Maxxxine (2024) | Predictably, the Climaxxx
Last year, I watched and reviewed both of the other movies in this horror trilogy: X and Pearl. X was somewhat disappointing to me upon the first viewing, but I warmed up to it a little more when I watched it a second time. Pearl, on the other hand, impressed me immensely with its style and performances, and it was one of the best movie surprises last year. The connection between the two films was the character Pearl, but you could have watched each movie in whatever order you preferred because the stories between the two were not that closely involved with one another. However, Maxxxine follows up on the main character from X and references the events of that film multiple times. In fact, what transpires in X and how that film ends sets up the story in Maxxxine. One question I had immediately upon hearing about this movie’s release was: Did we need to make this a trilogy? The answer may just surprise you… Or will it?
Image: A24
Pros
Mia Goth continues to demonstrate her stellar acting abilities
Brutal special effects and gory scenes
Decent tension in some scenes
Cons
The main antagonist and plot related to him are not that interesting
Feels like the story goes on longer than it needs to
Plot & Thoughts
Maxine (Mia Goth) is in Hollywood, California. She’s managed to escape the Texas ranch that belonged to Pearl and make her way west with the hopes and dreams of starring in a real Hollywood movie and not just adult films. Her audition for a horror movie goes well, and she gets the part. Things seem to be finally moving in the right direction for Maxine until a scummy private detective (Kevin Bacon) shows up and starts harassing her about the events that took place in X at the behest of his mysterious client. Also, people Maxine knows suddenly start disappearing or dying in brutal acts of murder.
Image: A24
When looking at the X trilogy as a whole, there are certain things I admire about it. The acting and direction in all the movies have been good. Mia Goth has carried each film with her performances, and she does not let up here. Likewise, the direction from Ti West has made each movie interesting from a visual perspective and tone—I still have my issues with X not fully committing to an exploitation film’s style, though. Nonetheless, each movie has had something of a look to it that makes them feel like they belong in the same Blu-ray box set while still retaining their own distinct style. All that being said, I still think Pearl is the only movie with a truly interesting story that elevates it above the other movies in the same genre.
Maxxxine may not be as good as Pearl, but it is still a decent entry in the X trilogy. It’s a little more creative with its storytelling and allows the character of Maxine to be more than just the “final girl” in a horror movie. She’s a character who has grown and changed since the events of the previous movie in a believable way while still being consistent with how we know her. The scene in the beginning, when she turns the tables on a man with a knife in an alley, was an entertaining demonstration of how she’s not going to just be a damsel in distress. Her interactions with the detective who’s harassing her throughout the movie are also just as satisfying and reach an entertaining conclusion that adds to the dark tone about Hollywood’s underbelly that the movie frequently hints at through dialogue.
Image: A24
Where things falter for me is in the primary antagonist, who is pulling the strings and behind all the murders. Maxxxine tries to set him up as some mysterious figure, but it has the same issue as the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie in that there are only so many pre-existing characters in the cast that you can use to make the identity of the killer a mystery. It’s absolutely no surprise when the villain is revealed. It is surprising, however, what his motivations are and how it was being accomplished to the point that I had a little trouble believing it, which made the chaotic moments of the final act just seem silly to me. Even though the movie has a satisfying ending, I felt like the climax of the movie was a little toothless.
TL;DR
Maxxxine concludes the X trilogy in a satisfying way, even if it doesn’t reach the heights or depths of the previous entries. If you enjoyed the other movies in the series, I do not see why you wouldn’t also enjoy Maxxxine. It has plenty of gore, great acting from the cast, some good moments of tension, and more solid direction from Ti West. I think the plot is a little thin to keep things interesting for the film’s runtime, but you could do far worse with an hour and forty minutes.
