Ti West should never leave the grimy, hilarious, scandalous, murderous world of Maxine Minx behind. The third film in his X trilogy continues the streak of wildly entertaining dark comedy-horrors led by the brilliantly evocative Mia Goth. Each film has tackled a different cinematic inspiration, with the latest, MaXXXine, resembling a pulp erotic thriller in the vein of Brian De Palma. At the center, the age-old desire for fame and Hollywood superstardom. Show business has never been more cutthroat, and Goth is glorious to watch as she does anything to get to the top.
Set in the year 1985, with ZZ Top spinning, Ronald Reagan telling lies, “Satanic Panic” running rampant, and St. Elmo’s Fire playing at the movie theater, MaXXXine picks up the story of Maxine (Goth), the ultimate survivor of a Texas massacre of her friends and fellow aspiring filmmakers as seen in X. Now a 33-year-old porn star Maxine still has dreams of being a real, respected Hollywood actress. Most other women would’ve quit by now, but she was taught long ago to never accept a life she didn’t deserve. The brutality she faced in the past like steel armor against Tinseltown’s harsh cruelty, Maxine doesn’t bat an eye when a serial killer known as the Night Stalker kills women just like her on a daily basis. What does she have to fear, given what she has already been through?
But the detectives, Williams (Michelle Monaghan) and Torres (Bobby Cannavale) aren’t sue the murders are the Night Stalker’s doing. They think a copycat is on the prowl, especially since the latest victims all share one thing in common: Maxine. With the people around her getting killed all over again, Maxine is having a tough time keeping her mind on The Puritan II, the ridiculous religious horror film she’s just landed which could be her big Hollywood break. Elizabeth Debicki, the statuesque Brit known for playing Princess Di in The Crown, plays the film’s pretentious director, the kind who claims her stupid genre film is “art”. She scoffs at the religious zealots protesting on the L.A. streets, and fatefully urges Maxine to do away with any distractions.
MaXXXine is best the more it leans into its campy side, dropping self-aware references and letting its actors indulge in over-the-top performances. In one scene, Maxine snorts coke from a hilariously huge bowl of cocaine. Kevin Bacon shows up as a scumball private eye, relishing in every stereotype of that type of character, including the southern drawl. Even Monaghan and Cannavale fit into a certain mold, with the latter’s Torres a former actor who turns every interrogation into a performance that shows why Hollywood spat him out. When Giancarlo Esposito shows up as Maxine’s agent Teddy, he gets to put his own spin on the archetypal role. But he’s too good at it. Esposito can turn anything into Shakespeare, even a hideous murder by car crusher.
West isn’t interested in crafting a typical horror movie. Other than the Texas Chainsaw Massacre-inspired X, none have been particularly scary. They’ve all endeavored to tell an ever-evolving story of the high cost of fame. Don’t get it twisted, though; MaXXXine is gruesome as Hell. The body count isn’t high but there are beheadings, mutilations, and woe to the street urchin who dared try to mug Maxine in a dark alley. With impeccable production design capturing the seedy nocturnal vibe of ’80s Hollywood, the era has never looked this good while soaked in blood. Then again, neither has Goth, who has delivered multiple performances of varying complexity throughout this franchise. Here she’s tough as nails, ambitious, but still dragged down by a past she can’t escape. She isn’t given enough to reach the melodramatic heights of Pearl, but Goth is still undeniable as one of today’s best actresses. She’s so much more than just a “Scream Queen”. MaXXXine begins with a famous Bette Davis quote: “In this business, until you’re known as a monster you’re not a star.” So what does the monster do now to hold on to that spot? Maxine’s story only gets more fascinating from here, and let’s hope West and Goth are as eager to tell it as we are to see it.
A24 releases MaXXXine in theaters on July 5th.
