MaXXXine
A24After a career of bouncing around various horror projects with none breaking through with an overly notable amount of success or attention, it is without a doubt that 2022's X was a massive turning point for filmmaker Ti West. Not only bringing him the biggest mainstream attention of his career but also pairing him with his new cinematic muse Mia Goth and supportive film studio A24 who would allow West to expand the X universe into a trilogy of films including the prequel Pearl and now a sequel MaXXXine with both focusing on their titular characters before and after the haunting events of the original film.
Specifically, MaXXXine follows Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) after a move to Los Angeles where she has taken up a successful career in pornography but finally has an opening to act in a horror film which Maxine hopes will be her next step toward stardom. Meanwhile, Hollywood is being plagued by a mysterious serial killer known as The Night Stalker who begins to kill those close to Maxine with seemingly some connection to her troubled past.
As with nearly every Ti West project to date, the main thesis of the filmmaking behind MaXXXine is clearly reproduction rather than invention. Ti West has created a flashy persona for himself and his filmography as he has transcended genres to deliver visually distinct and tonally unique offerings at nearly every turn. In the X franchise alone, West has replicated the dirty humidity of Tobe Hooper and the 1970s horror genre in X before jumping to the technicolor brightness of Douglas Sirk and The Wizard of Oz with Pearl. MaXXXine presents a totally new aesthetic that draws nearly explicitly from the works of Brian De Palma and the erotic thrillers of the 1980s. While this presentation might create a handful of worthwhile moments visually, especially for those who will identify and appreciate the references to other films from this period, it yet again feels like a hollow ploy by West to overcome a near-complete lack of substance or genuine craft within the film.
To say MaXXXine is a failure of a film would be an understatement in nearly every actual identity the film hopes to present. At its start, MaXXXine appears to be a film interested in exploring the complex relationships between gender, sexuality, pornography, and the film industry but quickly abandons this angle turning it into more set dressing than anything else. The only true continued thread of these conversations comes in the form of Maxine's new director, Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki) who offers vague statements on how ruthless one needs to be to make it in the film industry as a woman yet again, nothing of true depth and substance is expressed here.
So what is the substance of MaXXXine's 104-minute runtime considering it isn't actually an examination of these themes and having visual references to other features is not enough to have a filling cinematic meal? The best answer comes in the form of the film's murder mystery plot as Maxine gets more and more connected to The Night Stalker. The audience gets to see The Night Stalker wrapped in leather killing his victims as he makes his way to Maxine while also demanding her attention with the threat of leaking her involvement in the deaths of Howard and Pearl from X. While the logic of these threats are odd to say the least, especially as Maxine just chooses to ignore them completely minimizing The Night Stalker's threats, it is even worse to notice how terrible the film is as a mystery.
While there is an appreciation for films that elevate generic layouts and concepts to provide something new and exciting, there are some basic storytelling ideals that are in place for a reason. When a murder mystery is crafted with the core identity of the killer being placed as being an obvious big reveal that is supposed to catch the audience off guard and feel narratively satisfying, it is vital for the film to create a list of compelling options for a reveal that the audience can chew on and debate as the film builds towards its final reveal. Ideally, this final reveal will play against audience expectations yet feel justified by the film that came before it with all the clues suddenly making sense while also having the audience feel engaged. This formula has been seen thousands of times in media with even Scooby-Doo displaying an understanding of this blueprint. MaXXXine completely fails at this simple task.
The film has no interest in building a cast of potential suspects with only really 1 option that both makes sense and would provide something engaging. Without giving the twist away, this singular strong path is, of course, not the route MaXXXine takes with the film instead going for a terribly underwhelming yet overly telegraphed solution that feels way too camp in its execution to hold any real weight or suspense. While at least Pearl could claim that its narrative enhanced and deepened the context of its titular character in relation to X, MaXXXine fails to justify its own existence with nothing present adding a worthwhile layer to this character and the arc previously established for her.
While some of the biggest highlights of X and Pearl were the performances that brought those features to life, MaXXXine also struggles here. From having multiple characters existing in completely different tonal worlds to a lack of a major emotional scene to allow Mia Goth what should be an easy standout moment, the performances within MaXXXine range from bad to average with no player truly standing out as special or notable when put into context of the performances of 2024. What is more impressive is the gore and violence within the film which wisely takes advantage of practical effects, but it is a shame that these feel like cheaper moments to wow the audience than truly memorable scenes on an emotional or narrative level.
What is perhaps most frustrating within MaXXXine is how it fits into the context of Ti West's filmography. Even if he was drawing, and sometimes outright copying other filmmakers to achieve his vision, West, at least, kept providing something unique and new. Both in craft and narrative, MaXXXine feels weirdly reductive for the filmmaker. Multiple elements within MaXXXine feel directly ripped out of his 2009 feature, The House of the Devil. West uses some of the same visual choices and narrative beats without much true evolution or growth. While the film's larger budget allows more impressive sets, a more mainstream cast, and a larger scale, to see a filmmaker on his biggest stage reduce himself back to a feature he made over a decade ago with similar shortcomings feels disappointing, to say the least.
But these complaints tragically speak to what MaXXXine is and what MaXXXine represents. MaXXXine is not a story that needs to be told and it isn't a journey that is even particularly entertaining. MaXXXine takes an established franchise and world and throws a new coat of paint, one emulating other directors rather than establishing something fresh, and hopes that will be enough to connect with audiences. There is no attempt to build a deeper voice or purpose within the film that goes through the motions and ends up the weakest of the trilogy as a result. While still watchable, MaXXXine reinforces nearly all of the complaints one can have about Ti West as a filmmaker from throughout his career. Hopefully, this is the end of the X saga and all parties can move on to grow their talents as it is beyond clear that this performance has run its course.
