MaXXXine: Film Review
Following on from X and Pearl, writer-director Ti West and Mia Goth have teamed up for the last film in their horror trilogy, MaXXXine.
After surviving the events of X six years before, adult film star Maxine Minx (Goth) finally books her first acting role in The Puritan II, directed by Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki). Although her professional life is thriving, Maxine’s personal life is in tatters – her friends are getting picked off one by one by the Night Stalker, a serial killer at large in Los Angeles, and she is also being followed by private investigator John Labat (Kevin Bacon) and Detective Torres and Williams (Bobby Cannavale and Michelle Monaghan).
MaXXXine is a case of style over substance – but I have to admit that I really loved the style and felt pretty content just watching Maxine go about her day. I adored the visuals, the production design, the ’80s fashion, hair and make-up and the excellent soundtrack. It has a completely different look and feel from X and Pearl because the action has moved from the Texas farm to the heart of Hollywood. Plus, we are now in 1985, enabling West to tie the real-life Night Stalker case and satanic panic phenomenon into his story.
Unfortunately, MaXXXine doesn’t deliver on the substance. The screenplay is quite poor in places (Cannavale particularly gets lumbered with some duds) and the plot tries to do too much with too many characters and ideas. As a result, the killer mystery and its resolution feel seriously undercooked and unsatisfying, leaving me feeling underwhelmed as I walked out of the cinema.
Horror fans will be pleased to know that there are a few gory moments. They are filmed in ’80s style, paying homage to the horrors of the period. It isn’t a scary horror and it isn’t as violent as X or Pearl but there are a couple of bloody moments that’ll make you cringe.
Just like Pearl, MaXXXine is a fantastic showcase for its leading lady Goth. Maxine is a badass who can handle herself but she’s not immune to vulnerability or emotion. Goth commands the screen and truly is a star. As I mentioned earlier, I was fairly happy just watching her strutting around the studio lot in her double denim outfit and white heels because she was so interesting to watch.
I loved some of her supporting cast too, particularly Bacon as a stereotypically sleazy PI and Giancarlo Esposito as Maxine’s shady agent Teddy Knight. They did the most with their performances and made me laugh. The only real issue I had performance-wise was Lily Collins‘ mind-boggling ‘North Yorkshire’ accent, which oscillated between many different regional English accents in record time.
I haven’t loved any of the films in this trilogy but I would place MaXXXine at the top because I dug the ’80s vibes, the film industry setting and the performances from the star-studded cast.
In cinemas from Friday 5th July