“I will not accept a life I do not deserve,” proclaims the inimitable Maxine (fuckin’) Minx as the third entry in Ti West’s horror trilogy begins. Set in 1985, years after her exxxperience in X and decades after Technicolor prequel Pearl, this Hollywood thriller follows the star (Mia Goth) in her anything-goes quest for fame.
This takes her to the set of the horror sequel The Puritan II, directed by Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki). Scoring the lead role, Maxine is convinced that the stardom she so deserves is, at last, at her fingertips. However, there’s the small matter of a serial murderer on the loose – a copycat killer imitating the style (and Satanic branding) of the Night Stalker. And, if Maxine’s dead friends and co-workers are anything to go by, he has it in for Miss Minx. So too, does grubby private dick John Labat (Kevin Bacon) – a disturbing reminder of sins and traumas past.
Like X and Pearl before it, MaXXXine is a pitch-perfect genre pastiche – in this case, aping the maxxximalist style of Brian De Palma and Dario Argento in its tone and seedy visuals. From the sticking plaster on Labat’s nose (how very Chinatown) to a visit to Bates Motel, the film is a love letter to the Hollywood of yesteryear, often to its own detriment.
The visuals are on point, and West’s version of ’80s Los Angeles is a compelling one (once upon another time in Hollywood), but Maxine herself is lost in the stew – the least interesting thing about her own movie. Goth gives a strong performance as Maxine, but she’s outshone by the more vibrant characters – Bacon’s repellent detective; Giancarlo Esposito, playing against type; Debicki’s chilly horror director – and underserved by the writing. There’s little tension to the story itself – it’s hard to play cat-and-mouse when the killer knows where Maxine is at all times, and she’s directly handed his address during the first half hour of the film.
For a woman so fiercely determined to claim what she is owed, Maxine feels less in control of her own destiny than ever – almost declawed as she wanders timidly into the messy, incongruously daft finale.
This is a colourful but uneven closer to the series, impressing with ball-busting gore and slick storytelling but not quite sticking the landing. Maxine Minx deserved better.
MaXXXine is out in UK cinemas now.
