MaXXXine is a weak finale to Ti West’s admirable ‘X’ series: Film review

West then delivered in the same year the equally good, if not better, Pearl, a prequel focusing on a young version of the granny killer in X, played by his muse, Mia Goth.

She also starred as the original character in an impressive makeup transformation, as well as the film's lead and final girl, Maxine.

Fast forward to 2024, and West’s third installment in the series is set after the events of X, following Maxine as she travels to Tinseltown, abandoning porn to have a go at making it big as an actress in the horror market.

After surviving the grisly events on the farm, Maxine storms onto the Hollywood scene with big tough girl attitude, most evident in when she crushes a Buster Keaton impersonator’s testicles after he draws a knife upon her in an alleyway.

Maxine keeps up this hostile guard throughout her journey as the night stalker serial killer roams in 1985 LA while also having to deal with a private investigator played by Kevin Bacon who’s desperate to link her connection with the murders that took place in X.

Although there seems to be plenty going on here in the story, none of it meets the same engagement that West provided the audience with the previous two installments.

X was exciting and fresh. Pearl was a fascinating character study. MaXXXine leaves you feeling somewhat flaccid.

The stakes may be high for Goth’s character with a persistent Kevin Bacon on her tail and her friends being hacked off by a mysterious killer, but none of it feels threatening or interesting.

You’re not locked into the mystery West sets up, nor are you enthralled by the violence from the giallo-inspired killer, captured as if Italian horror maestro Dario Argento was behind the camera.

Almost everything in MaXXXine feels administered on a low dose. The film leads to a conclusion that, while creative, is delivered in an unrewarding manner.

However, there is some strength to be found. West has included a fair dosage of references ranging from real-life to cinematic.

You have the night stalker scare unfolding in the background as well as the moral panic amongst religious groups' reaction to horror cinema.

The inclusion of the Bates Motel set from Psycho II was the strongest and most creative reference point as Maxine sees the ghost of Pearl standing at the window where we first laid eyes on Norma Bates all those years ago.

Maxine has several flashbacks of the events that took place on the farm which was a welcome and needed addition to the mediocrity taking place in the present.

There’s a great scene where a makeup artist leaves a head mold to set on Maxine, left alone paralysed as her hauntings torment her as the clay drips from her face.

MaXXXine is not a bad film, nor is it good. It feels like West went in a direction with this particular story that was too big, abandoning the conciseness of the former two films.

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Although a higher budget and more ambitious ideas are evident in this instalment, the outcome is much weaker than the previous two great tales set on the farm.

West has teased that there could be a fourth entry to continue the X story.

Continuing with a project he’s worked on for over four years straight seems doubtful to me, as with this entry, it's now tiring for the audience, never mind the filmmaker.

MaXXXine is where West has run out of juice. He needs to move on to fresh ideas before we move on from him.