I was first introduced to the director of X Luis Marais with the Spanish award-winning production Todo por la Pasta (Anything for Bread) for which he wrote the screenplay. Todo por la Pasta was a bold and original story that generated some good reviews in its native Spain and consequently was nominated for four Goya Awards (the Spanish Oscars). Unfortunately this new film from Luis Marais is nowhere near the quality of Todo por la Pasta as X fails to impress even if you happen to be a hardcore fan of the thriller genre.

The story is generally predictable and the element of surprise that is necessary for this specific genre is quite frankly underwhelming. Furthermore, despite a cast of stellar Spanish actors the story hardly makes it an engaging experience as even the inspired performances by the main characters could not elevate the film to more than just an average production.

Looking at the back cover of Image's DVD presentation of X one could see a bold comparison that groups the film together with two more successful recent Spanish films, Alejandro Amenabar's hit Abre Los Ojos a.k.a Open Your Eyes (1997) and Juan Fresnadillo's gripping Intacto (2001). Unfortunately, in my opinion X can not be compared to either one of those films as it fails to deliver a thought-provoking or relatively suspenseful story, a key genre-element the other two films became known for.

It is perhaps worth pointing out that X has appeared under a few different aliases while being distributed in different regions. In its native Spain the film appeared under the name of Equis and in Germany it was promoted with the catchy title Urban Killer. Regardless of the title experimentations this film left me fairly unimpressed as there are way too many loopholes in its storyline.

Last but not least if there is one redeeming factor in X that the director Marais could build upon in his future endeavors it is arguably his ability to shift the tempo of the narrative rather successfully. I liked the manner in which his camera was able to follow up Javier's personal struggle to recollect his life and at the same time reveal tiny bits of the "mystery". Regrettably as a whole the film was a disappointment lacking in both substance and execution.

How Does the DVD Look?

Image have delivered a rather good print of X with reasonably good contrast and well handled colors. I noticed a few print flecks in the opening and closing scenes of the film but overall this is an acceptable presentation. Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, enhanced for widescreen TV's, with optional English subtitles.

How Does the DVD sound? Good, solid Spanish Dolby Digital Surround sound that serves the nature of the film rather well. Prospective viewers will not be disappointed by the presentation.

Extras: Strangely enough the main menu to X is entirely in Spanish which leads me to believe that the targeted audience for this film is indeed the Spanish-speaking community. The following extras could be found:

Detras De Las Escenas- (strangely without English subtitles)

Trailers- X, School Killer, and The Stone Raft

Final Thoughts: X is the type of film that you could often find late at night on cable and let it by without giving much thought to what you have just seen. If you are truly desperate for a Spanish thriller that rivals some of Hollywood's best B-hits then Luis Marais' film comes highly recommended. However, if you are looking for an engaging and thought-provoking Spanish thriller that is indicative for the recent resurrection of the genre on the Iberian Peninsula look elsewhere. RENT IT.