In a giallo metacommentary on the glam of Hollywood, Ti West’s three-part “X” franchise was brought to a thrilling conclusion with the release of “MaXXXine” on July 5.
“MaXXXine” acts as a sequel to 2022’s “X,” the gory, x-rated slasher that started West’s initial three-part trilogy. “X” debuted as a standout in the thriller-slasher genre, and “Pearl,” the prequel to “X,” branched out further into the character-building perspective of one of “X’s” killers. “MaXXXine” attempts to meld the two preceding works into an ’80s giallo murder mystery.
Six years after the violent events of the series’ introductory film, this sequel follows Maxine Miller (Mia Goth), having adopted the stage name Maxine Minx, as she finally gets the chance to make it big in Hollywood. Cast in her first horror film, she is on track to become a star outside of her usual realm of adult films. Yet haunted by her bloody past, she must keep the mysterious, gruesome murders happening around her from interfering with her potential life of stardom.
Drawing inspiration from Dario Argento’s Italian thrillers and the psychological works of Brian De Palma, West pays homage to the making of horror history in which “MaXXXine” takes place. “MaXXXine” lingers on the edge of the contemporary ‘80s aesthetic revival, and what nostalgia West channels in the setting, he also expresses in cinematography.
The film bleeds camp, literally, with its tacky blood effects, black-gloved killer and satanic themes. Horror is often tangled with satanism as a genre, plagued with pentagrams and hellish symbolism. Planted within the film itself are questions about the role of sex and satanic motifs in horror, as protestors are seen gathered outside the set of “The Puritan II,” the film Maxine stars in.
The film is West’s attempt to create an artistic critique of a warm-hued 20th-century Hollywood. Infused with ruthless ambition, misguided activism and bump after bump of cocaine, the film shows the underbelly of the otherwise glamorous industry. Much of the film even takes place on the Universal Studios lot itself. Maxine is adapting to the grandeur of her new Hollywood environment, and she finds herself running through the facade of New York streets all the way down to the house from Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” which the house from “X” is eerily reminiscent of.
As Maxine’s stardom originates in the underground performance scene, her attempts to avoid the violent crimes targeting her fellow actresses and performers seem to directly parallel her struggle to make it out of the adult film industry into an unwelcome world. The harrowing, and even fatal, forms of female exploitation in the entertainment industry make these burgeoning starlets victims in more ways than one.
“MaXXXine” is built around West’s overarching metacommentary on the continuously rising genre of cinematic horror. It’s almost laughable how visually graphic the film is, with key shots of punchy carnage woven throughout its duration. “MaXXXine” is unabashedly gory and hypersexual, talking back to the framed religious and conservative sentiments of protestors both inside and outside of the movie.
The film does a proper job of wrapping up West’s trilogy, acting as a clean and conclusive ending to both Maxine’s and Pearl’s stories. However, considering the film itself, the appeal of the campy gore and Hollywood glam is unable to save it from its descent into an underwhelming third act.
The film is built on concept, yet where the film excels in that regard, it lacks in plot structure. Aesthetics and theme seem to take priority, leaving the story sprinkled with nuance to only meet a messily resolved end. Despite parading as a murder mystery, not even the reveal manages to catch the audience by surprise, as though intended to be an ending for the greater trilogy rather than the movie’s own story. Still, some might argue that the awkward third act is characteristic of the film’s ‘80s horror homage.
There is an abundance of characters who serve some rather flat roles, as though they are a jumble of pieces pushing the film and the trilogy as a whole to its anticipated end. It’s a rather simple wrap-up to an otherwise nuanced conceptual critique. Maxine is the only character to come full circle, declaring to herself in the final minutes, “You’re a f***ing movie star,” before doing a line of coke with her SAG-AFTRA card and a hundred-dollar bill.
West adamantly sticks to his style; “MaXXXine” is undeniably an “X” film. This conclusion to the trilogy is so camp that it’s almost difficult to attribute critique to something beyond irony. Still, the sacrifices were evident in the balance of the film’s concept and writing, and its appreciation boils down to a question of your taste for its cinematic references and metafictional style. With the saga having come to a close, audiences are keeping West and Goth’s future endeavors on their radar, as neither is finished with what they have in store.
Alaina Retodo is a 2023-2024 Arts & Entertainment Editor. They can be reached at aretodo@uci.edu.
Edited by Lillian Dunn, Jaheem Conley and Jacob Ramos.
