MaXXXine: Horrormeister Ti West and Muse Mia Goth Hit a Hollywood High With Trilogy's End

By Thom Ernst

Rating: A

Director Ti West makes working in film criticism a joy.

MaXXXine, the third in a provocative series that began with X (2022) followed by Pearl (2022), has so many layers of good, it’s hard to know where to focus the praise.

Set, script, performances, and direction - it all works.

West plunks us in the seedy streets of Los Angeles. A movie marquee boasting a screening of St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) puts us in the mid-‘80s. The streets are filled with hustlers dressed as Hollywood icons. Adult bookstores, massage parlours and porn cinemas line the street. Even the litter on the sidewalk speaks to the era.

Maxine Minx (Mia Goth), having survived the brutal attacks that took place in X, has made it big in the porn industry and unapologetically moves through the channels, good and bad, to get what she wants. An old home video reveals a pre-adolescent Maxine (Charley Rowan McCain) announcing her intention to be as famous as her preacher father). She is not ashamed of her efforts, and unlike her co-workers, she works diligently towards her goal rather than seeking out a wealthy executive in the Hollywood Hills.

While Maxine plots her rise to fame, a serial killer dubbed The Night Stalker (yes, that Night Stalker, though he isn’t referred to by name) haunts the streets. The killer (or killers) shows a deadly interest in Maxine’s friends and acquaintances.

It’s worth acknowledging the extent to which West cares about his characters, even the secondary horror-movie-dispensable ones. These aren’t just characters written conveniently for the slaughter but lost women struggling to be as good as they can in a stained and tainted world. It’s hard not to want the best for them.

But a bit more on West.

Before grabbing attention with The House of the Devil (2009), recreating a similar horror drama style once mastered by Hammer Studios, West cut his teeth making shorts and a handful of underperforming films like Trigger Man (2007), Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever (2011) and The Roost (2005). 

I have not seen Roost, but I have seen Trigger Man and Cabin Fever 2 and do not quite understand the maligning these films endure.

I would later add The Sacrament (2013) to the list, one of the few found-video films that I found genuinely compelling and unnerving. And then there is the sudden dip away from the horror genre with the western In a Valley of Violence

After House of the Devil, West dialled down the ‘70s/’80s kitsch and made The Innkeepers, a wonderfully creepy thriller about a haunted inn. In both films, West displayed his ability to create relatable characters who effortlessly win over audiences’ compassion.

 But West hit his stride with his muse, the enigmatic, soul-capturing star quality of Mia Goth. Make no mistake—Goth is a discovery. West fully realizes the impact of her questioning eyes, filled with feigned confusion, underscoring an unshakeable confidence.

He frames her in closeups, moves her out of the shadows, and allows her silhouette to strut into view. There are similar qualities shared by Goth and current Furiuosa star Anya-Taylor-Joy. Both actors have a splendour that ignores traditional concepts of beauty. Goth is magic on the screen. West sees that magic and honours it with affection and respect.

West’s cinematic counterpart is a hard-ass female horror director with a fragile God complex. The director, Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki) gives Maxine the break she needs. Whether Bender has issues being a woman working within a male-dominated genre, which would be likely given the era, is not fully developed. West leaves most of Bender’s gender conflicts to Debicki’s internal performance. It’s subtle, but it’s there.

Assigned to bring The Night Stalker into justice, are detectives Williams (Michelle Monaghan) and Torres (Bobby Cannavale). Williams and Torres have made the connection between the killings and Maxine, giving Maxine the kind of attention she could do without. Monaghan and Cannavale play off each other wonderfully, bringing a bit of humour and police procedural drama to the mix.

Giancarlo Esposito, as Maxine’s slick and polished agent, Teddy Night, Esq. surpasses expectations by breaking free from the standard ‘Call me, we’ll arrange lunch’ insincerity.

Then, there is the scene-chewing performance of Kevin Bacon as John Labat, the private eye hired to track down Maxine and deliver her to his supremely wealthy, private, and very violent client.

West is not unlike Tarantino in that both tend to recognize that cinema and good stories sometimes wander into extremes that are more theatrical than authentic. West is a director who loves movies—a chase scene through the Universal studio lot is a bit silly but emphasises West’s dedication to filmmaking.

Yes, MaXXXine is a slasher film, but it is also an ode to Hollywood—the good, the bad, the the ambition, and all the fake things that come together to make it happen.

MaXXXine is directed by Ti West and stars Mia Goth, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Debicki. MaXXXine is currently playing in selected theatres.