Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

The final entry to the X Trilogy is a sultry and gritty love letter to ’80s Tinseltown and its filmmaking.

Writer-Director Ti West has created a Trilogy of Slasher Films that pay homage to different decades of filmmaking. X — our first introduction to Maxine (Mia Goth) —brought us back to the ’70s and paid homage to Grindhouse Cinema like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. With Pearl, West mixed the period’s melodrama and technicolour and we were thrust into 1918 with a woman aspiring to become a star.

Here, he brings us to Tinseltown, 1985. It’s been a while since Maxine escaped that murder house in Texas. She’s made a name for herself in porn but is still aspiring to become a bonafide Movie Star. West thrusts us into the hysteria and satanic-panic that was taking place in mid-’80s LA. He effortlessly blends fact and fiction by including the Night Stalker. The Serial Killer caused fear among residents at the time. West recreates protests outside movie lots claiming Hollywood’s sex and horror are influencing satanic cults and serial killers in the real world. He even includes real footage of Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider speaking before Senate about censorship in the music industry.

This fear has Maxine’s friends warn her not to walk home alone too late at night. But Maxine has more to fear than the Night Stalker. The Film opens with her auditioning for The Puritan 2. A satanic horror film sequel directed by Liz Bender (Elizabeth Debicki). One of the best lines in the Film comes from Bender about The Puritan 2. “A B-movie with A-movie ideas.” Debicki is fantastic as the steely Bender, who’s fully aware she’s a woman having to prove herself in a man’s world. Maxine nails the audition and Bender demands her full commitment.

That becomes a problem when Maxine’s past finds her. A VHS tape of clips from the unreleased porno from X is left at her door. She becomes taunted by Private Investigator John Labat (Kevin Bacon) who claims his client will tell the world what she did on that farm years ago. Bacon’s suave New Orleans accent is impeccable and he’s in full sleaze —in the best way— as John Labat. If that wasn’t enough to worry about, Maxine’s friends show up dead after meeting a mysterious new Producer up in the Hills. This brings two Detectives, Williams (Michelle Monaghan) and Torres (a perfectly-cast Bobby Cannavale), into her life.

Here is where the story truly lies: She’s finally attained her life’s dream, and it’s all being threatened to be ripped away from her. Maxine will stop at nothing to be a Movie Star. West’s Trilogy has been a love letter to filmmaking across decades but also a story of dreams, stardom, and the lengths one will go to for fame. He brings these themes to a close with this sexy, gory thrill ride, with brilliance.

For those who have been on the WB and Universal lots in LA, you’ll notice many places in MaXXXine. One of the most surprising is the Bates Motel house. West was able to shoot inside. This all adds to the theme of filmmaking, stardom, and fame. He’s also teamed up again with Trilogy Cinematographer Eliot Rocket who masterfully brings the grainy VHS style to the screen. Music has been its own character in this Trilogy. It’s no different with MaXXXine. It’s a killer soundtrack of ’80s Rock hits with a wicked original score by Tyler Bates.

The entire Cast is outstanding but this really is all about Goth. She’s a magnetic presence on screen who’s fully embodied a woman who’s looking toward her future while the past is creeping up behind her. Goth shows Maxine’s strength and ambition while exposing her anxiety and trauma. She’s created a new style of Scream Queen that will be cemented in cinema history for generations to come.

West wrote two characters (Maxine and Pearl) that were unapologetically themselves. They knew what they wanted and would stop at nothing to get it. These female characters were striving to become stars. They wanted careers in institutions that thrived on the objectification, commodification, and ownership of the female body. Yet, West made a Trilogy of films with counter-takes. He even set two of them within the world of the Porn industry.

Overall, MaXXXine is the perfect way to end a fascinating Slasher Trilogy. We just hope this isn’t the last we see of Maxine Minx.

VVS releases MaXXXine in theatres Friday, July 5, 2024.