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MAXXXINE
Director: Ti West Cast: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Kevin Bacon, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Giancarlo Esposito, Moses Sumney, Simon Prast, Halsey, Lily Collins, Chloe Farnworth, Sophie Thatcher MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:44 Release Date: 7/5/24 |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | July 4, 2024 Finalizing a horror trilogy, MaXXXine is yet another experiment in style as form from writer/director Ti West. X, the first and most successful film in the series, presented itself as a slasher movie from the 1970s in its story and aesthetic, while the prequel follow-up Pearl twisted the conceit of a Technicolor melodrama from the '50s into the tale of a show-biz dream that becomes a bloody nightmare. The final entry is set in 1985, and West more or less abandons the horror pretense for a paranoid thriller. It's driven by one or two serial killers roaming the streets of Los Angeles, the reactionary culture of the Satanic Panic, and just enough references that fans of the genre from the era will have a basic idea of the filmmaker West is trying to ape. To name him specifically almost feels like doing that filmmaker a disservice, because, even at his least successful during that period, he never made something as unfocused and uncertain as this disappointing conclusion to what had been two-thirds of a promising trilogy. Since those in the know will catch it with a few hints, here they are. There's plenty of split-screen work in West's capper. Frankie Goes Hollywood figures prominently on the soundtrack, and there's a more direct reference to an Alfred Hitchcock film than that director, often accused of ripping off or praised for paying homage to the master of suspense, ever made. Surely, there are more identifying marks here, but that's enough. To go on would be tiresome—some advice West might have considered before setting out on this installment. The story once again follows Maxine Minx (Mia Goth), whom we last saw as the sole survivor of a massacre at a Texas farm in the first film. Since then, she has become a successful porn actress, but her dream of becoming famous is limited in that profession. After auditioning for a horror sequel and getting the leading role, Maxine is ready for imminent stardom, but her past—not only as an adult-movie performer and someone who escaped "the Texas Porn Star Massacre" without anyone noticing, but also something before that—starts to get in the way of her career. In addition to working for the strict aspiring auteur Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki), Maxine's acquaintances and friends are being targeted by either the Night Stalker, a real-life murderer whose crimes West thoughtlessly exploits here, or someone pretending to be the serial killer. Also, private investigator John Labat (Kevin Bacon) is always on her tail, hired by someone who wants to see Maxine in person when the time is right. West's screenplay presents the detective's employer as a mystery and his revelation as a twist, although the biggest surprise is that the filmmaker thought that would work, considering the movie's prologue and a key piece of information he revealed at the end of the first film. The whole thing feels haphazardly assembled, apart from cinematographer Eliot Rockett's work in re-creating the look of a thriller from the era. If anything, the trilogy has become a showcase for him, who has accurately and precisely mimicked the look and feel of three distinct eras of cinema with these movies. A highlight reel of scenes from this trilogy should serve as the only proof for him to work on any project he wants to in the future. West's screenplay, though, is an entirely other matter. It's a mishmash of ideas that, for one thing, he has already covered—and with more consideration—in the previous installments and, for another, are barely given time or room to breathe here. There's the movie Maxine is making, which, one supposes, is meant to make us reflect on West's intentions and ambitions with this and the previous movies (Debicki's director talks about wanting to turn a horror film into art—"a B-movie with A-ideas," as she puts it). The production itself barely figures into this story, and neither does the movie's implicit argument for freedom of expression against the protests of religious zealots. No, West dances around all of those ideas, hoping the climax and cryptic epilogue will say everything that needs to be said (They don't), and instead gives us a poor imitation of a sleazy thriller from the period. People are brutally murdered. A pair of police detectives (played by Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale) try to convince Maxine to help their investigation, and the aspiring star is occasionally and brutally violent herself in order to survive and thrive, eventually finding an ally in her agent (played by Giancarlo Esposito). Something this simple shouldn't be this messy. More irritating, MaXXXine probably shouldn't be this hollow and enigmatic as the conclusion to a series that could be quite intelligent in marrying style and form with some clever tweaks. Copyright © 2024 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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(for strong violence, gore, sexual content, graphic nudity, language and
drug use)
