'Maxxxine': A Stylish Tale of Fame and Fear that Fades Too Soon
I finally caught Maxxxine, the much-anticipated finale to Ty West’s “X trilogy,” and while it’s packed with gorgeous visuals and boasts a powerful lead performance, it’s ultimately underwhelming.
The first two entries in West’s trilogy—X (2022), the gritty horror that introduced us to fierce final girl Maxine, and Pearl (2022), an unnerving character study with real emotional weight—took some riveting, unexpected turns. Maxxxine promises a strong payoff, tracing our protagonist's relentless climb from ’70s porn star to Hollywood icon. Yet, despite its thick, moody atmosphere and a strong lead performance, the film trudges along a predictable path, drained of the suspense and bite it seemed poised to deliver.
Mia Goth returns as Maxine, now fighting her way from adult films to a “legit” career, bringing the same fiery determination that made her character so compelling in X. The film is at its best when it explores Maxine’s ambition, showing us her take-no-prisoners attitude and deep hunger for fame. Goth is still a powerhouse, but the script offers her less to work with, rendering Maxine more passive than in her previous appearances. Goth manages to keep her captivating, but without the same depth and punch.
And the talented supporting cast—including Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Lily Collins, Halsey, and Giancarlo Esposito—feels similarly underused, with little meaningful material to dive into. It’s a shame, too, because the potential was enormous.
Visually, Maxxxine is a treat. West reimagines early ‘80s L.A. with all the sleazy grit of a De Palma thriller—you can almost smell the Pall Malls and feel the grime of dirty alley dumpsters. The film wears its influences openly, from Hollywood giallo and Psycho sequels to slasher flicks like Maniac and religious horror like The Omen.
With a textured, nostalgic vibe, it’s the kind of homage that movie review writers on Substack, myself included, genuinely respect. But the heavy references can only carry the film so far, and where the first two films achieved a balance between homage and originality, Maxxxine feels more than a little hollow.
The pacing doesn’t help. Maxxxine loses momentum as it goes on, lacking the escalating tension and raw shocks of its predecessors. At times, the pacing becomes so sluggish and the direction so unfocused, it’s hard not to feel like West may have lost some enthusiasm for this series.
In the end, Maxxxine is well-acted, super stylish, and filled with indulgent nods to grimy cinema of the past, but it falls short of the layered, tense experiences that made X and Pearl so memorable. The vibes are there, but the film doesn’t quite reach the satisfying high note I was hoping for in this trilogy’s finale.
