DYING TO SHOW YOU A GOOD TIME.

In 1979, a film crew arrives at a Texas farm to shoot a porno, but a killer strikes.

Ti West had made several moderately acclaimed horror films, but this one reached a wider audience. Much of it is a flirt with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and the 1970s porn trend; a clear theme is our obsession with how sexuality must be young, shaped by the media and the sex industry. Aging turns into a threat here, symbolized by excellent performances by Mia Goth as both a porn star and an old lady at the farm.

Well-made, but lacks the kind of shocks and innovative touches that would have made it special.

2022-U.S.-Canada. 106 min. Color. Written and directed by Ti West. Cast: Mia Goth (Maxine Minx/Pearl), Jenna Ortega (Lorraine), Brittany Snow (Bobby-Lynne), Scott Mescudi, Martin Henderson, Owen Campbell. Voice of Karen Gillan.

Trivia: Co-executive produced by Sam Levinson. Followed by a prequel, Pearl (2022), and a sequel, Maxxxine (2024).