MaXXXine is a 2024 American psychological horror film directed by Ti West, and the cast includes Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon.
MaXXXine is the final installment in the X Trilogy, following on from X and Pearl, and if you haven't seen those movies, I would recommend watching them first before watching MaXXXine, although it isn't 100% necessary.
The story in this film follows Maxine (Mia Goth), who has made a name for herself as a porn star in Los Angeles, but she wants more and hopes that a career in movies will be her ticket out.
She auditions for a horror film directed by Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki), who is trying to expose the dark side of 1950s America with her sequel, The Puritan 2.
Maxine's rise to fame hits two major snags: a sleazy private detective, John Labat (Kevin Bacon), who’s digging into her past, and the looming presence of the real-life serial killer Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker.
When her friends start turning up dead with pentagram markings, the police suspect a copycat killer and believe Maxine might know something.
I have to give TI West credit, he sure does know how to make a trilogy in ultra quick time, doesn't he?
But I did not vibe with this film overall.
The main problem I had with it is that the movie doesn't really work in building too much suspense or mystery, and it really isn't hard to work out who the killer is, and ends up all being a bit anti climatic.
The film ends up being a bit of a mess overall and while it tries to portray many themes, it never really commits to any of them as it juggles everything that has been introduced, and this really takes you out of the film.
The movie attempts to tackle themes of fame, identity, and moral compromise but never quite finds its focus, and it feels unsure of its own direction, jumping between ideas without fully exploring any of them.
Maxine’s journey through Hollywood could have been a powerful look at how fame corrupts, but it ends up feeling shallow and predictable, and even the big twist lacked any emotional impact with very little tension.
While the film has its issues, I did appreciate a few things about the film.
Mia Goth delivers a strong performance playing the lead role as a tough determined and sometimes ruthless heroine and these roles showcase her talent brilliantly, and the supporting cast, including Elizabeth Debicki, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon, add a lot of fun to their roles too.
The movie’s look, with its bright lighting and 80s music, is really well done too, and the practical gore effects are good as well.
I laughed out loud on more than a few occasions, especially when Kevin Bacon or Giancarlo Esposito were on screen and the lighting, practical effects and 80's vibe I digged a lot, as well as the soundtrack.
The thing is, scene to scene the film works just fine. but when it is all put together, it ends up being quite messy and the film ends up working more in pieces rather then as a whole, and the ending does not land as well as I had hoped it would.
It looks great yes, but falls flat as a story, making for a disappointing end to the trilogy, and this weak narrative really hurts the film despite some things to appreciate, and what could have been a deep take on the dark side of fame, MaXXXine instead feels shallow and forgettable.
Ti West just tries to do too much, and while I didn't hate everything about it, I cannot say I liked it too much either as a whole, as it just feels a bit too random and messy and doesn't hit the same level as the first two movies in the trilogy, and by the end of the film, it all feels very anti climatic.
But I do give Ti West a lot of credit as I said for forging a trilogy that are so different from each other.
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