Rent MaXXXine on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Ti West
Directed by: Ti West
Starring: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon, Toby Huss
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break, but a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.
Verdict
It's a modern take on the 80s slasher, embracing over the top and cheesy and setting this in Hollywood. The plot capitalizes on the satanic panic
of the 80s with a commentary about Hollywood and the panic that transcends the movie. Despite that, it's still a slasher at its core with a well-worn premise and an improbable plot wrapped in salacious trappings. The style nearly overshadows the story, but there's enough to this to make it interesting.
It depends.
Review
The conclusion to the Pearl movie trilogy that includes X, and Pearl. Pearl was a prequel while this follows the events of X.
Maxine (Mia Goth) wants to leave the adult film industry behind for Hollywood because she wants to be a star. We get a scene that shows that ambition followed by a scene showing she's not only confident, but tough when she subdues a would be thief in an alley late at night. Her attacker gets a lot more than he bargained for.
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| Mia Goth plays Maxine |
While Maxine prepares for her Hollywood debut, her friends are being killed in what seems like part of some kind of satanic ritual. The opening montage of this movie included news clips of the 80s satanic panic, a panic that was later proved to be more narrative than reality. It was an overreaction from overprotective parents with no real basis. Because of that we're skeptical of the motives of the killer.
The entire mood of this movie is seedy and salacious. Maxine works in the adult film industry, also works for a peep show, and her best friend runs a porn video store. This movie isn't just 80s over the top, it's forceful. That movie wants to be dark in all aspects and succeeds.
Maxine is also being followed by a private investigator. He threatens that he'll release the video from the previous film X unless she meets with his employer. All of these plot points intersect. It's a wonderfully ridiculous plot where a preacher wants to expose Hollywood for being evil by murdering women and making it look like a satanic ritual concocted by Hollywood. It's beautiful irony, in that this preacher is the very root of the problem he wants to solve. It's similar to the satanic panic where parents were trying to find evil clues in the most bizarre places, like playing songs backwards and 'discovering' messages. That gives this movie some depth that starts discussion, and the movie needs that.
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