Jenna Ortega's Facial Prosthetic For Ti West's X Was Enormous
This post contains major spoilers for "X."
A bloody deconstruction of the slasher genre, Ti West's "X" features an ensemble cast that isn't afraid of getting its hands dirty, in more ways than one. The film revolves around a group of filmmakers looking to make an adult film in the middle of nowhere, as one normally does. A subversive narrative gives thematic weight to it all, but "X" has just as much fun with the gory bits of the genre. While Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) is the central driving force of "X," Jenna Ortega especially impresses as Lorraine, an initially shy Christian girl that slowly but surely sheds her conservative shell. That is, until she dies, of course.
After nearly every other crew member of the porn production met their untimely deaths, the remaining survivors, Lorraine and Maxine, were left trying to escape the killer's home. Regretting her involvement in the entire ordeal, Lorraine runs off ahead of Maxine when Howard (Stephen Ure) obliterates her face with a double-barrel shotgun. The shocking moment is both comically timed and disturbingly realistic, partly thanks to the detailed prosthetic work done for the aftermath. It should come as no surprise that the end result was a lot to handle for all parties involved.
Her face says it all
Ortega took to Twitter to share some select behind-the-scenes images from "X," revealing the copious amounts of prosthetics she had to wear postmortem. The gnarly make-up might even look more disturbing out of the context of "X," especially since it is mucked up a bit by the visual aesthetics of the film. Although we get a few good shots of it during the movie, the photos posted on social media let us appreciate the gory details a bit more. And geez, I'm not sure Lorraine deserved that, but it did make for an entertaining death.
Forgot how big this prosthetic was. Here’s some clean https://t.co/dOVA4tpdqC pic.twitter.com/U7pjHSP2Sc
— Jenna Ortega (@jennaortega) November 29, 2022
Out of the many, many deaths featured in "X," Lorraine's is by far the most surprising one. The rest are set up in a slow burn, from the alligator that devours Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) to Wayne (Martin Henderson) getting impaled by a pitchfork. And although it was inevitable, there was a sliver of hope that Lorraine would survive, as she nearly made it until the very end. But alas, it was only poetic that, in reverting to her old ways, Lorraine quickly bit the bust.
A massive, gory endeavor
The thing that all the deaths have in common is that "X" is the commitment to displaying the graphic bits in all their glory. In an interview with Bloody Disgusting, hair & makeup designer Sarah Rubano revealed that West emphasized excess for every practical effect, from Pearl herself to the deaths of the crew:
"Ti is so detail-oriented, and he wanted his characters to be larger than life. He wanted the gore effects to be larger than life. More is more. It was all a visual feast; that's what I saw it as. We just started talking about how we would achieve it in this tiny little timeline. That was the beginning."
The makeup work throughout the film is exceptional, but the blood and guts are especially unsettling. Lorraine's death is simply a highlight among some very solid, creative murders. The enormous prosthetics involved were probably not that fun to sport, so it's only just to truly get to appreciate the work that went into them.
If you want to rewatch "X," now is the perfect time to do so. The film is currently available to rent or buy on digital or on physical media. You can watch the prequel, "Pearl," in the comfort of your own home, too.