Ti West has finally brought his X trilogy to a close with the final film, Maxxxine. Making history with A24 by not only being able to release the first sequel but to also hold the title of owning the first trilogy for the prestigious independent studio.
It has been a phenomenal journey over the last 2 years, and the star of it all has been Mia Goth, who arguably gave her best performance in the first two films. Not only is she known for playing Maxine, but she also played two versions of Pearl, which is just an accomplishment that most actors aren’t capable of, unfortunately, or at least aren’t capable of taking it to the same level that Mia Goth does.
The X trilogy is a pretty smart trilogy; it starts off with a slasher that’s set during the late 70’s and also takes inspiration from 70’s horror movies, with the second film being a prequel that focuses on the antagonist from the first film, Pearl, and her journey, which led to the murderous woman that she is. The third film is a sequel to X and is also a slasher, but this time it takes place during the 80’s and uses a real-life serial killer who goes by the name of ‘Night Stalker’ to tell its story.
While Maxxxine takes clear inspiration from the 80’s by using cuts and visuals that are reminiscent of the movies of that time, it fails to take inspiration from the horror films of that era, unlike its first film, which made a lot of callbacks to classics such as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This trilogy is known for its gore, its nudity, and its kills, but Maxxxine takes it down a notch to tell a noir thriller story that’s truly more about solving mysteries, such as who the Night Stalker is and who seems to be targeting Maxxxine over the Texas Porn Massacre, of which she was the main star.
Maxxxine takes an interesting route with its story, separating itself from many horror sequels that feature the final girl as a protagonist. While we’re so used to seeing the final girl deal with the trauma from the previous film and eventually stand up to take down the threat, Maxxxine puts a unique twist on it by having Maxine show her confidence, which we see strongly in a scene where a man attempts to attack her in a secluded alleyway, a scene that’s hard to watch (especially for men). Maxine’s fear of her past doesn’t come from her worrying about something or someone coming to get her; she’s prepared for that, and it’s barely a worry for her. The true issue comes down to her trying to gain Hollywood fame. She’s recently been cast in a horror film where she’s the star, and with a mysterious person bringing back up her past, she’s worried that it’ll get out there that she’s a murderer, ruining everything that she’s worked towards.
The film has the strongest set of supporting characters out of the trilogy. Maxxxine has a set of characters that truly fit the era and story it’s telling. You have Giancarlo Espositio, who plays Teddy Knight Esq., Maxine’s agent, and it’s refreshing to see Giancarlo in a role where he isn’t playing a villain but is actually on the good side for once. Teddy Knight Esq., gets up to some things that may be questionable for an agent, but they’re always for the greater good, and while he has a short screen time, he makes good use of it every time he’s on screen, fighting for the spotlight with Mia Goth.
As mentioned previously, the film feels very much like a noir thriller more than it is a slasher as it tones down the kills. It’s evident as we follow these two detectives in the film, Detective Williams (Michelle Monaghan) and Detective Torres (Bobby Cannavale), that they truly help give this film a new identity. While it’s a new identity that I welcome, it wasn’t what I wanted from this film when going into it. I wanted death, blood, and Mia Goth to go batshit crazy, and unfortunately, I don’t really get much of that at all. Elizabeth Debicki also gets introduced as the director of the film that Maxine is starring in, a woman who’s so empowering and inspiring for Maxine’s journey in this film.
Focusing on the murder mystery aspect of Maxxxine, we slowly get closer to discovering the reveal of who the Night Stalker is. The reveal is shocking, but for the smarter viewers, they could guess who it is. The film wastes no time with its quick runtime on terrorising Maxine and scaring her with threats from characters like John Labat (Kevin Bacon), who plays this private investigator who is seemingly helping out the person who seems to be stalking Maxine and scaring her with her past. Though the reveal of the killer is interesting and interconnects the movies together, the climax overall is quite disappointing and not remotely comparable to either X or Pearl.
The real question that everyone may be wondering with this trilogy is if you must watch X and Pearl before watching the grand finale, which is Maxxxine. The answer isn’t a simple one like yes or no, but it’s also not complicated to follow. It is not possible to watch Maxxxine without watching X; it’s a necessity. Without knowledge of what took place in that film, the events of this film may seem random and confusing, but I do believe it’s possible for someone to understand what happened. Ti West makes his best attempt to make each film feel like a standalone, and while it’s harder to do with the third film, he still makes a good attempt at it, but personally, I’d still recommend watching X before Maxxxine. On the other hand, I don’t believe Pearl is required to watch Maxxxine; Pearl only helps amplify X, but it doesn’t have any true connections or references to Maxxxine. If you do want the best experience, then it’s best to watch both films before Maxxxine to experience the greatness that Ti West has provided us.
Maxxxine is still a solid conclusion to the X trilogy but unfortunately disappoints in a few areas where the previous films excelled. Mia Goth still gives an amazing performance alongside a star-studded cast that helps give this film a new identity with its noir thriller genre. This could’ve easily been the best film in the franchise if it weren’t for 90% of the kills taking place off-screen. It was a choice that would’ve worked better if the threat was supernatural, but that’s not the case here. Nevertheless, Maxine Minx is a phenomenal character and the best final girl that we’ve gotten in the last decade.
