About the film (courtesy of A24):
In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.
Ti West and Mia Goth deliver a bloody, brilliant conclusion to their “X” trilogy, cementing MaXXXine as a love letter to ’80s excess and a biting commentary on the relentless pursuit of fame.
It’s 1985, and our tenacious anti-heroine, Maxine Minx, has escaped the rural horrors of Texas and landed in the sun-soaked hellscape of Los Angeles. She’s clawing her way through the cutthroat world of low-budget filmmaking, fueled by a relentless hunger for stardom. However, Maxine’s dreams soon collide with the dark underbelly of Hollywood, where ambition and desperation intertwine in a macabre dance.
Mia Goth once again mesmerizes as Maxine, delivering a performance that’s both alluring and unsettling. She embodies Maxine’s insatiable hunger for fame with a ferocious intensity, making her a magnetic force that you can’t look away from, even as she descends into madness.
Ti West’s direction is a visual feast, immersing us in the gritty, neon-drenched world of ’80s Los Angeles. MaXXXine‘s aesthetic is a vibrant collage of sleazy glamour and urban decay, capturing the era’s aesthetic with a meticulous eye for detail. The soundtrack, a pulsating mix of synth-pop and hair metal, further amplifies the film’s intoxicating atmosphere.
The supporting cast is equally impressive, with standout performances from Elizabeth Debicki as a manipulative director, Giancarlo Esposito as Maxine’s “do anything” agent, Bobby Cannavale and Michelle Monaghan as gray area detectives and then there’s Kevin Bacon doing Kevin Bacon type stuff. Their characters add depth and complexity to the narrative, enriching the film’s exploration of ambition, exploitation, and the toxic allure of fame.
While MaXXXine shares the trilogy’s penchant for graphic violence, it also delves deeper into psychological horror. As a matter of fact, one might be so bold as to say that they let off the throttle a bit when it comes to violence. That being said, there’s still enough to go around. But the film explores Maxine’s fractured psyche with unsettling intimacy, blurring the lines between reality and delusion as she spirals into a vortex of paranoia and self-destruction.
MaXXXine provides a climax that is a chaotic crescendo of violence and absurdity, a fittingly over-the-top conclusion to Maxine’s journey. It’s a blood-soaked spectacle that will leave you breathless and questioning your own complicity in the culture of celebrity worship.
However, MaXXXine is not without its flaws. The film occasionally stumbles under the weight of its own ambition, with some subplots feeling underdeveloped. Additionally, while the ending is undeniably impactful, it might leave some viewers yearning for a more definitive resolution (which makes you wonder if Ti West is truly ready to retire this story at a trilogy…). Unfortunately, the feeling of incompleteness or a rush to tie things up better, ultimately left me in a less-than-thrilled position.
Despite these shortcomings, MaXXXine is a bold, audacious film that refuses to be ignored. It’s a neon-soaked nightmare in paradise, a cautionary tale about the perils of fame and the darkness that lurks beneath the surface of our dreams. If you’re a fan of horror, satire, or simply enjoy cinema that pushes boundaries, then this should be a worthy watch, especially if you’ve invested time in the first two entries.
You can catch MaXXXine in theaters starting today, Friday, July 5th. Be sure to grab some nuts or some other favorite concession because this is definitely one of those popcorn types of experiences that is just here for the over-the-top entertainment.
