Ti West completes his horror trilogy in devilishly fun ’80s fashion
First came X. Shortly after came the prequel, Pearl. And now, MaXXXine, writer/director Ti West’s end cap on a remarkably gory, provocative, homage-filled horror trilogy. Mia Goth is at the center of all three films, an actor who has transcended “scream queen” status to become a bona fide megastar of the genre. She deserved an Oscar nomination for her performance in Pearl, and arguably an earlier nomination for her dual roles in X. In MaXXXine, the creative pairing of West and Goth complete their trilogy in entertaining, if not spectacular, fashion. MaXXXine is an overt homage to the wide-ranging horror genre birthed from Hollywood between the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, from the prestigious to the grimy.
MaXXXine is set in 1985, six years after the events of X. Mia Goth reprises her role as Maxine, the driven young woman who dreams of stardom. She works as an adult film star, and after a successful audition, she is on the brink of fame by landing the lead role in a (fictional) high-profile sequel to a horror classic, The Puritan. As Maxine’s future brightens, her violent past catches up to her. The film is set against the backdrop of a real-life precarious time in Los Angeles, when a serial killer, known as the Night Stalker, was wreaking havoc, murdering 13 people, and eluding the police. Because the Night Stalker backdrop is more of a tone-setter than a plotline, MaXXXine doesn’t incorporate the unimpeded creative gruesomeness that made X and Pearl so visceral and visionary. MaXXXine has moments of bloody brutality, and plenty of engaging horror clichés. However, in its entirety, the film is more like an elongated afterword to X than a successful standalone movie.
MaXXXine’s lack of gore (only compared to its predecessors, mind you) doesn’t stop the film from having a good time on its own terms. Supporting actors Kevin Bacon, Giancarlo Esposito, Bobby Cannavale, and Michelle Monaghan let loose in their limited screen time. Scenes take place on the beautiful Hollywood hills and old-school backlots, evoking some of the industry’s most iconic titles. And from a technical standpoint, the MaXXXine production crew has delivered a fully realized snapshot of the 1980s Hollywood seedy underground, and, in doing, so also captures the ’80s horror aesthetic — cheap punk rock fashion, neon lights, chunky blood effects, and slimy side characters. Maxine’s nighttime world is real, ruthless, and disgusting, and she yearns to break through to the daytime world of fake movie sets and production stages. The contrasts are beautifully crafted and shot, from the thick streams of blood reminiscent of Dario Argento films to the quiet magnitude of the house from Psycho. Ti West, Mia Goth, and the rest of the cast and crew must have had a great time making MaXXXine. Despite its drawbacks, it’s a fitting finale that tips its hat to decades of horror films, and to their loyal fans.
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MaXXXine opens in theaters on Friday, July 5th.
