Mia Goth owns 'MaXXXine' but is our favorite final girl enough to save the movie?

Maxine Minx just wants to be a star!

While Maxine may be willing to do whatever it takes to live the life she believes she deserves, the real star of the third installment of Ti West's horror franchise "MaXXXine" is Mia Goth.

The ending of 2022's horror hit "X" saw our final girl Maxine survive what's referred to as "The Texas Porn Star Massacre," as her killer screams "It'll all be taken from you!" before Maxine runs her over with a car.

Before the credits rolled, we were already informed we would need to follow Maxine's journey in the sequel.

Now that it's finally here, I'm not sure West has killed it the same way as in his original masterpiece. Pun definitely intended.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Is MaXXXine a sequel to Pearl?

Yes and no. While "Pearl" was the prequel to Ti West's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"-esque "X", explaining how the main villain came to be, "MaXXXine" is a direct sequel to "X" as it follows the final girl, Maxine Minx, going on with life after the massacre.

Set in 1985 and somehow filled with even more cocaine use than the previous installments, "MaXXXine" promises a lot and falls short on delivery.

Not cinematically, and certainly not when it comes to the phenomenal cast, which includes Goth, a weaselly private investigator played by Kevin Bacon, the talent agent every girl wishes she had in Giancarlo Esposito and a standout performance from the tropey horror movie lover in a horror movie, Moses Sumney.

While the performances were killer (no, I will not stop with the puns) it was the lack of familiarity with the people surrounding Maxine that left me not caring who lived or died.

Aside from Maxine's best friend Leon (Sumney) and agent/lawyer Teddy Night (Esposito), the potential victims didn't cause me to bat a single eye at their deaths, unlike in "X" where every cast member felt like someone you wanted to root for.

What will MaXXXine be about?

"MaXXXine" follows its titular star as she moves on from the massacre of her friends in "X" and tries to break out of the porn industry and make a name for herself as a real movie star in Hollywood.

With the deadly Night Stalker serial killer on the prowl and Maxine's trauma still haunting her, will this be our final girl's finale?

What I loved about "X" was the references to classic horror films, and that also rang true for "MaXXXine." There were shots in front of a staticky TV set reminiscent of "Poltergeist" and a scene of Maxine getting her head molded for a movie shoot where the melted wax gave me "House of Wax" flashbacks with a little "Exorcist" thrown in for good measure.

West has proven he can shoot a visually compelling movie. The split-screen shots made a return, and there was a scene at a club where the strobe lights and the private investigator menacingly closing in on Maxine made it feel like you were in the middle of a haunted house.

What was frustrating was the lost potential of the script.

The story incorporates the Night Stalker as a red herring, but that plot point feels underutilized and almost lazy. The buddy-cop duo adds little to the story other than more side characters to not really care about. The Satanic Panic epidemic of the 1980s is thrown in as another red herring, and that too feels forced.

"MaXXXine" isn't a bad movie by any means, but compared to "X," it just feels like another failed horror movie sequel. Will this be our favorite final girl's final brush with death? Only time will tell.

'MaXXXine' 3 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Ti West.

Cast: Mia Goth, Moses Sumney, Kevin Bacon, Giancarlo Esposito, Elizabeth Debicki.

Rating: R for strong violence, gore, sexual content, graphic nudity, language and drug use.

How to watch: In theaters Friday, July 5.

More movie reviews:'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' is uncomplicated, over-the-top, Guy Ritchie-style fun

Meredith G. White covers entertainment, art and culture for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She writes the latest news about video games, television and best things to do in metro Phoenix.