Writer-Director Ti West introduced the world to a wild cast of characters in his 2022 movie X. A gritty, dark surprise, many thought it was a one-and-done…until they heard West quietly made a follow-up back-to-back. Thus, there was Pearl, also in ’22; which serves as a prequel to X, telling the story of the old lady. Jumping forward to 2024, on June 5th West brought his X trilogy to a close with MaXXXine arriving in theaters through A24, before the recent 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD release through Lionsgate on October 8th, and at last, the streaming on Max as of October 18th.
Starring Mia Goth (Supsiria 2018, Infinity Pool 2023) as Maxine Minx, Charley Rowan McCain (NCIS series, S.W.A.T. series) as the young Maxine Miller, Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby 2013, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 2023) as Elizabeth Bender, Moses Sumney (Creed 2015, Blackalachia 2021) as Leon, Michelle Monaghan (Perfume 2001, The Family Plan 2023) as Detective Williams, Bobby Cannavale (Third Watch series, The Watcher 2022) as Detective Torres, Halsey (Sing 2 2021, Americana 2023) as Tabby Martin, Lily Collins (The Blide Side 2009, Emily in Paris series) as Molly Bennett, Giancarlo Esposito (Do The Right Thing 1989, Breaking Bad series) as Teddy Knight, and Kevin Bacon (Footloose 1984, Mystic River 2003) as John Labat, among a slew of others, MaXXXine picks up six years after X in the timeline.
In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring Actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. However, as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.
If you thought X was gritty with Eliot Rockett’s, who has been the cinematographer on the whole X trilogy, cinematography, MaXXXine’s exponentially grittier, especially being set in 1985 LA in the porn scene as evidenced by the “XXX” in the title. There was a grossness to X like, “Oh my God, the audacity of the kids bogarting this old couple’s farm…to make a porno!” MaXXXine’s a pretty, flashy gross in the sense that there’s a smarminess to everybody, even if they are well-meaning like her agent Teddy, outside of Maxine’s best friend, Leon, who owns the video store Maxine frequents, and the actresses trying to eke out a living, albeit, in the porn biz.
To give MaXXXine its authentic 1985 vibes, the film was shot on Hollywood Boulevard, which was recreated complete with vintage cars, 1980s wardrobe, and signage for places like ’50 cent pizza slices.’ West said he wanted to shoot on the actual street to have LA “play itself in the most Hollywood of ways.”
Also, the crimes in MaXXXine were inspired by the crimes of Richard Ramirez, The Night Stalker; a real-life serial killer, rapist, and burglar who murdered at least thirteen people in California in the 1980s. Ramirez was known for leaving Satanic symbols at the scenes of his murders, including pentagrams. West said that the inclusion of Ramirez and other real figures was meant to illustrate the ‘Satanic Panic’ of the 1980s. His name dropped a lot in newsreels, but there is also another killer using The Night Stalker’s MO in tandem to cover the mystery killer’s tracks. There is one difference though, whereas Ramirez kills random women, the mystery killer goes after prostitutes and for some reason, Leon.
These elements are brought together in multiple split-screen scenes, also giving the movie a retro vibe. Conventional framing, even with attention to detail and direct references to the goings-on of the time, although beautifully gritty, would be, ho-hum. Amplifying it all is also Tyler Bates’ original score which sets the mood.
This all stated, Mia Goth slips back into her Maxine role effortlessly even being a couple of movies and a couple of years removed from said character. Instead of being the aspiring actress she was in X, she is an aspiring actress, who has already arrived…in her mind being part of The Puritan II; a B-rated Horror Movie, which is religious in a manner of speaking, but not religious she talked about in the home video with her dad at the beginning of the movie. Now, she has the baggage from X, and baggage from before X… especially her daddy issues since they have become estranged. Like most people who have something to hide, Maxine keeps mostly to herself, only letting people know what she wants to let them know, but like most people, she cannot help talking. Her need to be noticed is just so great.
Aside from being ‘pretty’ gritty, the story wraps decently, ticking all the boxes, but there is some clunkiness to the narrative with a bloated cast. With the first two films becoming rather popular, MaXXXine has become the highest-grossing entry in the trilogy. This is while it carries the lowest Rotten Tomatoes scores of the trilogy. Still, Ti West has said he has an idea for a fourth in the franchise, but despite the box office and the critics’ score, along with the lowering audience score, it may be better to stop leaving a good taste in peoples’ mouths. Nonetheless, Cryptic Rock gives MaXXXine 4 out of 5 stars.
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