Maxxxine movie review

Ti West and Mia Goth deliver satisfying third film in X trilogy 4 out of 5 stars

Ti West delivers strong 3rd entry in X franchise with Maxxxine set in 80s Hollywood combining different styles of 80s horror to create a very compelling who done it slasher even if the answer isn’t as great as you want it to be. The visual astatic, the soundtrack, the cinematography, and the production design are so well done they make 80s Hollywood come to life and immerse you in it. The Giallo influence is very apparent in the plot and in the visuals, Ti West does such a great job of combining these influences to create something new and not come off like a rip off from other films.

After the traumatic events of X 6 years later Maxxxine goes to Hollywood to fulfill her dream of becoming a star but when the Nightstalker serial killer starts a killing spree that threatens to reveal her past and ruin her dream. I really love this movie, and the main reason why is Ti wests direction and Mia Goths performance is fantastic of seeing Maxxxine go from not caring about other victims to realizing that she can use what happened to her to help other people who have experienced similar things and prevent it in the future. The direction by Ti West is great he does such a great job of weaving together the mystery and Maxxxines character arc even if the reveal of the mystery isn’t as strong as I would like it to be. The choices he makes visually are so dynamic, interesting, and so specific to the era you can tell Ti West has such a deep love and knowledge of this era of cinema like the previous 2 movies in this franchise.

The supporting cast is great Kevin Bacon, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, and Elizabeth Debicki are the ones who stand out and have great dynamics with Maxxxine in different ways. Kevin Bacon plays such a great sleezy scumbag who has a great cat and mouse game with Maxxxine that is so much fun to watch you love to hate him and the pay off with him is great. Bobby Cannavale and Michelle Monaghan are so entertaining as the detectives on the Nightstalker murders Cannavale is a failed actor who tries different kinds of performances to get Maxxxine to corporate and they are hilarious, Michelle Monaghan as his partner who tries to get her to help by appealing to her humanity to help other victims is well done. Elizabeth Debicki as the film director who casts Maxxxine in her first role is great and becomes a mentor to her and is no nonsense, brilliant, and has softness underneath that rough exterior which really works.

The big thing in this movie that doesn’t work for me is the reveal of who the killer is it is too choregraphed which makes it not as satisfying as a viewer. The reveal itself is not that great which makes me feel Ti West could have done a better job not making it so obvious planting seeds more subtlety along the way could have been more effective. The actor who plays the killer does a good job with the performance and makes the most of it which makes still enjoy the movie but makes it not as strong as the rest of the film.

Final thoughts on Maxxxine is I love this movie and think it proves once again why Ti West is one of the most exciting genre filmmakers working today and Mia Goth is such a great actress who deserves so many more leading roles down the road. The filmmaking is so well done even if I feel the reveal wasn’t handled as well as I would like it’s a testament of you have a filmmaker with a vision you can overcome those weakness and get exciting films like this one I give it a 4 out of 5.