(Image credit: A24, Universal Pictures)
“A B-movie with A ideas” is how director Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki) describes her work on horror sequel “The Puritan II” in “MaXXXine,” the third movie in Ti West’s “X” trilogy, and that description could easily apply to West’s horror series as a whole. Beginning with 2022’s “X” and continuing through its 2022 prequel “Pearl” and 2024 sequel “MaXXXine,” West and star Mia Goth created a franchise that has already cemented its place among horror classics, and all three movies can now be streamed on Hulu.I saw each film when it was initially released, but rewatching them all back-to-back recently made West’s achievement even more impressive, as he offers a master class in cinematic homage across three movies. Not only does he borrow from the rich history of horror, as might be expected, but also from the disparate sources of both classic Hollywood and vintage adult films, filtering all of those influences through his own unique sensibility and Goth’s mesmerizing screen presence.My favorite among the three films is still the first, “X,” but all of them have their unique strengths, and all are anchored by Goth’s indelible dual performance as two women who dream of stardom. While Pearl Douglas sublimates her showbiz failures into homicidal rampages that persist for decades, Maxine Minx refuses to let anyone get in the way of her rise to fame, even if that means resorting to violence. Both women are complex, fascinating figures who belong in the horror pantheon.‘X’ sets the stage for a brilliant trilogyA newspaper headline in “MaXXXine” refers to the events of “X” as “The Texas Porn Star Massacre,” and West is clearly paying homage to Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” with a movie set in Texas in 1979, just a few years after the release of Hooper’s slasher classic. There’s more to “X” than just a tribute to a genre landmark, though, and West puts his own stamp on the slasher movie while also delivering a compelling period piece set during a pivotal period in the evolution of adult film.Maxine is just one part of a small crew who arrive at a remote farm owned by Pearl and her husband Howard (Stephen Ure) to film a porn movie called “The Farmer’s Daughters.” Maxine’s fiancé Wayne Gilroy (Martin Henderson) is the owner of the strip club where she performs, and also an aspiring producer with big dreams about porn’s commercial potential. Director RJ Nichols (Owen Campbell) wants to create something more artistic, and Maxine doesn’t care either way, as long as it’s a stepping stone on her way to stardom.
