Horror Film ‘X’s Ending and Post-credits Scene, Explained

The “erotic” slasher, X, hacked its way through the box office this past week, titillating horror lovers and general audiences alike. With its homages to horror classics like Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Psycho, it’s a pretty fun and gory romp through the fields and swamps of Texas. 

This is about the film’s ending (so it might go without being said, but) … spoilers ahead!

Set in 1979, X follows a group of would-be pornographers as they attempt to film their first movie at an old ranch house in Texas. Maxine (Mia Goth), Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), and Jackson (Kid Cudi) are supposed to be stars, while the “producer” Wayne (Martin Henderson), director RJ (Owen Campbell), and RJ’s girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) work behind the scenes. However, things go awry when they accidentally pique the interest and ire of an elderly couple, Howard and Pearl (played by Stephen Ure and Mia Goth in heavy old-age prosthetics). 

Pearl longs to reclaim her youth, beauty, and sex appeal, while Howard—the more morally prudish of the pair—is offended by the groups lack of “decency” and concern over their effect on his frail wife’s libido. When Pearl’s sexual advances are spurned by both Howard and a befuddled RJ, she snaps and begins slaughtering everyone. Howard, of course, feels obliged to help out his wife. 

Explaining X‘s Gory Ending

By the end of the film, we have learned that this is not Howard and Pearl’s first time at the murder rodeo, and they have the corpse of a previous guest of their boarding house strung up in the basement. Nearly everyone is dead, with the exception of Maxine, the final girl (can’t have a slasher without one!). Maxine drives off into the dawn in Howard’s beat-up truck. Later, the Sheriff and his deputies arrive to try and make sense of the carnage. One of the deputies hands the Sheriff the film canister of the porno, wondering if it might explain what happened, while on the television, a preacher evangelizes about lost souls and includes a message to his missing daughter … who turns out to be Maxine.

In the post-credits scene, director Ti West jumps the movie back in time. The scene goes all the way back to 1918 and shows Pearl, as a beautiful, young dancer, running a boarding house for soldiers returning from World War I. 

So, will X have a prequel?

West revealed at SXSW that he actually shot most of the prequel, Pearl, in secret alongside X. In an interview with The LA Times he said, “my plan was to write it there and see if I can convince A24 that we should make two movies.” He also went on to describe it as “a melodrama meets the Technicolor style of Mary Poppins… made as a demented Disney movie.”

In fact, he even wrote the script for the prequel before X began filming and Goth used it to help inform her character. Goth has said, “We didn’t know what was going to happen. We thought, at the very least, if nothing comes of it, we’ll write a script and it can serve as a great backstory for Pearl and my grasp on my character.”

Considering that X exceeded box office expectations and earned rave reviews from both critics and horror fans alike, it’s quite possible that West will get to release his prequel. And possibly a sequel (What’s going on with Maxine and her televangelist family?) as well.

(Image: A24)