Ti West’s newest film, MaXXXine, third in the X trilogy, has recently hit theaters. While there has been a lot of hype leading up to this final installment, unfortunately it has seemed to have missed the mark. While some die-hard fans are digging it, most critics, and, this writer, agree that it is an underwhelming end to a promising trilogy. What makes MaXXXine lesser than X and Pearl? I’ll tell you.
X Remains the Best!
While the fan favorite of the trilogy is Pearl, I still stand by X as being the highlight of this bloody saga. A combination of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Boogie Nights, Ti West nailed the sleazy, grimy tone of 70s horror. We watch as a young group of adult filmmakers slowly get killed off one by one at an old farmhouse in Texas. The premise is simple, and extremely meta, using the filmmaking motif as a way to set the scene.
Why do I think this is the best of the rest? It’s just so much damn fun! The cast plays a likeable/hateable group of porno stars and filmmakers. They’re a group you just can’t wait to see get slaughtered. The villains of the film, Pearl and Howard, are so old its gross, and the theme of time and age is woven masterfully into the film’s plot. The murders are nasty and unexpected, with West working carefully to misdirect the audience. The soundtrack? Bangin. The score? Haunting. And the location is beautifully shot. While some may see X as just an exercise in style, there is much substance beneath the surface, with each re-watch revealing just a bit more.
The Beautiful, Horrifying, Pearl
Ti West’s Pearl is a masterpiece. While X is a fun throwback to the 70s horror canon, Pearl is a psychologically scathing, origin story/character study of X‘s main villain. It shows that West had a clear vision when writing these first two entries. He wrote both X and Pearl one after another. Then he and Mia Goth stayed in New Zealand after filming for X wrapped, to film Pearl. A teaser for the prequel was shown after the end credits of X, and both films were proudly released in 2022.
The style from X to Pearl could not be more different. The first being a dark and grimy traditional slasher, and the latter being a bright and colorful descent into madness. Taking place in 1916, the film clearly draws on The Wizard of Oz as its main inspiration. Placing such a warped and twisted story in a picturesque world, Ti West knew how to cleverly show Pearl’s story in a bold way. The music is grandiose, the characters mainly wholesome, and the color absolutely pops. Mia Goth gives it her all as the young farm girl who loses her mind, creating an origin story unlike any other.
Finally, MaXXXine
Oh, how excited I was for MaXXXine. Ti West’s trilogy was one of my favorite horror trilogies of all time, until I saw its finale. The thing is, MaXXXine is by no means a bad film. But as the conclusion to such a strong series, it sort of whimpers as it goes on. The main problem is that there is way too much being thrown at the screen. With an impressive yet overstuffed cast, the story feels claustrophobic, and each scene with a new character feels empty. Half of the cast members only get 1-2 scenes of dialogue, before being murdered in an underwhelming way. The plot is run of the mill, and while X took full advantage of the 70s style and formula, subverting expectations, MaXXXine feels much less focused and too ambitious.
Both X and Pearl took place at Pearl’s farmhouse, giving the films an aesthetic parallel and a fantastic set with which to play around with. MaXXXine takes place in L.A. in the 80s, and with this it seems West got carried away. We bounce around this city with seemingly no motivation. And with all these new characters played by Kevin Bacon, Michelle Monaghan, and Giancarlo Esposito (to name a few), Maxine felt like a secondary character in her own movie. The soundtrack rocks, the style is assured, and the acting is great. But when the plot gets messy and overstuffed, unfortunately this doesn’t amount to much. While I can only speculate, it feels as though Ti West ran out of steam after writing X and Pearl. MaXXXine is not up to their standards.
Why it doesn’t “Flesh Out”
Trilogies are no easy feat to pull off. Creating three films in a series that properly enhance and guide a story takes a certain mind to write. Ti West is a brilliant writer/director, though it feels like he didn’t give himself enough time. MaXXXine, while in keeping with the themes and style of the series, builds up to an anticlimax, one that feels limp when compared to the endings of X and Pearl. What makes those films so great is that they are taught, simple, and classic tales of horror. With MaXXXine, West tried to tie up this story while also introducing several new characters, a new environment, and a mystery that isn’t very mysterious.
While I’m sure it’ll gain more respect upon future viewings, the final entry in the X Trilogy left me, and the audience I saw it with, unimpressed. The scenes of violence felt mostly uninspired, and the easter eggs littered throughout felt gimmicky. While there were certainly a few intense scenes that made this film stand out from the others, I wish Ti West had taken more time to tell Maxine Minx’s story. Because, as it stands, MaXXXine is a scattered afterthought of what should have been one iconic character’s final swan song.
