My Corner

“I will not accept a life I do not deserve!”

Mia Goth exclaimed first in the 2022 film X by Ti West. With that line, Maxine Minx burned herself into horror iconography, and her instant legion of fans begged for more. While I was initially skeptical of the idea of a trilogy, Pearl won me over so completely that all doubts vanished. But now, at the final chapter, MaXXXine, while Maxine may finally get the life she deserves, it’s a shame we didn’t get the movie we deserved.

Set in 1985, MaXXXine follows Maxine’s attempt to break into the mainstream after surviving the bloody events of X. She has left the farm behind and landed in Los Angeles, chasing Hollywood stardom with the same grit and delusion that once got her out of a bloodbath alive. The city, though, in all its glittering glory, becomes a character of its own. As The Night Stalker prowls the streets, censorship crusades target horror films, leaving Maxine to walk the tightrope between exploitation and opportunity.

Goth is still electric. When Maxine walks into an audition for a horror sequel called The Puritan II, the camera holds her in a sun-bleached long take as she glides across the soundstage in high-waisted jeans. Oozing confidence, Goth makes you believe, as her character does, that this girl is a star.

Unfortunately, as the plot thickens, Maxine becomes uncharacteristically passive. Gone is the sharp-tongued, ball-busting Southern drawl that made fans fall in love with her. In fact, even as detectives close in and women start turning up dead, Maxine drifts through the story as an observer rather than a force of survival. For a character once so ferociously driven, this dimming of her power feels like a betrayal.

It doesn’t help that the story, while layered with film references and mood, never settles into a satisfying rhythm. West recreates 1980s Hollywood with precision, from the studio backlots to the synth-heavy score to the dirty glam of VHS-era horror. But the plot meanders, and the tension never quite lands. Even the big reveal, which should feel seismic, barely registers.

Still, there are gems to be found beneath the grime. Elizabeth Debicki is a standout, bringing icy charisma and sly authority to her role as a horror director who just might be Maxine’s ticket to legitimacy. The soundtrack is impeccable, from ZZ Top to New Order. Ti West clearly came to play with a unique vision, even if the story was weak.

By the end, MaXXXine lacks the nuance and emotional charge that made X and Pearl so compelling. The joy of watching Maxine finally achieve her lifelong dream, the horror of what it cost her, and the tragedy of everything she lost along the way all land with a strangely muted thud. Perhaps West is trying to suggest that fame inevitably dims even the brightest flame. But when your lead actress is burning with that much fire, why force her to play it cold?

Maxine Minx deserved a legacy-defining finale. Instead, she gets a whisper where there should have been a scream.