1985, Hollywood. After escaping a massacre on a Texas farm in 1979, Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) is now a successful porn star and desperate to break into ‘real’ movies via the horror genre.
On the verge of her big break in a horror sequel named “The Puritan II” she finds herself stalked by a serial killer, pursued by a private detective who has links to her past and questioned by cops trying to protect her. All of which is happening as her co-workers and friends fall victim to the serial killer. But nothing will get in the way of Maxine becoming a star.
Maxxxine is the final part in a very clever and intriguing horror trilogy.
X set in 1979 first introduced us to the character of Maxine and was shot in the style of a 1970’s slasher movie. Here Mia Goth played both the final girl of Maxine and the murderess reclusive old lady Pearl who owned the farm they were filming a porn movie on.
Pearl immediately followed and was set in 1918 on the same farm and showed us how Pearl became who she was. This time the film was shot in glorious Technicolor and played out like a twisted version of The Wizard of Oz.
This final film in the trilogy takes us back to Maxine’s quest to become a star and this time is shot like a 1980’s video nasty horror flick with Brian De Palma’s Body the main touchstone.
The trilogy as a whole is endlessly fascinating. Writer/director Ti West alongside his star Mia Goth (who co-wrote Pearl) have delivered a horror trilogy where each film looks completely different but where the characters, storylines and themes continuously intersect. The need to become a star is ever present and always dangerous in a series of films that constantly pay tribute to films and film making.
This final film is arguably the weakest of the three but still features some fascinating characters. Elizabeth Debicki plays a platinum blonde horror film director who commands absolute control over her female stars in a twisted representation of Hitchcock. Kevin Bacon plays a private detective who seems to be an evil cypher of Jack Nicholson’s Jake Gittes in Chinatown, complete with nose bandage at one point. Whilst the likes of Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Halsey, Bobby Cannavale and Michelle Monaghan all get equally extreme supporting roles.
All three films watched close together would certainly harvest a lot more enjoyment due to how intrinsically linked they are. But Maxxxine still offers plenty of thrills for horror fans.
Check out my reviews for the other films in this trilogy here:
Phil the Bear's Film Reviews 