MaXXXine (2024) A24/Horror RT: 104 minutes Rated R (strong violence, gore, sexual content, graphic nudity, language, drug use) Director: Ti West Screenplay: Ti West Music: Tyler Bates Cinematography: Eliot Rockett Release date: July 5, 2024 (US) Cast: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon, Sophie Thatcher, Ned Vaughn, Chloe Farnworth, Simon Prast.
Rating: *** ½
I’m glad to see slasher films making a comeback if that’s what it is. Earlier this summer, I reveled in the blood-soaked glory that was In a Violent Nature. If you still haven’t seen it, what are you waiting for, an engraved invitation? Fine, consider this an invite. Check it out…. NOW!
MaXXXine, the third and supposedly final entry in Ti West’s X trilogy, has come along at just the right time. I’m just coming down off the high from Violent Nature and I needed a fix. I sure got it tonight. This is the movie I’ve been most looking forward to this summer. I was not disappointed. It’s every bit as great as its predecessors, X and Pearl. It’s, at once, a salute to 80s exploitation filmmaking and a gory horror-thriller featuring anti-heroine Maxine Minx, played once again by the amazing Mia Goth. I love her, I love her character here, but I stop short of calling her a scream queen because she’s no fearful damsel in distress. I see Maxine as more of an anti-final girl. She can hold her own against any adversary, even the infamous Night Stalker serial killer who sort of factors into the action.
Set in 1985 (lovingly recreated), Maxine still hasn’t achieved the level of stardom she desires. She’s been working in porn, making cheap DTV f*** flicks and doing peepshows on Hollywood Blvd. At 33, she knows her days are numbered as a porn actress. If she’s going to make it big, it has to be now. She auditions for the lead in a low-budget horror sequel called The Puritan II. She crushes it, of course. Now the hard work begins. The director Elizabeth Bender (Debicki, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 & 3) demands nothing short of excellence from her inexperienced lead actress, telling her she has to set aside any and all distractions for the sake of the film. Her job depends on it. So does her life as it turns out.
It seems that Maxine’s past has come back to haunt her. Somebody knows what happened in that cabin in Texas back in 1979. She receives a video tape then an anonymous note with a phone number. She’s told to go to the Bonaventure Hotel where she meets with John Labat (Bacon, Wild Things), a seedy Southern PI whose unnamed client has a vested interest in Maxine. He informs her that it would be in her best interest to accept the client’s invite to a party “in the hills”. She, being Maxine Minx, ignores his advice. Her friends start turning up dead, allegedly the victims of the Night Stalker. A couple of LAPD detectives, Williams (Monaghan, Mission: Impossible III) and Torres (Cannavale, Blue Jasmine), think otherwise. They want to talk to Maxine. They know she knows more than she’s letting on. She does, but she doesn’t talk to cops so she stands on her right to remain silent.
I wasn’t sure if writer-director West could keep up the great work with MaXXXine. Three-quels don’t always work out. Look at Scream 3, still the nadir of the series. Luckily, he did it! He’s three-for-three with this one. I like everything about it, especially the lurid 80s aesthetic that brings to mind the countless video nasties we once rented from the local Mom & Pop video store. Sleazy and grimy to the max, it’s a total grindhouse movie! The only thing missing is the old film stock with cigarette burns in the upper right hand corner telling the projectionist it’s time to switch reels.
West also has something to say about the uprise of conservative Christian citizens complaining that secular entertainment, horror films and heavy metal in particular, was turning their children into Satanists. Throughout MaXXXine, we see angry people with signs demanding an end to soul-corrupting movies like The Puritan II. This hits home for Maxine as she grew up with a strict televangelist father, a surprise revelation revealed at the end of X. No big secret, it comes up again here.
No recent horror franchise has given me as much pure enjoyment as the X series. No, I take that back; I like the Terrifier movies too. Others like Resident Evil, Underworld and The Conjuring Universe don’t really do it for me. West takes the genre to a whole different level. Not only is each film stylistically different, he doesn’t rely on CGI to do the heavy lifting. He utilizes practical FX in MaXXXine and they look great. There are a few cool gory moments. A would-be rapist has his testicles crushed by the would-be victim. Another victim gets crushed to death in a car by a junkyard crusher. A dismembered body falls out of a suitcase. Somebody is slashed to death. A head is literally blown to bits by a shotgun. It’s bloody alright, but it’s not the movie’s only reason for being.
The great thing about the X movies is it has a fascinating lead character, a non-heroine with a seriously dark side. Maxine is ambitious, ruthless and driven to succeed at any cost. She keeps repeating the mantra “I will not accept a life I do not deserve.” But does she deserve the life she wants? Probably not, but when has that stopped anyone looking for stardom? In the role, Goth does tremendous work. Maxine is a surprisingly complex character, especially for the genre. She’s a struggling, coked-up aspiring actress living on the fringes of Tinsel Town doing whatever she has to in order to survive. She’s also smarter than most of the people she comes across. She may not be virtuous, but Goth makes her come off as likable nonetheless.
Bacon, sporting a deep-fried Southern accent, camps it up mightily as the scuzzy private investigator hired to find and deliver Maxine to his client. In one great scene, he chases her around a studio lot ending up at the actual Psycho house. Debicki is very good as the equally ambitious director. She delivers soliloquies about art and making “a B-movie with A ideas”. Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror) has a memorable scene as the lead actress of the first Puritan movie who offers Maxine some professional advice.
As an 80s teen, I appreciated all the shout-outs to things from that era like shots of Hollywood Blvd. in its sleazy heyday, pop culture references and the soundtrack choices. I chuckled when one character hands another a can of New Coke. It’s clear West understands the era which is why he’s able to give MaXXXine that vibe. I had so much fun watching this movie. It’s interesting, sleazy and teeming with suspense. It’s a nice ending to an awesome trilogy*.
* = Reportedly, West has a fourth film in the works. Where does he go from here, the 90s? We shall see.
