The last time we saw Maxine Minx (Mia Goth), she had barely survived a porn shoot massacre in the middle of Texas. One of her last lines in that particular movie, 2022’s “X,” saw her parroting her father, a television preacher with the mantra, “I will not accept a life I do not deserve.” Now, after an impressive prequel centered on Maxine’s initial adversary, “Pearl,” our heroine returns in the third chapter of Ti West’s gore thriller trilogy, “MaXXXine.” And, you could say Hollywood would never be the same if the movie wasn’t such an obvious and intentional homage to seedy, LA kitsch.
The third installment begins with a flashback to a young girl being coached by her father who records her behind a 16mm camera. At the end of her lesson, he reminds her to repeat the familiar “deserve” war cry and it’s soon obvious Maxine was raised to believe she was a star. Even if it’s not the sort of icon dear old dad expected.
Cut to 1985 Los Angeles and Maxine is doing pretty well as a porn star and go-go dancer. Her friends, fellow adult star Tabby (Halsey) and VHS movie expert Leon (Moses Sumney) relent that she never takes a night off, but Maxine is driven. She’s going to be the first actress to truly crossover as a respected movie actress whether Hollywood wants her or not. Her agent, Teddy Knight, Esq. (Giancarlo Esposito), has gotten her an audition for a horror sequel, “The Puritan II.” It’s a long shot, but she’s more than game. And while the casting director isn’t impressed, the director, Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debecki) sees something in the cocky blonde with a legit southern accent. There is life experience in that girl’s eyes (more than she could ever dream of). Thankfully, West avoids dragging this storyline out as Maxine gets the gig before you’ve even gotten a quarter of the way through your popcorn bin. But, just when she thought she could escape, the stench of death pulls her back in. Oh, yes. People in Maxine’s life are starting to get killed around her. Again.
Set during the same time frame as the notorious Night Stalker, a man who murdered at least 14 Los Angelenos over 14 months, the deaths at first seem to be part of that rampage or the victims of a twisted copycat killer. LAPD detective Williams (Michelle Monaghan) thinks something else is at play, however. Especially after two of the fatalities have a connection to our heroine. Now if only she could get her partner Detective Torres (Bobby Carnevale), a failed actor who clearly still yearns for the spotlight, to legitimately contribute to the investigation.
Not only is Maxine horrified by the fact more people in her life are being brutally murdered but she also has to deal with a sleazy private investigator, John Labat (Kevin Bacon), who appears to know much more about her past than she’s comfortable with. Meanwhile, Bender is getting increasingly concerned Maxine’s focus might be somewhere else. Not good news when she put her reputation on the line to cast her. But who is this killer? And how are they tied to Maxine? And will you care?
The most entertaining aspect of “MaXXXine” is not the murder mystery. In some ways, it’s sort of an afterthought like the B-movie 80’s horror movies that inspired it. And like many of those films, West’s latest endeavor isn’t that scary. It’s decidedly gruesome and has one particular scene that will make many male viewers squeamish, but this writer usually finds themselves scared at the drop of a hat with this genre and we didn’t cover our eyes once. This is the sort of movie where in the first 10 minutes Maxine sits in front of her makeup mirror at the strip club to take a hit out of a giant ceramic vase filled with cocaine. The 80’s were wild, but that’s a sight gag that is justifiably laughable and a meme waiting to happen.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, “MaXXXine” verges on self-aware camp, with West always pulling back on the reins just when the proceedings are about to go overboard. And that’s tough when Bacon, in particular, is having the time of his life chewing up more scenery than he’s had the opportunity to do so in years. Or when Esposito, who has been the “straight man” in recent television series such as “The Boys” and “The Gentlemen,” gets a chance to put his own unique stamp on the stereotypical D-star level agent.
It’s all fun and murder games (until it’s not), but something is missing. “Maxxxine” feels a bit emptier than the first two installments. Goth is quite good at reprising the role, but Maxine is sort of already a fully-baked character. She’s no victim, as a silly street criminal finds out, and she’s made it so far, how could her career not soar? This is a very different movie, obviously, but there isn’t much here for Goth to grab onto. Her jaw-dropping performance in “Pearl” helped elevate the material. There’s nothing anywhere near that enticing this time around. That’s not to say we aren’t curious where Maxine ends up years from now, but we might be a wee more interested in what happened to Pearl between the prequel and her appearance in “X.”
Where “MaXXXine” pops is in the world West has meticulously fashioned on screen. Along with production designer Jason Kisvarday (“Everything Everywhere All At Once,” we shouldn’t be surprised), and cinematographer Eliot Rockett, the trio does a miraculous job recreating the era. Granted, we’re not sure Hollywood Blvd has changed that much in the past four decades (the surrounding neighborhood sure has), but the filmmakers find a way to make it feel realistically trashier than Times Square at the same point in history. That’s no easy feat. Mari-An Ceo’s costume design and the film’s hair and makeup are also wonderfully authentic without dipping into long worn-out cliches. I mean, leg warmers? Maxine wouldn’t dare. Well, unless you paid her maybe. [B-/C+]
“MaXXXine” opens nationwide on July 3