MaXXXine (2024) Spoiler Thread

[Eric Onion]

I'M A STARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[Flopped]

Maxxxine is the worst in the trilogy. A major step down from the excellent X and especially from the glorious Pearl. I'm actually surprised how wrong Ti West gets it here, almost as if he handed the reigns to a lesser filmmaker who tried to ape his style. It bites off way more than it can chew and none of it - including all the cinematic references and "Tinseltown" dialogue - works. 

 

It has its moments here and there but overall thin and dull. A misfire. C-

Edited July 4 by Flopped

[Webslinger]

A very entertaining trilogy capper for the franchise I didn't know I wanted  but very much enjoyed getting. Five thoughts:

 

1.) I know some people are knocking this film for being style over substance, but the style is so well executed across this entire trilogy that I hardly feel like that's a problem. The '80s aesthetic is a lot of fun to watch, especially when Ti West turns his attention to the scummier and scuzzier aspects of the period. I would have loved to see a 35mm print to take the commitment to the period aesthetic all the way.

 

2.) Once again, Mia Goth is really good in the title role. She brings spunk, intensity, and vividness to her updated portrayal of the title character, and she successfully translates Maxine's experiences in X into a hardened character less afraid to take risks because she's already faced death and knows she can do what it takes to kill rather than be killed. Like Maxine herself, Goth is a star, and I really hope this trilogy acts as a springboard into other juicy parts.

 

3.) Kevin Bacon is so much fun to watch here as a sleazy, unscrupulous private investigator. He gets the assignment perfectly and appears to be having a great time.

 

4.) Making the moral majority crowd the villains and having Maxine's hardcore fundamentalist father act as their leader was a twist I think is pretty easy to see coming, but it's interesting nevertheless. It continues the previous two films' study of the negative consequences of a politics of repression and repressed people turning to violence to punish those who satisfy their desires rather than being ruled by their inhibitions. It's obviously taking this idea to its logical extreme by having the fundamentalists perform copycat killings matching up with the style of a deranged serial killer, but it's a fun idea with satisfying payoff.

 

5.) I loved Elizabeth Debicki's line about making a B picture with A ideas. I feel like that's very much been the case across this trilogy as a whole. They have consistently intriguing ideas about tensions between the extreme poles of hedonism and prudishness, and they do it all without betraying the trappings of their genre. It's great proof that so-called "elevated horror" can be lurid and tapped into the aesthetics of the genre without sacrificing their intellectual bona fides.

 

B+

[filmlover]

A solid conclusion to Ti West's unlikely X trilogy. Enjoyed the entire 1980s LA setting and aesthetic (what are the chances the Night Stalker is going to be used as the basis for season 3 of Monster?), while Mia Goth (surrounded by a superb ensemble) is the highlight with another committed performance. B