Aqib Rasheed
With MaXXXine, director-writer Ti West has crafted one of the most unique and enjoyable projects with his X Trilogy. What was originally intended as a standalone ‘80s throwback slasher has now become a full-fledged franchise revolving around the vivacious Mia Goth. 2024 seems to be the year of directors doing weird passion projects (Francis Ford Coppola with Megalopolis, Kevin Costner with Horizon, and Robert Zemeckis with Here). These legendary auteurs have accrued enough culture capital—and in some cases their own capital—to make whatever crazy passion project they want (shoutout, Blank Check podcast). West is much younger and is working with a significantly smaller budget. It’s impressive and admirable, however, that A24 gave him a chance to create this original world and make three really fun movies.
MaXXXine may not be as gnarly as X or thematically interesting as Pearl; however, it gives you what you want from a summer release. It puts a nice wrap on the Maxine Minx story, delivering creative kills and suspense along the way. West’s deficiencies as a writer are more glaring in this entry, as the ideas he introduces fail to coalesce into something substantial. Some won’t be able to look past the shaky writing, but those who are will be satisfied with this trilogy capper.
Established porn star Maxine Minx (Goth) is trying to make it in mainstream Hollywood movies. She finally gets her big break in a horror sequel from respected director Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki). Maxine’s bloody past at the farmhouse won’t leave her as the rampaging Night Stalker, a serial killer terrorizing L.A., seems to have some connection to her. On her case are P.I. John Labat (Kevin Bacon), detectives Marianne Williams and Ben Torres (Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale, respectively), lawyer Teddy Knight (Giancarlo Esposito), and many more.
The X trilogy is as much Goth’s trilogy as it is West’s, serving as a writer on Pearl and producer on MaXXXine. Whether it’s playing Maxine or Pearl, Goth gives no less than 120%. She’s made this character into her own and the way she plays Maxine in X is very different from how she plays her in MaXXXine.The third film’s heroine is far more confident and prepared compared to the novice energy Goth exudes in the first one. Maxine never goes down without a fight, though in this one, she will make sure you never cross her again. Both Goth and West have a synergistic relationship, where the duo understand this character and work to be on the same page. I see them as a horror counterpart to Rachel Sennott and Emma Seligmann in the comedy world.
Goth is a very specific type of actress. Her over-the-top and bold performance style (i.e. sicko vibe) is well-suited to the X trilogy and the fun and twisty Infinity Pool, but I am interested to see her work in a different world with another filmmaker’s vision. I think she is a chameleonic actress who blends seamlessly into her environment. Goth’s having fun delivering crackling one-liners and kicking ass, but Maxine feels less realized as a character here compared to X and to the titular character in Pearl.
Maxine may have learned from the previous massacre how to defend herself, but we don’t know anything more about her that we already didn’t know in X. Sure, she’s ambitious and wants to become a star—is that all there is to her? What made Pearl so innovative was that it enriched the titular character and gave her thematic reasoning for her forthcoming murderous actions. It’s a prequel that made the next chronological installment better. Unfortunately, MaXXXine does not complement or enrich the other two entries. One has to wonder if the film needed Goth back as a writer to imbue Maxine with more motive and defining characteristics. Aside from Teddy, Maxine doesn’t have a strong relationship with anyone and I think that’s a mistake. Giving her a character to bounce off of would have helped us understand Maxine more.
In terms of themes, I think one can argue that X was suspect in that department. However, the second half of that movie is such a fun roller coaster, that it masks some of the inconsistencies. MaXXXine largely tries to do that as well, albeit to a slightly lesser extent. I feel MaXXXine is missing a kill or two or another big set piece. The ones we do get are ingenious and mad. Maxine’s encounter in an alleyway with a thug had my jaw on the floor and there’s a kill in a video store that’s expertly executed. West is interested in the Hollywood of it all and wants to make commentary about the industry, to mixed results.
Some of the stuff he’s going for—what is “great” art, exploitation, auteurship—is addressed and covered well, though a lot of it is surface-level exploration. Debicki’s character (if you can call it that) is saddled with a ton of exposition masquerading as director bulls*it and at no point does her addition make sense to the narrative. It feels underbaked and part of a different movie that shouldn’t be near a slasher. X was focused on being a true slasher and delivered the goods. MaXXXine isn’t quite sure what it wants to be.
The aesthetic of the film is always on point. The cinematography, background score, needle drops, and production design are era-appropriate and transport you to this retro time. I want to highlight the lighting of the movie, from the bright neon signs to well-lit dark areas that allow MaXXXine to feel like a noir. The detective characters are attuned to the ‘80s and props to Monaghan and Cannavale for being standup pros. I enjoyed every scene they were in and could have easily watched a spin-off of the two of them solving cases. The same goes for Bacon playing a sleazy P.I. for the ages. He uses a Southern drawl and is chewing up scenery like no tomorrow. I loved his character and dynamic with Maxine, and wish the movie sustained the energy his character had when he was on-screen.
Is MaXXXine the weakest installment in Ti West and Mia Goth’s X trilogy? Technically, yes, but the gap between each film is relatively small. On any given day, I could have a different order of preference, and all combinations are justified. Qualitatively, the movies are more or less the same: really good, not great. It just depends on what you’re in the mood for. If you want to see a slasher, go with X. If you want to see an interesting character study, Pearl is the move. If you want to see the likable, entertaining, yet flawed bastard child of those two, then buy yourself a ticket to MaXXXine.
