MaXXXine – Review

Cert – 18, Run-time – 1 hour 44 minutes, Director – Ti West

A masked killer terrorises Los Angeles, adult film star Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) is trying to break into Hollywood and a mysterious face (Kevin Bacon) is digging into her past.

There’s no denying that almost immediately after their release both previous instalments of Ti West’s X trilogy became cult hits. It’ll be interesting to see the reception which MaXXXine, a direct sequel to X  while last year’s Pearl acted as a prequel (although each film works as a standalone), receives with its style not being as pushed as the previous two entries.

There’s a more direct nature, a more narratively led feature over focusing on the horror set-up and kills of X – which got caught in its eventually silly basis of ‘old people can’t have sex because of their ailments so young people should die’ – or Pearl’s style over substance. While I’ve thought both films fine I certainly don’t have the fondness for them that many others do. MaXXXine acts as a step up as we see Mia Goth’s adult film star Maxine Minx trying to break into Hollywood.

Satanic panic is rife throughout Los Angeles. Protesters crowd outside studio lots calling for the end to supernatural and cult-themed horror films, picketing Maxine on the way to the set of The Puritan II, her first proper chance to finally be the star she’s long wanted to be. While her career shows signs of taking off a killer known as the Night Stalker terrorises the city, making frequent headlines which potentially get closer to Maxine as those she knows are picked off one by one and branded with satanic symbols.

Goth, once again, gives a top performance full of compelling subtlety leading the film in its lived-in 1985 setting. The odes to classic slasher flicks are all there, without feeling front and centre and, again, allowing the narrative to develop. Kevin Bacon appears as mysterious figure John Labat, claiming to work for someone with information about Maxine’s past, from here the heavier references to X might not always click, particularly in the third act reveals, but there’s still a good deal to like.

The kills throughout are gnarly and earn the film its 18 rating. Not just landing a squirm-inducing hit from the blood but the overall way in which West executes them. They get closer to Maxine each time as the air of mystery around her, and if she’s trying to hide more than we already know to save more than just her hopeful career, grows thicker and more intriguing. 

With Labat and the FBI (Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale) closing in from different directions, Maxine’s violent streak emerges every now and then in highly effective bursts – an early scene in an alleyway shows the central figure going beyond defending herself is a real turning point that’ll having you flinching in your seat long after it’s over. In general the moments of splatter are brief and infrequent but they certainly land a punch when on full-display, spread across the frame and threatening to spill out from it. Even during the events of the third act which while seeming like a detachment from the rest of the film eventually find some form of steady track for the best film in the X trilogy to close off with.

The aesthetics’ still present, although the narrative’s more direct in this latest X instalment. Bringing in mystery around the character details of Mia Goth’s finely performed protagonist alongside some grisly kills for an enjoyable slasher flick.