MaXXXine (Mini-Review)

MaXXXine is the third and final film in the X series. Six years since the porn shoot gone wrong sees Maxine finally breaking out of the adult film industry. She is set to be in The Puritan II but the past isn't done with her just yet. Besides enjoying her success, she must also battle tooth and nail so the past won't win. MaXXXine was released in 2024. It was directed by Ti West. It stars Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, and Moses Sumney.

During the start of the credits the camera pans up into space. There are no mid or post credits.

I watched X (2022) and couldn't wait to see what happened next. Then when Pearl (2022) came out I was glad I hadn't needed to wait that long. The simple teaser for this movie got me really excited as there was not much indication of what the movie would entail. You could tell that the movie would see Maxine going to Hollywood and that the time period would be the eighties. But not much else.

Maxine had the good sense to realize that making adult films wouldn't last. So the only way for her keep a good paycheck was to go into Hollywood films. And she does have the acting chops to pull such a switch off. One great example is one night she's being stalked and it seems like she is an unwilling victim. But then the tables turn and she's revealed to have been in control the entire time.

It's sort of funny that the movie Maxine gets a role in is called The Puritan II. As it seems to showcase her past as well as the fact that this is her second movie in the X series. Pearl did star Mia Goth but she was playing a different character.

You can feel Ti West's love of films in this movie. He made sure to make the movie authentic to films of the eighties. He limited himself to equipment and techniques of that time period. It isn't the most immersive time period film he has ever made (that honor goes to House of the Devil) but it is really good. Not only are you swept up in a killer mystery, you are also swept up in the time period.

I would highly recommend MaXXXine to fans of the X series. I would also recommend MaXXXine to horror fans.