The X Trilogy: Collector's Edition - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

I love me a good horror film. I love it better if there’s a great prequel or sequel to go along with it. I’d like it even better if the third film measured up to the first two, but as I mentioned in my review for MaXXXine, most trilogies should have stopped at the second film. The pressure to live up to expectations is often just too high. With that, I’ll firmly state that X and Pearl are modern Horror classics in their own right. They’re excellent films, tonally different from one another but connect perfectly with the interwoven themes of sex, cinema, and violent death. MaXXXine is pretty good, four times through now, and it gets a little better in my estimation, but it just can’t crack through. I love the 1980s setting of the film, but it gets so frustratingly distracted by pointing out how ‘80s it is that it never really comes to life.

But I’ve said all that and more before in a few reviews now. If you’re curious, here’s how I saw the previous films on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray:

• X (2022) Capelight Pictures German Import 4K UHD Mediabook Review
• Pearl Turbine German Import 4K UHD Mediabook Review
• MaXXXine - 4K UHD Review 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
A24 will not accept a trilogy box set we do not deserve! All entries in Ti West and Mia Goth’s X Trilogy come to 4K UHD for the first time Stateside thanks to A24 Shop. The three-film three-disc 4K UHD Set arrives in a deluxe Mediabook package with a stylish slipcase and plastic cover. Each disc rides in on a BD100 disc (although each leaves a lot of disc space open). Each disc has its own tray inside a trifold book. Also included is a 66-page book with essays, behind-the-scenes, and production photos for each film. Each disc loads to an animated main menu with standard navigation options.

Having already gone through the trilogy once with the two German import discs and the domestic release from Lionsgate, I’m happy to report that we’re more or less getting the same excellent 2160p Dolby Vision transfers here. Slight encoding differences aside, I didn’t notice any severe differences between discs. Even checking bitrates, there’s not enough to move the needle one way or the other. This disc of X offers a slightly higher average bitrate than the Capelight release. Turbine’s release of Pearl comes in a bit higher overall, but again, not to such a degree that you’re going to see any severe differences. MaXXXine runs right on track with Lionsgate’s disc transfer. So, to that end, if you imported the first two films and bought the domestic release of MaXXXine and are happy, then you’re all set. If you waited to buy those films and avoided the import market, then get excited because you’re going to see three films with excellent Dolby Vision transfers. Check out the reviews linked above for my thoughts as I don’t feel there’s much need to rewrite what I’ve already said.

Likewise, for the audio, I didn’t detect any differences for the Dolby Atmos mixes between this trilogy set and the three other discs I previously reviewed. Each film has a nice, strong Atmos mix and uses the format to its respective advantage. It can be a bit more subtle or more aggressively deployed, depending on the film. As far as a wall-to-wall experience, I’d give MaXXXine the edge over the first two films, but that’s because there’s just so much more going on, and it isn’t contained within a small area. Read the reviews linked above for my feelings about each film’s Atmos presentation.

As for the bonus features, we are again getting everything we saw with the past discs (again see reviews linked above), but each film now comes with a new commentary track. X and Pearl each pick up a new commentary with director of photography  Eliot Rockett and production designer Tom Hammock. MaXXXine again sees the same set of extras but also has its own commentary track with production designer Jason Kisvarday and set decorator Kelsi Ephraim along with a nice eight-and-a-half-minute sort of retrospective with Tyler Bates about doing the music for the three films that is new to this set. Overall, the commentaries are a nice addition to the collection, but I was disappointed to see that for Pearl and MaXXXine they weren’t going to be as robust and expansive as what Second Sight is going to offer for their 4K releases of those two films. But since Second Sight can’t release X due to rights issues, importing just those two films for a handful of additional extras might be an extreme proposition for some fans. 

X - 4K UHD

• Audio Commentary featuring Eliot Rockett and Tom Hammock
• Peal Makeup Timelapse 
• The X Factor
• The Farmer’s Daughter
• Trailer

Pearl - 4K UHD

• Audio Commentary featuring Eliot Rockett and Tom Hammock
• Coming Out of Her Shell: The Creation of Pearl
• Time After Time
• Trailer

MaXXXine - 4K UHD

• Audio Commentary featuring Jason Kisvarday and Kelsi Ephraim
• The Belly of the Beast
• XXX Marks the Spot
• Hollywood is a Killer
• Q&A With Ti West
• Deep Dive with Composer Tyler Bates
• Trailers

The X Trilogy is 2/3 modern Horror excellence and 1/3 slightly satisfying missed opportunity. Since 2022, I’ve gotten into a steady rhythm of pulling out X for a regular viewing, and Pearl remains a genuine favorite I've watched several times through. I’ve gone through MaXXXine four times now between reviews and theatrical viewings, and it’s starting to grow on me a little more. If asked today, I’d probably pop it up another half star, but it still fails to nail the instantaneous greatness of its predecessors. Even if the last film is a little iffy, all three films make for terrific 4K home video fodder! Thanks to the A24 Shop, we finally have all three films in 4K here in the States with Ti West's X Trilogy. All three films come home with beautiful Dolby Vision/Dolby Atmos A/V presentations with a slim but interesting assortment of extras, with three new commentary tracks to buttress the effort. However, if you were like me and imported the German 4K releases already, this set might not be enough to warrant a double dip beyond the convenience of having all three films in one case. So consider that if you’ve already bought these films on 4K already. But, if you’re a newcomer and need the films in 4K all in one go, this set is for you. Highly Recommended