"X" Director Ty West An ambitious film disguised as a traditional horror film, its theme is "passion for filmmaking" [Director's Interview Vol.221]

Why "aging" became the theme

Q: I think another major theme of this film is "physical aging" and "sadness and hatred towards aging." I also think this is very unique for a horror film. Why did you choose these elements as themes?

West: First of all, I wanted the villain in my film to have a human side, so I tried to focus on that in my portrayal.

I think that the fear that everyone has is growing old and dying. When we are young, we strangely think, "I want to grow up quickly," but when we get older, we think, "I want to become young again." There is an ironic side to all of us.

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When we are young, we have the desire to "get many things and be happy," and when we get older, we dream of "if only we were younger we could do many more things." I thought that such conflicting ideologies within humans were interesting, so I decided to depict it as a theme. There hadn't been any horror movies with such a perspective before, so I thought it would be refreshing.

Q: Did you face criticism in America for portraying an old man as a cruel murderer?

West: The killer in this film has evil in him from the start, and he's not just an old man. So there weren't any particular criticisms.

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