest of it, thanks to its striking graphics, relentless pace, and horrific violence.
It could be among the best movies like X with a Vengeance theme.
For all fans of strong-stomached horror, Coralie Fargeat’s ability to create something extraordinary from an often mishandled idea is astounding.
14. High Tension (2003)
- Director: Alexandre Aja
- Cast: Cécile de France, Maïwenn, Philippe Nahon, Franck Khalfoun, Andrei Finti, Oana Pellea, and Marco Claudiu Pascu
- IMDb rating: 6.7/10
High Tension is a French import directed by Alexandre Aja. It created quite a splash in the horror genre when it first came out because of its sophisticated visuals, a lot of gore, and a completely unexpected twist ending. This is one of the best movies like X.
The plot follows two friends who are on vacation in a remote lakeside home when they find themselves being chased and hunted by an unidentified attacker.
The story is a sinister character study dressed as a gruesome slasher movie.
The movie is unique in its ability to play with the audience’s perceptions, defy expectations, and reaffirm all of the ideal principles of 1970s slasher filmmaking.
Like X, it goes beyond horror movie satire and creates something new.
15. Midsommar (2019)
- Director: Ari Aster
- Cast: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter, Ellora Torchia, and Archie Madekwe
- IMDb rating: 7.1/10
The sequel to Ari Aster’s Hereditary pushed the envelope further regarding graphic imagery and overt terror.
Midsommar compensates for Hereditary’s sorrow and visceral agony with its unpleasant visuals and sounds.
There aren’t any shadows to conceal the movie’s most graphic sequences since the plot, which is about a cult harassing a group of American tourists in Sweden, is nearly completely told in broad daylight.
The strange and startling ceremony that begins things sets the tone and doesn’t let up after that.
Those sequences may not be as common as in other horror movies due to their slower pacing and emphasis on people.
However, anytime it aims to frighten its audience, Midsommar succeeds almost a little too well. This is undoubtedly one of the best movies like X.
16. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
- Director: Marcus Nispel
- Cast: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Andrew Bryniarski, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Eric Balfour, and R. Lee Ermey
- IMDb rating: 6.2/10
The filthy sensibilities of Tobe Hooper, as shown in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, are more apparent in X than in any other single movie.
As one big tribute to Hooper’s horror classic, the scorching Texas heat, the greasy sweat, the filthy look complementing the subject matter, and the explosion of very unsettling slaughter all come together.
One might even argue that X is a superior installment in the genre compared to the current terrible Texas Chainsaw Massacre adaptation on Netflix.
X is scarier, bloodier, and funnier and reminds horror lovers that just because a title is repeated doesn’t mean it automatically equals the original.
17. Wolf Creek (2005)
- Director: Greg McLean
- Cast: Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, John Jarratt, Gordon Poole, Guy O’Donnell, and Phil Stevenson
- IMDb rating: 6.2/10
Greg McLean’s Wolf Creek is a spine-tingling classic slasher movie that conceptually deals with the intolerance of young outsiders.
It follows the same slow-burning pacing as X, pulling viewers into the plot and enabling them to truly get to know the characters.
A trio of backpackers in Australia are pursued as they get marooned and tortured by a bushman, whose genial appearance is really a front for his violent madness and propensity for murder.
Similar to movies like X, the movie begins gently before exploding into horrifying violence at the end, leaving audiences speechless.
