Written by Andreas Babiolakis

Warning: Spoilers for MaXXXine will appear throughout this review. Reader discretion is advised.

When Ti West released the two Maxine related “X” films, X and Pearl, in 2022, a wave could be felt. Here were slasher films — the schlockiest types of projects in horror cinema — that had something to say regarding the way women are treated in the entertainment industry, through a religiou lens, as sexual beings, and as members of society. With Mia Goth and her best performances (both as Maxine Minx, and as Pearl at different ages), this pair of films depicted the ongoing, generational expectations women face, the internal struggle and rage experienced, and a catharsis that resulted in bloodshed while staring in the face of the male gaze. There’s no question about it. There was huge anticipation surrounding the third film in this reported trilogy (although West has now gone on to entertain the idea of another entry in this series, which, after today, I would advise against). MaXXXine is finally here, and that long wait wasn’t just reflected in our patience: it’s present in a film that feels as though it buckled under the pressure.

Maxine returns years after the events of X. Now an adult film megastar, Maxine is trying to break out into the film industry with an open role being cast for The Puritan II: much like MaXXXine is to us, it is a long awaited sequel to a horror film. Maybe West was operating with his typically meta ways here by making a statement on the difficulty of following up a successful horror film with another project that plays by the same rules and stipulations. In fact, these problems are all over MaXXXIne, as they are prevalent in so many horror sequels. How can someone keep surviving a master killer or force who manages to destroy everyone else in their path? How can the defeated evil keep coming back? Many directors think the answer is to get more twisted, gorier, and have audiences suspend more and more disbelief than ever before. Some sequels possess the necessary strategy. Aliens pivoted away from the horror genre of Alien and opted to be an action film about turning the danger back on the threat out of revenge and frustration (as well as narrative necessity). Evil Dead II essentially owns the fact that it is a rehash of its predecessor and goes all in on the insanity to the point of being uncanny and impossible to ignore.

Films like MaXXXine flounder, because there’s nothing fresh about watching the same characters — protagonists or villains — go through the exact same hoops (except, this time, the hoops are on fire instead of being adorned with thorns, so the trick must be different, right?). As I mentioned before, there are work arounds that make these followup films worthwhile. I see that in Pearl: the prequel film that takes the main villain of X and gives her a backstory that actually matters. Sure, we know what winds up happening to her in X, but that makes her story of mental psychosis, systemic stymieing, and loneliness all the harder to watch. Pearl knew how to carve its own path. MaXXXine doesn’t really accomplish this.

So MaXXXine nails the audition, unlike Pearl in her titular prequel film, and so the former is set to star in The Puritan II alongside star Molly Bennett (Lily Collins). Meanwhile, private investigator John Labat (Kevin Bacon) pursues Maxine and tries to force her to admit to the murders that took place in X (which, as we know, were at the hands of Pearl and her husband, and Maxine was only defending herself against Pearl, and yet the entire scene is allegedly getting pinned on Maxine alone). Maxine tries her best to avoid Labat, but danger is in the air as the Night Stalker — a Californian serial killer and sex offender — is on the loose with numerous victims being discovered. These murders are starting to hit close to home for Maxine, as familiar faces wind up dead shortly after Maxine gets acquainted with them. Could Maxine be next?

Once again, Mia Goth shines in the X series, this time in *MaXXXine*: a film that otherwise loses its momentum.

The blood finds its way right to the Puritan II set once star Molly is slain. Without getting too deeply into the subplots, including what transpires from the Labat storyline (which may have had potential as a commentary on the relentless pursuance of obsessed men, or had some narrative heft with more twists and turns, but has been squandered as a relatively pointless thread), I’ll cut right to the chase with the big revelation: the murders present in the film weren’t by the real life Night Stalker, but rather the fictional character Maxine’s televangelist father, Ernest Miller (Simon Prast), who we learn about at the end of X (well, that he and Maxine are related and estranged, mind you). Ernest killed in the name of God: an on-the-nose look at how religion in the hands of the wrong people can hold people (including women), civilizations and industries, like film, back. Sigh. With the tapestry of things to say being present in all three films thus far (more in the previous two works), I was expecting something a bit more nuanced than religious extremists are problematic. Tell us something we don’t already know, especially within the horror genre (where this very point has been done to death).

X starts off as a typical slasher film that slowly evolves into something more poignant. I am afraid that MaXXXine does the opposite. It promises something a bit more textured before succumbing to the body count formula without much being said (at least whatever hasn’t already been covered before in the other X films). What keeps the show going is, once again, Goth, who isn’t only the best part of these films: she’s flat out the only reason to watch MaXXXine (whereas the other two X films felt layered enough to work on their own, but Goth’s commitment and presence elevates them nonetheless). Goth is as fascinating as ever in this film; in fact, she feels more subtle here than the other two films, and her intrinsic nature versus the lack of restraint around her only proves her control even more. Despite the star studded cast including the aforementioned names, Giancarlo Esposito, Elizabeth Debicki, Bobby Canavale, Michelle Monaghan, and musicians Halsey and Moses Sumney, the only person who actually feels as though they’re fully utilized is Goth; Bacon has a bit more prominence, but his character, again, is wasted in the end.

I don’t think West and company gave up with MaXXXine, but I think there are two sides to the fandom of these films: the horror side, and the rest of cinephilia. I think West gave in to the horror crowd too much to the point that he lost sight of what extra purpose and motivation these films once had; furthermore, I don’t think MaXXXine is even a strong horror film, and is even the weakest of the three works in this respect (so giving in to convention fails on this front as well). West does try to strike gold yet again here, with the looming presence of the Hollywood sign over the industry that is quick to devour itself, the fetishization and massacring of women (and the men, and women [see Debicki’s director character] who demand that they get what they want), and so much more. However, the social commentary is boiled down to being hints of what they could have been, while MaXXXine struggles to people please with a brisk hour-and-a-half runtime, blood and guts, and Maxine being the boss that she is. The only part that works is the latter: an already defined female character who many have professed appreciation and admiration for before MaXXXine was even conceptualized. With that said, MaXXXine is watchable with the other two films in mind. On its own, MaXXXine doesn’t give itself much reason to exist or matter whatsoever.

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.