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.
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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.
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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.
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Other Film Series
A Quiet Place
A post-apocalyptic horror series about survivors navigating a world where deadly creatures hunt by sound, forcing humanity to live in complete silence.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Four films exploring alien pod people replacing humans, each updating the concept for different eras and anxieties.
Nightmare on Elm Street
The iconic horror franchise following the burned child killer Freddy Krueger who stalks teenagers through their dreams.
Poltergeist
A supernatural horror franchise following families terrorized by malevolent spirits, featuring an original trilogy and a standalone reboot.
Terrifier
A brutal slasher trilogy following the supernatural killer Art the Clown as he terrorizes victims across three connected films.
The Purge
A dystopian horror franchise set in an America where all crime is legal for 12 hours once a year during an annual event called The Purge.