I watched MaXXXine and I liked it. 3.5/5
–
MaXXXine is a wild, audacious, and often unruly dive into the world of 1980s Hollywood, where dreams and delusions run rampant in equal measure. Helmed by Ti West and closing out his genre-bending trilogy that began with X and Pearl, MaXXXine plays like a hallucinogenic fever dream that grapples with fame, ambition, and the grotesque underbelly of the entertainment industry. The film is bursting with style, oozing atmosphere, and anchored by Mia Goth’s captivating performance, yet its ambitious narrative is not without its missteps. It’s a bold continuation that’s fun to watch but struggles at times to corral its sprawling ideas into a coherent whole, landing it at a solid 3.5/5 rating.
Picking up after the events of X, MaXXXine finds its titular character, Maxine Minx (Mia Goth), navigating the sleazy and seductive landscape of 1980s Los Angeles. She’s determined to leave her past behind and carve out a place for herself as a star in an industry that chews up and spits out young hopefuls daily. Goth once again proves why she’s the linchpin of this trilogy—her Maxine is a kaleidoscope of fury, vulnerability, and ruthless ambition. She’s magnetic, embodying a character that feels both tragically flawed and eerily relatable, a woman on the brink of success and self-destruction.
The film revels in its retro aesthetic, immersing viewers in the gritty, neon-soaked streets of Hollywood. The production design is top-notch, perfectly capturing the era’s seedy glamour with its sleazy motels, smoky nightclubs, and relentless parade of gaudy costumes. West’s direction is stylish and frenetic, with the film’s visual language echoing the chaotic energy of Maxine’s life. The pulsating synth-heavy score only adds to the atmosphere, giving the film a unique auditory signature that feels right at home in its 80s setting.
However, while MaXXXine is visually arresting, it sometimes gets lost in its own ambition. West’s screenplay juggles multiple themes—fame, exploitation, and the corruptive nature of the Hollywood dream—but doesn’t always manage to weave them together seamlessly. The narrative often feels scattered, with subplots that veer off into tangents and side characters that, while colorful, don’t always add much to the central story. There’s a sense that MaXXXine is trying to say a lot, but it occasionally stumbles over its own message, leaving some of its big ideas underdeveloped.
The horror elements, a defining feature of the trilogy, take on a different shape here. While X was a slasher in the vein of Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Pearl was a psychodrama dripping with Technicolor dread, MaXXXine leans more into psychological horror and dark satire and Giallo. There are still moments of blood-soaked violence, but they’re used sparingly, more as punctuation marks than the main event. Instead, the real terror comes from the characters themselves and the nightmarish allure of a city that promises everything but often delivers nothing.
One of the film’s strengths is its darkly comedic tone. West and Goth lean into the absurdity of Maxine’s situation, and the script is peppered with moments of sharp, biting humor that keeps the film from feeling too dour. This is, after all, a movie that’s both a critique of Hollywood’s exploitative nature and a celebration of its most garish excesses. It’s a balancing act that doesn’t always work, but when it does, it’s electrifying.
In the end, MaXXXine is a bold and flawed swan song for one of the most unique horror trilogies of recent years. It’s a film that’s not afraid to take risks, even if not all of them pay off. Mia Goth’s tour-de-force performance and the film’s brazen style make it a worthwhile watch, especially for fans of the previous installments. It’s messy, chaotic, and sometimes frustrating, but like its protagonist, it’s impossible to look away from.