A movie like MaXXXine is a bad joke that has a great set-up. Yet the punchline fails tremendously.
I had problems with the first entry in this trilogy which is X released just two years ago when Jenna Ortega was only known as that young girl from the Scream movie. But there was something about Mia Goth’s seductive performance as Maxine Minx, an aspiring porno star, who is in the Texas countryside making a X-rated movie. Things go bad when the elderly homeowners appear to be serial killers.
The movie by Ti West seemed to be an ode to the movies of the 1970s when the grindhouse exploitation movies and porno chic movement were popular. Then West made a prequel, Pearl, with Goth as the same titular character as she played the older woman in X. The movie was marketed as another slasher but it was a lot better than that. It’s more like a psychological drama. Goth gave a wonderful performance as a young woman whose husband is off in World War I and she’s stuck in her parents home with dreams of bigger things.
Many people, myself included, were upset when Goth was overlooked by the Academy Awards in 2023. But as West had announced he had plans for a trilogy, a movie like MaXXXine had to be extraordinary. But it comes up short. Goth gives a wonderful performance but the final act gets into a big mess.
The movie is set in 1985 amidst the Night Stalker killings by Richard Ramirez. Maxine, who is doing porno, is trying to break into the mainstream by doing a low-budget horror movie. She gives an audition and then as she walks out tells all the other women to go home because “I fucking nailed it.” She then begins a strut away that has the right attitude and tone as ZZ Top’s “Gimme All Your Lovin'” plays over the soundtrack.
One night, Maxine discovers a package outside of her apartment. It’s a videotape with the footage that was shot in Texas. However, those familiar with X know at the end, Maxine was the only one alive. She gets her close friend, Leon (Moses Sumney), who works at the nearby video store to help her out. The tape was left by John Labat (Kevin Bacon in a nice role), who is a sleazy private investigator working for an unseen person.
At the same time, two of Maxine’s friends and fellow porn actor, Amber James (Chloe Freeman) and Tabby Martin (Halsey), are found murdered with satanic symbols carved in their bodies. Maxine is questioned by two detectives, Williams (Michelle Monaghan) and Torres (Bobby Cannavale), who feel like they should be in a different movie.
And there’s the rub. This movie can’t decide what it wants to be. Torres is a failed actor who had to go in law enforcement while Williams friendly mocks him. They appear to be in a different movie that should be an action comedy. Giancarlo Esposito steals the few scenes he’s in as Teddy Knight, Esq., a talent agent for porno actors and low-budget movies. And Bacon manages to have fun with the sleazy P.I stereotype that you wish he was in the movie longer. Yet, I found Elizabeth Debecki as Elizabeth Bender, a British director who thinks she’ making art out of a cheesy horror sequel, much ado about nothing.
As for Goth, she does have some fun with the role. Yet after Pearl, you kind of wish West would have focused on this character more. A scene in which Maxine gives a would be mugger/rapist his just desserts shows she’s not one to be messed with. But it’s played for gruesome shock value how she does it.
The whole 1980s Satanic Panic theme was done better in the fourth season of Stranger Things. It feels mostly like West didn’t have an idea of what he wanted to do so he threw everything on the wall to see what sticks. This results in the final act feeling like it was thrown together hastily because West didn’t know how to finish it.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 