MaXXXineplays by its own formula . The third — and likely final — chapter in directorTi Westand star Mia Goth ’s X trilogy is a hodgepodge of recognizable genres and trope , a Frankensteinian hybrid of influence that should not go together . Quentin Tarantino would be lofty . The motion picture picks back up with Maxine Minx , Goth ’s final little girl fromX , but gone is the late-1970s seediness of that 2022 slasher flick . In its plaza , West has opted for an even mingy , more cynical perversity that suitsMaXXXine‘s 1985 Hollywood setting like a black leather boxing glove . This is n’t West’sTexas Chain Saw MassacreorWizard of Oz . It’sMulholland Driveas directed by Brian De Palma .
Unlike in David Lynch ’s 2001 chef-d’oeuvre , the horrors lurk aroundMaXXXine‘s L.A. street corner and in its labyrinthine hills are immediately identifiable . They ’re not specters of untold origin or purpose . They ’re serial killer , lecherous investigator , and reactionary Bible thumpers riding a wave of diabolic affright . remember Buster Keaton cosplayers wielding switchblade knife . If that hint a slightness , that ’s becauseMaXXXineis a decidedly shallow exercise — even by its trilogy ’s standards — in cinematic pastiche . It feel less unadulterated thanPearl , West’sXprequel . It ’s also more strictly fun and entertaining than both earlier plastic film .
MaXXXineopens with its scrappy protagonist getting the big respite she ’s long desired . After move to Los Angeles and making a living star in grownup flick , Maxine gets cast inThe Puritan II , a sequel to a schlocky horror B - movie directed by the equally ambitious Elizabeth Bender ( a commanding , icy Elizabeth Debicki ) . Her opportunity at Hollywood stardom is threaten , though , by the on-going slaying of the serial killer bonk as the Night Stalker and by untimely reminders of the line of descent - soak Texas nightmare she endure inX. Whereas Goth ’s Pearl was obsess to the gunpoint of madness by the futurity she knew deep down she ’d never have , Maxine is plagued by everything she ’s survived . The part is older and quieter than she was inX. Goth carries herself in such a agency that you may feel Maxine ’s early-30s despair and her fright that her dream wo n’t come true sticking to her like layer of sweat .
The actress functions as the point of gravity around which everything inMaXXXinerevolves . West , who wrote , calculate , and edited the picture show himself , surrounds her with more eccentric lineament than he knows what to do with . There ’s Leon ( Moses Sumney ) , a repugnance - obsessed video store clerk ; John Labat ( Kevin Bacon ) , a Southern private detective with a perpetually broken nose ; and Detectives Torres ( Bobby Cannavale ) and Williams ( a ware Michelle Monaghan ) , a pair of intemperate - nosed L.A. cops . ThroughMaXXXine‘s supporting characters , West finds dissimilar ways to compensate homage to the ’ 80 L.A. moving picture that he clearly loves , but his admirable intention do n’t always produce worthwhile results . Monaghan and Cannavale ’s detectives seem in particular out of place in a picture show that is already overstuff and uncertain of what comedic or dramatic note to strike with them .
The film finds great success in the characters that are more keyed into its heightened sense of savage wit , like Molly Bennett ( a scene - stealing Lily Collins ) , the hyper , quick - to - give - advice original star ofThe Puritan ; Teddy Knight ( Giancarlo Esposito ) , Maxine ’s silvery - hirsute , gangster - esque agent ; and Debicki ’s no - nonsense Elizabeth . They fit well within a film that is well - paced and feels — for both better and sorry — like it was constructed without any business about its audience ’s anticipation . As much of an amalgamation as it is of other movies , MaXXXinecould have only been born out of West and Goth ’s unequalled partnership , which has now produced three film that have felt progressively less hold fast by standard genre conventions .
InPearl , West and Goth combined the aesthetic of a 1940s and ’ 50 family pic with the unvarnished tale of a young girl lose her mind . The result was a one - of - a - sort surrealist horror movie that managed to intercept into the sense of hopelessness and frustration that has long been mill around beneath America ’s technicolor surface . MaXXXine , conversely , is n’t as shivery or viscerally disconcerting asPearl , nor does it feel as formally bracing . Eliot Rockett ’s grainy , alternately sun - soak and neon - lit motion-picture photography convincingly recreates the look of the mid-’80s film that inspiredMaXXXine . West , meanwhile , fills it with De Palma - esque Steadicam one - shots of fictional character move breathlessly from one place to another and close - ups of knives slashing .
These stylistic choices inject West’sXsequel with a propulsive , kinetic vim that keeps it alive and pulse even in its least effective moments . There is , however , a disconnect betweenMaXXXine‘s flair and its write up that not only separate it fromPearl , but prevents it from matching that film ’s power . West is knowingly pulling from the L.A. criminal offense thrillers and lurid slasher movies of the 1980s here , butMaXXXineisn’t either of those things . It ’s not a aboveboard repulsion film , though there are legion moments of much interpret abattoir , and it also is n’t a firmly - boiled offense motion picture . The film ’s aesthetic , therefore , does n’t raise through reward nor juxtaposition Maxine ’s almost - hero ’s journeying taradiddle of redemption and development .
The movie is ultimately indescribable , and when it works , that feels intentional . When it does n’t , it feel like West was simply overwhelmed by the sheer width of visual and cultural material thatMaXXXine‘s setting gave him . The film feels both emptily derivative and peculiar . repugnance fans who go into it expecting to have their hunger for another bloody slasher thriller to the full sated will be disappointed . There has never been a movie likeMaXXXinebefore , though , and there never will be again . It ’s exhilarating to watch it march so steadily to the beat of its own , predictably synth soundtrack — even when you do also happen yourself yearning for it to give you something more substantial to carry on to .
During a mid - film golf pushcart drive with Goth ’s Maxine , Debicki ’s Elizabeth callsThe Puritan IIa “ B - movie with A+ ideas . ” It ’s a catchy pitch , but one that does n’t quite fitMaXXXine . The movie is too indulgent and trivial , and its themes too explicit . A better description might be a “ B - film action with A - grade trend . ” It ’s a trashy amour — a pop horror comedy that uses Hollywood ’s past as a backdrop for its heroine ’s unlikely ascension , but that has petty to say about its many reference . Fortunately , deepness is n’t the only determine factor of achiever in Hollywood . A film must also have the opinion and confidence in itself that ’s necessary to make everyone else pay attention , and that ’s somethingMaXXXinehas in nigga .
MaXXXinehits theaters on July 5 .
