Ti West directs Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki and Kevin Bacon in this erotic thriller where adult video sensation Maxine Minx tries to break into the Hollywood mainstream while her violent past is stalking her.

A “And then this happened” story. Lots of incident but not a particularly satisfying plot. The ending in particular lacks tension, action and agency for our coked up heroine. Instead of the pure splatter grinder of X’s finale, MaXXXine’s third act has a sense of “will this do” and then a meh gore gag. There is better stuff in the first half. A grimy neon resurrection of De Palma and Giallo that is truly heartfelt. Goth smashing her audition with composure giving way to near feral ambition. An icky sequence involving a gloopy head casting. As a closer to a great horror trilogy MaXXXine is a little haphazard and disappointing. But I would watch again for the always welcome Goth and the VHS sleaze era homages.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Pearl (2023)

You can follow me on Letterboxd here https://letterboxd.com/BobbyCarroll