'Maxxxine' Blends Noir and Grindhouse with 80s Hollywood Excess for a Fun but Underwhelming Trilogy Finish [Review]

​A little over two years ago, writer/director Ti West and star Mia Goth began a journey with X, about one woman’s bloody quest to become a star. Now, the conclusion of that saga has arrived with Maxxxine, a stylish noir meets grindhouse scrum in the gritty back-alleys of 80s Hollywood. Held up against the Satanic Panic outrage burning in the streets at the time, it slips on a pair of tight, black gloves and slices into what it takes to make it to the top. While this final entry of the trilogy comes off as emotionally muted and is in desperate need of a third-act cleanup, the filmmaker nevertheless delivers an electric thriller soaked in all the gore and neon audiences crave from that era.
 
Set in 1985, Maxine (Goth) has been making a name for herself in the adult film industry. But she seeks a higher level of fame. That big break finally comes after she lands a role in the sequel to a hit horror film from up-and-coming director Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki), The Puritan II. It’s the chance of a lifetime…one threatened by a killer picking off those close to the starlet and leaving a bloody trail of breadcrumbs to her past. Stalked by a seedy private investigator, homicide detectives and the shadow of her deadly history, Maxine will have to squash those in the way of her dream if she hopes to succeed. And she intends to.
 
In X, West gave us one goddamn fucked up horror picture taking on 70s exploitation. Pearl then broke down a Little House on the Prairie portrait into pure, psychological terror. With Maxxxine, the filmmaker mixes glam and grime with 80s pastiche paying tribute to the likes of Argento and William Lustig. West wears these influences on his sleeve, Giallo aesthetics meeting the sort of trashy sleaze you’d see in the grindhouse theaters of New York’s 42nd Street. Smoke drifts over the silhouettes of characters creeping through dark alleyways. Neon soaks the flesh of erotic dancers in shady nightclubs. Composer Tyler Bates’ cool, noir saxophone notes play over hair-raising screams as blood paints the streets red. It’s a seedy Hollywood brought to life with sharp precision by cinematographer Eliot Rockett. Mesmerizing as it all is, it lacks the fresh approach of the previous films, feeling more like West cosplaying as his favorite directors.

Maxxxine’s true X-factor comes from a sizzling cast led by a fearless Mia Goth. She reminds us why Maxine is indeed a star as she fights tooth and nail on her way to the top with ruthless abandon. When we last saw the Hollywood hopeful, she was turning the head of her aggressor into a squashed grape. That same savagery is on display early as we watch her deal with anyone who would dare pose a threat to her, leading to plenty of applause-worthy and deliciously gory moments guaranteed to get the crowd roaring. You simply do not mess with Maxine, and it’s a riot to see her remind us why again and again. Meanwhile, Kevin Bacon channels the sleaziest private detectives you can think of with an amusing Southern twang. Nearly everyone manages to impress—hello Giancarlo Esposito as an agent willing to do whatever it takes for his clients—yet Maxine’s cold distance from all of them leaves many of her relationships falling flat. She doesn’t seem to care much about most of her friends getting picked off, so neither do we. Like they say, it’s show business, not friend business, a detached way of thinking that keeps both Maxine and the audience from connecting to those around her.
 
And therein lies the most abrasive issue with Maxxxine…the title character’s journey this time around just isn’t that compelling. In the first ten minutes, she’s already landed her dream job and achieved her goal. She’s a movie star! Mission accomplished. Themes of sacrifice for fame play a role but without much to be said that West hasn’t already established, while an “us girls gotta look out for each other” message comes across as more of an afterthought. One too many threads knot together, robbing each of the necessary momentum. Most disappointing is a non-sensical third act that overpromises and underdelivers, offering very few surprises along the way. Like many final films in trilogies, Maxxxine struggles mightily to leave the audience with the same satisfying fullness as the previous entries. Our protagonist’s arc remains horizontal until the very end, weighed down by a script more interested in seeing her kick ass than grow in a way that hits.
 
Script flaws bleeding as profusely as they are, West’s stylish approach and Goth’s sizzling electricity provide more than enough of a Band-Aid to keep the film from collapsing in a back alley off Hollywood Boulevard. Imitative and pulled in conflicting directions as it may be, Maxxxine nevertheless slays as a fierce piece of entertainment that delivers on its promise of 80s excess. Will it leave your jaw hanging like X or Pearl? Probably not. But that doesn’t stop this final film in the saga of Maxine Minx from being one last entertaining hurrah for a take no prisoners character that has earned her place in the horror hall of fame.

Maxxxine arrives in theaters July 5th from A24. 

By Matt Konopka