MAXXXINE Reviewed by GREG KING
Stars: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Kevin Bacon, Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Monaghan, Giancarlo Esposito, Halsey, Moses Sumney, Lily Collins, Simon Prast, Chloe Farnworth, Larry Fessenden, Toby Huss.
Sex, religion and violence are again the key driving forces behind the dramatic action in this final instalment in Ti West’s trilogy of slasher horror films starring Mia Goth. The series began with X, in which a group of amateur filmmakers headed to a remote ranch in Texas to shoot a pornographic movie but became caught up in a real-life horror film when the elderly owners took exception to the content of their film. This was followed by a prequel with Pearl, which gave the backstory behind one of the characters in X. And now West follows up with Maxxxine, which is set in 1985 and operates as a direct sequel to X as it follows the character of Maxine Minx (Goth), the sole survivor of the massacre that concluded X.
She now works as a porn actress in Los Angeles, but she aspires to a more serious career in legitimate movies. She gets her chance when she is approached by prickly and demanding film director Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki) to star in a film called The Puritan II, the sequel to a controversial box office success that has attracted protests from religious zealots for its blasphemous content. But Maxine’s past soon catches up with her when she finds herself approached by Labat (Kevin Bacon), a private detective who has been hired by a mysterious but wealthy and powerful man to track her down. At the same time Los Angeles is being terrorised by a serial killer known as the Night Stalker, who preys mainly on sex workers, and many of his victims are closely connected to Maxine. She is approached by a couple of detectives (Bobby Cannavale and Michelle Monaghan) who ask her for assistance in trying to identify the mysterious killer.
While Maxxxine is not strong nor as subversive as the first two films in the series, it is still entertaining enough. West peppers the film with plenty of gore and bloody violence which will give audiences enough thrills to satisfy their thirst. Given the Hollywood setting, the film is littered with plenty of clever filmic references, which cinephiles will easily recognise, and thereareplenty of nods to the works of directors West obviously admires. There is a scene set around the iconic Bates Motel set, and in one instance Bacon deliberately resembles J T Gittes, Jack Nicholson’s character in the classic Chinatown. West certainly knows his exploitation cinema of the late 70s and mid 80s and this gives the material a certain style.
West and his regular cinematographer Eliot Rockett superbly capture the seedy, sleazy ambience of LA in the mid 80s with its adult theatres and video shops. One scene, which is set inside a peep show booth in the Show World Emporium in the red light district that caters to private clients, is bathed in a garish red colour that is deliberately reminiscent of blood, reminds audiences of Ken Russell’s 1984 film Crimes Of Passion, which starred Kathleen Turner as a prostitute stalked by Anthony Perkins as an obsessed man trying to save her soul.
The film delves deeply into 80s nostalgia and features a great soundtrack of 80s rock, including ZZ Top, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Laura Branigan which adds to the atmosphere.
As with the first two films in the series, this is Goth’s film and she breathes life into her character. Goth has a strong presence here as Maxine, the feisty porn star with attitude, hellbent on becoming a star. Giancarlo Esposito (from the tv series Breaking Bad, etc) brings a ruthless quality to his performance as Teddy Knight, Maxine’s agent. Bacon has fun as the creepy private detective. But Cannavale’s performance as a tough talking detective lacks subtlety and he comes across as a walking cliche of the tough cop.
As West himself intended, audiences can watch Maxxxine without having seen the first two films. And, apparently, he is already at work on a fourth film in the series.
★★★
