Looking for movie horror? ‘X’ marks the spot

Above : The horror film “X” opens on Friday. (Photo/A24)

There are only so many ways to tell a story about a group of people in danger of their lives.

From Agatha Christie to Tobe Hooper (director and co-screenwriter of the original 1975 “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” ), we’ve watched people get slashed, stabbed, strangled, shot, squashed, set on fire and pretty much suffer every other kind of violence imaginable.

It’s all about the set-up, which Hooper knew better than most. The movie-ending shot of Leatherface doing his famous chainsaw boogaloo is still one of the most haunting images in cinema history.

The latest version of this who’s-gonna-die-next theme opens on Friday. Titled simply “X,” it involves an adult-movie crew that seeks out a remote Texas (of course) farmhouse as a production site. But when the aging owners get wind of what the filmmaker and cast are up to, they … well, they don’t react well.

Here’s the surprise: So far, the film – which was written and directed by Ti West and which stars Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega and Brittany Snow – is getting near-rave reviews.

John DeFore of the Hollywood Reporter wrote, “Benefitting from West’s knack for capturing period vibes and from an unusually engaging cast, the pic is meatier than the average slasher film.”

Abby Olcese of RogerEbert.com wrote, “An icky good time that’s primarily a love letter to the filmmaking process.”

Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote, “(I)t could hardly be more upfront about its son-of-‘Chain Saw’ atmosphere – which is to say it’s a deliberate, loving, and meticulous homage that isn’t simply trying to cash in on the legacy of the greatest horror film of the last half century.”

New drinking game: Take a swig every time you get the next victim wrong.