Theatrical Review: Ti West’s MAXXXINE Brings Us Back to the Dirty Streets of Gen X’s Hollywood, and It’s Delightful

Ti West’s MAXXXINE Brings Us Back to the Dirty Streets of Gen X’s Hollywood, and It’s Delightful

Confession: I haven’t seen a movie in the theater since CATS, just before the pandemic hit. If I had known it would be the last movie I’d see in a theater, I would have chosen more wisely. Nevertheless, ever since lockdown, I have gotten my movie fix through streaming and VR and went back into the post-pandemic world without missing the cinema experience.

And then I saw an ad for Maxxxine.

I consider Ti West’s X and Pearl to be delightful love letters to the horror genre with stellar performances and amazing retro style. For a Gen-Xer like me, I think of West as the next generation’s Quentin Tarantino. In a good way. In a way that through his use of mildly addictive storytelling, we find ourselves looking up who influenced him from Hitchcock to Sirk.

When I learned the third installation Maxxxine would be in theaters and the ads were giving too much away, I ended my cinematic reclusivity and headed to the popcorn stand.    

I fell in love with Ti West’s style when I saw The Sacrament. Watching Gene Jones as Father have a death grip in each scene felt more like watching live theater than a horror film. The story treading insanely close to dark, real-life moments was uncomfortable, but I saw how that, along with West’s intimate dialogue, immersed me so deeply into the story. I felt like I had found a way to explore the humanity of evil people while not forgiving nor softening the evil. It showed me that real-life villains are so much more terrifying than any monster.

Pearl is, in many ways, a feminine reflection of the themes in The Sacrament – chaotic, evil desire for power in a realistic world done in a realistic way. The pursuit of power over people through fame in one and the pursuit of power over people in the other through manipulation.

Maybe because of The Sacrament and its use of VICE and the Jonestown Massacre, I was expecting the Night Stalker storyline to be more seamlessly woven in. And I’m going to do a bit of a spoiler here because, unlike me, I’m assuming the mention of a real serial killer in a horror film is turning off some people. But Richard Ramirez does not make a cameo. It is just an emotional backdrop. Those of us who were teens and young adults in Southern California at that time had a very real fear of the dark and the film utilizes that. It uses the air of a world where a serial killer is just another danger in a world of dangers. Ethically, I find relief in that.  As a writer, I feel like Ti West could have explored more and still stayed within a positive moral scope.

Another issue I’m mulling over is the ending. It did not grab me like the ending of the other two films. Part of it seemed on purpose, embracing the 80’s thriller endings that always seemed rushed and rewritten and looping back to a forgotten early scene. But as the days passed, I found myself forgiving the issues, seeing the rationale, and embracing the experience as a whole.

Up to the day I saw Maxxxine, I didn’t miss the cinema experience because it had been some time since I had a truly enjoyable one. I can absorb the storytelling at my pace at home. In a theater, I am thrown into the story at the filmmaker’s pace and it may not match with my overactive brain. But this film reminded me what I love about sitting in a dark theater.

In a theater, I love films that make me laugh out loud, especially when I hear complete strangers laughing with me. I love standing up at the end of the film and looking around to see the audience reactions, compare them to my own, nod in solidarity with someone who exudes the same reaction as me. Ask me about my Black Panther experience and the little boy sitting next to me. I love telling that story. In fact, aside from the film festival world leading up to the pandemic, Black Panther may have been my most recent truly cinematic “stand up and cheer” film.  And I got that with Maxxxine.

In my opinion, Ti West’s Maxxxine is Roger Corman grit with Shakespearean characters and that is exactly how I like my horror. And I will write odes to Mia Goth until my last breath. That woman has resurrected horror for me. Ti West is great with his writing, intelligent monologue creation and impeccable retro scenes. But Mia Goth. Oh, stunning, It factor Mia Goth truly brings it all to life. I welcome nightmares of her. I will go back to sleep to run from her.

Final note. Is this a woman’s story told from a man’s point of view? Yes. And i’m okay with that. I want to see more of that done well. And there’s something empowering beyond the “final girl feminism” that is found in many horror films. In fact, I’ll hold my keys between my fingers with a little more pep now.  I would put this film, and definitely this trilogy as a match with films like Ginger Snaps, Carrie, and Jennifer’s Body. The woman is the monster as much as the hero and that’s where all the interesting stuff happens.

For me, of the three films, Pearl is head and shoulders above the other two. I think West allowed himself to create a villain you may not root for, but you have horror fun with her wins, even if it is to chop up an innocent person. But Maxxxine was still exciting to watch in the dark. And it has rekindled my love for the cinema.

Next week: Longlegs.

Ti West’s MAXXXINE Brings Us Back to the Dirty Streets of Gen X’s Hollywood, and It’s Delightful