MaXXXine Review: A Disappointing 80s Throwback

She’s a star. Mia Goth stars in the third installment of Ti West’s series of horror movies that started in 2022. We had X, a slasher that pays tribute to the horror, pornography, and exploitation films of the 1970s. West followed this up with Pearl, a prequel set in the 1930s that took its inspiration from the whimsical Technicolor films of the era. MaXXXine is West’s new installment that follows Goth as Maxine Minks, a porn star trying to make it in Hollywood while dealing with the traumatic events of X.

MaXXXine fails to reach the heights of its predecessors, serving as the weakest of the three movies. West crafts an authentic, loving tribute to the 1980s and simultaneously forgets to make a compelling film. This movie does offer its merits, but more is needed to save the film from feeling trite in the long run. The best quality of this series is how each movie manages to have its unique texture. We had the ’70s and the ’30s, and now, we arrive in the gritty L.A. landscape of 1985. Maxine is on her way to breaking through in Hollywood, all while evading the Night Stalker.

The Night Stalker is a peculiar choice for the antagonist of this film. Not only was he a real-life serial killer who stalked and killed numerous people during this period, but he has never been introduced in this series yet. This movie is where we feel Pearl’s absence. She was a fascinating antagonist in X and an even more exciting protagonist in Pearl. But now that she’s out of the picture, the movie needs to follow a different protagonist and antagonist. Like Pearl, Maxine wants to be a movie star in Hollywood. She even dances similarly to how Pearl used to dance. They are meant to parallel each other, but it does not work.

Pearl is a more exciting version of Maxine. Maxine has hints of being an interesting character. In the first film, we see her father on TV, and we get a glimpse of his religious preaching. However, there needs to be more of this idea to drive the story or Maxine’s character forward. For the most part, the conflict between a religious father and a porn star daughter is only implied. We know Maxine wants to be a star, but so does Pearl. Pearl was more interesting because she was willing to kill to get it. Maxine is a more sane character but remains fierce in her conquest.

We have a few story threads going on at once. The first is Maxine dealing with the trauma of what happened in X. The second is the Night Stalker. The third surrounds a few detectives. None of them are as impactful as they should be. They feel like a bunch of pedestrian plot beats. As for horror, MaXXXine is the least effective horror movie in this trilogy. It does not inspire any dread or fear. For a film that could have paid tribute to classic ’80s slasher sequels, only one scene feels like a slasher moment.

West excels at crafting an ’80s atmosphere. It often feels like this is a product of the era with Eliot Rockett’s cinematography. The film looks phenomenal, and it offers killer performances across the board. Goth had the challenge of a dual role in X, a psychopath in Pearl, and now, a tortured woman trying to make it in the world. She is splendid in the film. With a larger budget, West secures his most star-studded cast here. Kevin Bacon appears in his second movie this week (the other being Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F), and he gets to play a very slimy character. He’s fun to watch even though his storyline feels irrelevant by the time the final act rolls around.

Elizabeth Debicki shines as a movie director. Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale also work well as two detectives trying to get to the bottom of the case. There’s a lot to commend with West’s work on this movie, but it does not work because often when we cut to Maxine, the tension disappears. The story does not surround the Night Stalker enough for the audience to care. The Night Stalker is not much of a character in this movie, which is another reason he isn’t as interesting as Pearl.

By the end of MaXXXine, we trickle out with a shootout action sequence that feels out of place in this series. This is a very different film from the first two in every regard. Ultimately, I respect it for taking a big swing while acknowledging that it does not work like the first two. It has a few good moments but ultimately goes out with a whimper. The ending goes on for too long, and the fate it leaves its titular character feels ludicrous. Gorgeously shot and phenomenally acted, MaXXXine is quite impressive in a few areas but loses its steam in others.

SCORE: 5/10

As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 5 equates to “Mediocre.” The positives and negatives wind up negating each other, making it a wash.

Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our MaXXXine review.