X Horror Series Movies: Release Order
The X series represents a modern masterclass in horror filmmaking, with Ti West crafting a trilogy that spans decades while maintaining tight narrative connections. This release order watch list preserves the filmmaker's intended experience, allowing viewers to discover Pearl's backstory after witnessing her terrifying actions in the initial film.
Starting with X establishes the core mystery and horror, while Pearl follows as a revelatory prequel that recontextualizes the events. MaXXXine then continues Maxine's story directly, completing the trilogy's exploration of ambition, trauma, and survival across different eras of American horror cinema.
There is 1 other watch order available – see the link up above.
X
A group of young filmmakers in 1979 attempt to shoot an adult film at a remote Texas farmhouse, but their elderly hosts have deadly intentions for the unwelcome visitors.
Pearl
Trapped on her family's isolated farm, Pearl dreams of a glamorous life like the movies while caring for her ailing father under her overbearing mother's watch. Her burning ambitions and dark impulses begin to dangerously collide in this psychological horror prequel.
MaXXXine
In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star Maxine Minx pursues her dream of mainstream acting success while a mysterious killer targets the city's starlets.
Other Film Series
Bryan Edgar Wallace
A series of German crime thrillers produced by CCC Filmkunst in the 1960s-70s, marketed under the name of Edgar Wallace's son Bryan, featuring standalone mysteries with gothic atmosphere and masked killers.
Children of the Corn
A horror franchise following the murderous cult of children who worship a malevolent entity called He Who Walks Behind the Rows across multiple timelines and locations.
Halloween
The iconic slasher franchise following masked killer Michael Myers across multiple timelines and reboots spanning over four decades.
Prom Night
A horror franchise that blends slasher and supernatural elements around the prom night setting, featuring mostly standalone films with one connected supernatural subseries.
Terrifier
A brutal slasher trilogy following the supernatural killer Art the Clown as he terrorizes victims across three connected films.
The Howling
A werewolf horror franchise that begins with Joe Dante's cult classic but quickly devolves into a collection of largely standalone sequels with minimal continuity.