When I first saw the trailer for MaXXXine three months ago, I had a feeling it was going to be my favorite installment in director Ti West’s unique porn horror trilogy. Awash in 1980’s nostalgia—and featuring Animotion’s “Obsession” and a synthed-up version of Laura Branigan’s “Self Control” as its soundtrack—it looked like a combination of early ’80s Brian De Palma sleaze (think Dressed to Kill, Blow Out and Body Double) sprinkled with a Dario Argento giallo vibe and a dash of 1983s’ Angel thrown in for fun…all as it exposed Hollywood’s seedy underbelly (and I love all those things!).
That’s exactly what the film delivers, headlined by another fantastic performance from West’s muse Mia Goth and an all-star cast, the most impressive one the director has assembled since the start of his trilogy. The project began with 2022’s X, set in 1979 and chronicling a porn shoot gone wrong on an isolated farm in Texas (fitting, as it a love letter to grindhouse films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre).
It continued with Pearl, (also released in 2022) which was set in 1918 and paid homage to Technicolor classics like The Wizard of Oz. The sequel/prequel cast Goth again as the lead, this time a full-on villain who wants to be a star at any cost in a psychological study of a woman becoming unhinged.
Each film has its own unique style and influences, and each utilizes porn and movie making as central plot elements. But while X and Pearl were both exercises in slow-burn suspense, MaXXXine is full-throttle from start to finish. It’s fast, loud and colorful, and for me has the highest re-play factor of them all.
A direct sequel to X, the third film fast-forwards six years to 1985, when fame whore Maxine Minx is trying to break out of porn by auditioning for a role in an upcoming sequel to a popular horror film. She gets hired, but her excitement is short-lived when has past comes back to haunt her—and people around her start getting murdered. Could it be the Night Stalker, the serial killer haunting Los Angeles? Or is it someone closer to Maxine’s world?
One of the things MaXXXine has going for it is the element of mystery, something missing from the first two films (where we knew exactly who the killers were). There is no shortage of suspects, and the fast pace keeps us on our toes for the first two-thirds before all becomes clear in the final act.
And damn is this cast fantastic! Kevin Bacon is the pesky PI making Maxine’s life hell (and he’s having a hell of a good time with that southern accent!), while Breaking Bad vet Giancarlo Esposito and his wig eat up the screen as Maxine’s agent. Singer Halsey is Maxine’s porn pal, while Lily Collins is the horror film starlet back for the sequel. Will & Grace alum Bobby Cannavale is a detective who missed his calling as an actor, while partner Michelle Monaghan is his “good cop” partner. Moses Sumney is Maxine’s bestie, a video store clerk with a past.
But the real coup here is future Oscar winner Elizabeth Debicki as the driven director who wants to make a name for herself (her presence severely elevates this film to the next level). (I wish a few of these great performers had a few more scenes than they do…I won’t say who as it might be a spoiler.)
As an acting showcase, Pearl gave Goth the meatiest role, but she also shines here—and I love how she’s given some foils who throw her off her game, making us feel for the character far more than we did in X. This might be an unpopular opinion, but the Maxine character in X was the weakest for me, and outshined by the likes of Brittany Snow (that cover of “Landslide” legit made me teary eyed), Jenna Ortega and Martin Henderson (who looked fine as fuck in his underwear!).
MaXXXine is the glossiest film of the bunch, and while it doesn’t have the deeper meaning from X (which used the ache of aging as its impetus) or the deeper character study from Pearl, it’s an unadulterated shot of adrenaline that never lets up for a second. If you’ve been paying attention, the ending probably won’t be a surprise—but it’s delivered with conviction and ties in nicely to themes established in the series.
Throw in the Psycho house/Bates Motel and more killer ’80s tracks (like De Palma’s Body Double, we also get a well-placed Frankie Goes to Hollywood song here; and I love the song and visual in the last shot of the film leading into the closing credits), and this is one hell a of a good time. Which film in this trilogy is your favorite? And what other dirty Hollywood films do you like?
MaXXXine will get frequent play for me along other filthy L.A. favorites like Sunset Boulevard, Mulholland Drive, L.A. Confidential, The Day of the Locust, Maps to the Stars, The Neon Demon, Nightcrawler, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, The Bad and the Beautiful, Boogie Nights and more…my sweet celluloid spot!
I’ve loved all of Ti West’s output, starting with his first three hits: The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers and The Sacrament. Now he has three more great scary flicks to his name, and I can’t wait to see what he does next! (Might we see The Puritan from him?!)
Check out the trailer:
