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With: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon, Sophie Thatcher, Ned Vaughn, Chloe Farnworth, Simon Prast, Charley Rowan McCain
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Written by: Ti West
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Directed by: Ti West
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MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, gore, sexual content, graphic nudity, language and drug use
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Running Time: 104
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Date: 07/05/2024
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Hollywood Rending
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
The close to an unlikely but hugely effective trilogy, Ti West's frisky, fun slasher movie MaXXXine has extreme gore, but also plenty of small gifts for cinephiles and a memorable, close-to-iconic main character.
It's six years after the violent events of X, and survivor Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) has left Texas for Hollywood. It's 1985, and she has begun pouring her energies into getting out of pornography and into "straight" movies. She nails an audition for a horror sequel called The Puritan II, to be directed by the formidable Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki), but her victory is marred by a series of murders.
At first it's several of her porn star friends, but then it's her best pal, video store clerk Leon (Moses Sumney) meets his end. A private detective, John Labat (Kevin Bacon), begins hounding her, pressuring her to meet with his mysterious, powerful client, while two homicide detectives (Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale) suspect that Maxine knows more about the murders than she's letting on. With her big break in danger of being sabotaged, Maxine once again takes matters into her own hands.
In the opening minutes of MaXXXine, we witness our star absolutely destroy her audition, strut across the studio lot to the tune of "Gimme All Your Lovin'," climb into her convertible and roar away, as the camera tilts down to her "MAXXXINE" license plate. When she tells a character "I can handle myself," we believe it, especially after she dispatches a would-be mugger (dressed as Buster Keaton).
As he did in the previous entries X and Pearl, director Ti West creates a thoroughly evocative atmosphere; he not only re-creates the 1980s, but deep-dives into the era, incorporating Satanic killers, evil rock 'n' roll lyrics, and other concerns of the day into his story and themes. (Movie marquees display movies ranging from the Brat Pack classic St. Elmo's Fire to Jean-Luc Godard's hackle-raising Hail Mary.)
The ending of MaXXXine may be a little far-fetched, but at the same time, it's astute blending of ideas and sensations, leading up to a timely movie about fame, obsession, media, and monsters.
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