I Just Saw

I just saw MaXXXine and it was somewhat disappointing, sadly. The terminus of what until now had been a pretty great trilogy, starting with ‘70s-set slasher pastiche X (2022) and then World War I-set prequel Pearl (2022) – the latter shot back to back with its predecessor and starring writer/director Ti West’s collaborator Mia Goth (who in the first film played dual roles with a huge age disparity) – MaXXXine sees Goth reprise her Final Girl role as the titular Maxine Minx, the country girl destined to be a starlet who as the film opens has forged a career in the VHS boom of pornographic films in mid-1980s Los Angeles. But her past is stalking her in the form of a greasy private dick (Kevin Bacon) put on her tail by a mysterious black-gloved killer, and two detectives (Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale) investigating the Night Stalker, a real-life serial killer who targeted young women at that time.

X and Pearl were satirical horrors based on particular subgenres and filmmaking eras. X is the most mainstream, a straightforward if initially slow-paced riff on redneck survival thrillers (1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1972’s Deliverance) with plenty of gore and an added theme of sexual jealousy. Pearl was a take on the Technicolor dramas of early cinema, lush colours and big emotions, as well as a character study of a narcissistic, fame-hungry farm girl.

Both films also looked at pornography and how it exists in the underbelly of mainstream entertainment; Pearl saw Goth as the farm girl shown “stag films” by a sleazy projectionist, black-and-white reels of people fornicating in the woods, the type of thing that’s probably less graphic than what you can find on Netflix these days.

X, meanwhile, was about an era when porn was still made by directors who drove out to set with a van full of actors and fancied themselves craftsmen. An era destroyed by the invention of VHS, which commodified porn to a degree where any pretence that it was art or craft just vanished. (It would be interesting to see what West might make of the current era, where anyone can shoot alone from their bedrooms with a smartphone and distribute the result on OnlyFans.)

Both X and Pearl were driven by strong narratives. Pearl was more diffuse in this respect, but that’s because it was a character study of an engaging and troubled personality. The third-act monologue by Goth as Pearl and the last shot was utterly captivating. The problem with MaXXXine is that it ultimately lacks either a strong narrative or a compelling personality. There were times when I was drawn into the particulars of the plot. I liked the mystery angle, but its resolution felt rather flippant and inane.

I wasn’t expecting an Agatha Christie or Raymond Chandler-level detective plot, and I won’t spoil it. It’s just that when I found out who was behind the shenanigans stalking Maxine, it had an air of “so what?” about it. It wasn’t especially dramatic or surprising, and the motivation doesn’t make much sense anyway. It’s hard to say why without revealing it; maybe ask yourself why none of the previous victims complied with the killer’s demand. It seems like they would have gone along with it for the sake of their lives.

The motive, like the plot in general, feels underdone and not thought through enough. Whereas the themes of the previous films and why characters felt compelled to act as they did were clear, all of that clarity drifts away here. We don’t feel as though we know why Maxine wants to be a star, we don’t buy her career trajectory, and the theme of religious censorship in entertainment feels perfunctory.

The energy’s gone, the once sparky and spiky Maxine Minx a passive, glum-looking shadow of her former self, a bit like the negative development of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) from Halloween (1978) to Halloween II (1981), which is ironic given that the plot of MaXXXine sees Goth’s character rise above porn with a role in the horror sequel The Puritan II. (Another odd thing: MaXXXine has nothing really to say about porn this time.)

Nonetheless, the film also has a lot to recommend it. The ‘80s score is marvellous, Goth remains compelling, the gore should satiate the bloodhounds (including the destruction of a would-be rapist’s testicles), and Elizabeth Debicki does a good turn as the director who makes Maxine’s dream possible. All of the elements are here, they’re just missing an engine.

Rating: 2.5/4