MaXXXine – An Underwhelming Trilogy Capper

MaXXXine is the closing chapter to Ti West’s surprising ‘X’ trilogy that started with X in 2022 and was soon followed by Pearl later that year. Set in 1980’s Hollywood, the trilogy capper follows adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx (Goth) finally gets her big break in showbusiness. However, as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Los Angeles, a trail of blood and bodies threatens to reveal Maxine’s sinister and long forgotten past. A fine enough entry, it is easily the weakest in the trilogy and one of the bigger disappointments of the year. While there is a lot to appreciate here, but even with lowered expectations, it might not arguably be what most people would have wanted or expected from a closing chapter in this trilogy.

Like its predecessors, the film has a great style that perfectly captures its mid-1980s setting. Paying homage to countless 80’s slashers and Giallo films, MaXXXine continues along the lines of X and Pearl, taking inspiration from those subgenres in respect to their settings. While its 1980’s soundtrack and synth score do wonders, and it is also the most well shot film of the trilogy. Filled with a ton of blood and gore throughout, when the onscreen the practical gore effects are nasty and shocking, they are extremely effective. Though none of the commentary it offers about the dark side of the entertainment industry and the underbelly of Hollywood is necessarily new, it works in the context of this film and the trilogy as a whole.

It should come as no surprise that Goth is once again great as the title character and remains the highlight of the entire trilogy. While audiences don’t get to truly know much more about the character which is a bit of a shame, Goth carries this film with a performance unlike the ones that came before. With a much bigger cast this time around, it is fun to see the likes of Michelle Monaghan (Detective Williams), Bobby Cannavale (Detective Torres), Halsey (Tabby Martin), Lily Collins (Molly Bennett), Giancarlo Esposito (Teddy Night, Esq.), and more, they are criminally underused with superfluous arcs that fail to move the needle. That being said, the standouts among the supporting cast were Elizabeth Debicki and Kevin Bacon who were both clearly having a blast. Bacon plays John Labat, the dirtiest and most grimy 80’s private detective you’ve ever seen in the most Kevin Bacon way imaginable and Debicki is just having so much fun playing Elizabeth Bender, a snarky, selfish director who puts her film over everything and everyone.

Despite everything that works about MaXXXine, there is nearly as much that doesn’t but without giving anything away, the bottom line is that the film is a bit of a mess and feels like West might have gotten high on his own supply in what essentially was another case of style over substance. As barebones as a story could be, it never quite came together in a satisfying way. Similarly, none of its new characters are all that memorable or interesting simply because audiences don’t get to spend much time with them. On the slasher side of things, the film is also a huge letdown with surprisingly very little horror elements to be had, outside a few well done sequences. Meanwhile, its central mystery angle is entirely too predictable, as if West went with the safest, and ultimately underwhelming, possible direction for his big reveal. The final act is just as bad as many have proclaimed to the point that it is shocking how much the film goes off the rails over its final stretch. At the end of the day, it will have a lot of audiences, and fans of those first two films in the trilogy, scratching their heads.

While this review may not read as overly positive or mention how the film is a perfect conclusion to this trilogy that stacks up with the two films that preceded it, the sad truth is that it’s not. Maxxine is without a doubt one of the more disappointing theater experiences in recent memory, but is one that is still technically well made and a decent enough watch. Perhaps a rewatch may change things but as of now, it is an underwhelming trilogy capper.

still courtesy of VVS Films

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/