Ti West’s time-jumping trilogy of Texas-fried serial killer shenanigans concludes with 2024’s Maxxxine. Leaving behind the 1970s porn shoots and 1930s stag loops for 1980s peep shows, Maxxxine is still firmly planted in West’s ADULTS ONLY world of bodies and body parts. It’s as gory as the two films that came before it and as referentially obsessed, for better or worse. We all got a kick of out X‘s Texas Porn Star Massacre but dear Body Double (1984) fans, get ready to eat up what Maxxxine is serving to you on a blood-stained silver cocaine platter.
Set in the VHS dominated world of Hollywood’s underbelly, Maxxxine sees X‘s Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) clawing and scratching and auditioning her way to stardom in 1985. Naturally, her biggest hurdle is breaking out of the world of Adult Film into “legitimate” movies. That’s easier said than done (obviously) but if that wasn’t enough, she also has to navigate certain death at the hands of the then active Night Stalker. And frankly, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for poor ole Maxine!
All while focusing on her career (and snorting a mountain of coke), Maxine has to contend with a sleazy Cajun private detective (Kevin Bacon) trying to blackmail her for those pesky Texas murders, a Night Stalker copycat killer slowly slicing their way through her rolodex of friends, and two LAPD detectives circling her like sharks. Of course, if there was one person who could make it out alive, it’s probably the girl that’s already single-handedly blasted her way out of a death trap or two.
“…get ready to eat up what Maxxxine is serving to you on a blood-stained silver cocaine platter.”
If you’ve been a fan of X and Pearl than Maxxxine won’t disappoint. Personally, I’ve been pretty hot and cold on these movies. For me, it’s been a lot of style without much substance. They never push as far as they promise, and each story has seemed in need of another draft to really find what it was after. Of course, the special effects have always been top notch and the cinematography has been wonderful (all three having been shot by frequent West collaborator Elliot Rockett). Each movie, Maxxxine included, has its own unique flair that helps set it apart from the others, and who doesn’t love a fake head exploding into pieces under the tire of a truck or at the end of a shotgun barrel?!
Maxxxine is as soaked in late night neon light as X (2022) was in warm, homegrown sunshine or as Pearl (2022) was in that vibrant Technicolor palette. The makeup, hair and wardrobes are undeniably 1985 and if all your chasing is a vibe, Maxxxine is a homerun. The pieces of the puzzle fit together a little too neatly, and there doesn’t seem to be much a reason for anything beyond how cool it would all look. It’s a really well-made movie but one that feels designed to sell more t-shirts than tickets.
Where Maxxxine edges ahead of its predecessors is its direct criticism of Hollywood itself. X inadvertently did the same in analyzing the hypocrisy of the entertainment hierarchy via pornography, and Pearl kinda tackled the dark side of obsessing over fame. But Maxxxine is squarely anti-Hollywood.
Some of the movie’s most barbed points come in its quietist moments but Maxine is given a full rundown by her director (Elizabeth Debicki) on how much of a Beast the system really is and how to avoid getting eaten alive. It’s no coincidence two adult film actresses’ joke about the lasting legacy of the Elizabeth Short (aka The Black Dahlia) or that Maxine is attacked by an impersonator of Buster Keaton, who died in obscurity and poverty after helping to establish the very system that chewed him up and spit him out.
For Maxine, stardom is the promised land, and after a lifetime of struggling and hustling it’s finally in sight. She’s just a few short murders away from going legit, and oh boy is she ready to put her old life 6 feet underground. As a conclusion to the Maxine Minx saga, Maxxxine is mostly a fun romp through The Sunset Strip after midnight. Her past is there to haunt her but the stakes somehow don’t feel as high as they should given the circumstances.
I know I’m in the minority, but these recent West pictures have not resonated with me as much as his earlier work. My honest opinion is that these movies are Fine. I don’t love em, I don’t hate em, I don’t have much to report tbh. I love buck wild practical effects and exploding heads. I love a killer aesthetic and a banging soundtrack. But what I really love is a good story and well thought-out characters. All things considered, 2 outta 3 ain’t bad.
“The makeup, hair and wardrobes are undeniably 1985 and if all your chasing is a vibe, Maxxxine is a homerun.”
Ti West’s Maxxxine is in theatres now! Let us know what you thought of this conclusion (so far) to the Maxine Minx storyline over in the official Nightmare on Film Street discord!
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