Mia Goth (left) and Halsey in “MaXXXine.”
Justin Lubin/Courtesy of A24
A glorious paean to the lurid sensuality and gory excesses of 1980s sexual exploitation and horror, MaXXXine completes Ti West’s star-studded trilogy for his fearless muse Mia Goth on a delightful note. Like his predecessors, X And pearl, it’s a joyful dive into retro cinema tropes with a vivid evocation of the era, this time with a luxury cast. As cool British filmmaker Elizabeth Debicki, who gives Goth’s Maxine Minx the chance to move from porn stardom to a more legitimate career, says of her feature project: “It’s a movie B with A ideas.”
This applies no less to West’s latest psychosexual chiller. Without ever neglecting the bloody, spilled viscera of textbook slasher horror, each of the three distinct but cohesive films (the writer-director hasn’t ruled out a fourth) doubles as an affectionate homage to the cinematic aesthetic of a particular era.
MaXXXine
The essential
Closes the trilogy in sleazy chic style.
Release date: Friday July 5
Casting: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon
Director-screenwriter: You West
Rated R, 1 hour 44 minutes
Unfolding in Chainsaw Massacre country with a touch of dark and dirty grindhouse, X tells the story of an amateur film crew shooting a porn film in the backwoods of the Lone Star State in the late ’70s, until their wilting Holy Roller hosts on a remote farm catch wind of what’s happening in the barn. pearl wound the clock back to 1918 to revisit the farmer’s wife – back when youth and beauty were on her side and her dreams of stardom still intact – blending the lush style of a mid-century melodrama with that of Technicolor musicals.
Goth did double duty Xplaying both Maxine, the adult film director’s girlfriend and star, and Pearl, the murderous witch. In the sequel, she steps into the shoes of young Pearl, who chafes at the restrictions imposed by her oppressive mother while longing for fame and discovering her voracious libido. At one memorable moment, she moves toward a scarecrow for sexual thrills, a scene typical of West’s penchant for winking callbacks, given that the pornographic opus of X was titled The Farmer’s Daughter.
The new opus, set in 1985, picks up Goth’s Maxine in her early thirties. She established herself as a bona fide star in the burgeoning video porn market, cruising around Hollywood in a convertible equipped with “MaXXXine” vanity plates, while having to supplement her adult film work with a peep show gig.
Borrowing from real history, a serial killer nicknamed Night Stalker terrorizes Los Angeles, preying on young women. But Maxine insists she can take care of herself, which she demonstrates by teaching a painful lesson to the testicles of a knifepoint mugger in Buster Keaton’s drag. “Forget it, Buster,” she told him, pulling out her gun.
The Night Stalker murders have fanned the flames of family values crusaders protesting the violence and pornography flooding the entertainment market, and West (who also edited) highlights this climate of moral hysteria by slipping in a quick clip of the leader of Twisted Sister, Dee Snider, arriving to testify before a Senate committee opposing music industry censorship.
The lure of celebrity and the delicate intersection between the carnal and the spiritual have been an undercurrent throughout the trilogy. It goes without saying that the black and white amateur film which serves as a prologue to MaXXXine – in which a young girl dances while her off-camera pastor father assures her that she will be the star of their church – will have horrible echoes of today. “I will not accept a life I do not deserve,” said the child, dutifully repeating his father’s credo.
The film proper begins as we watch from inside a dark soundstage as Maxine opens the doors and struts confidently beneath a voluminous cascade of feathered hair, poured into a backless top in light-wash denim. Matching acid and jeans with pointed heel boots. She is reading for the lead role in The Puritan 2a demonic possession thriller that ambitious director Liz Bender (Debicki) intends to serve as a springboard between video nasties and mainstream projects. Maxine also sees it as her crossover vehicle. Naturally, she nails the audition, cheerfully taunting the line of blondes outside that they’re wasting their time.
Liz demands Maxine’s full commitment, but that proves difficult when unwanted distractions keep popping up, including flashes in her head of traumatic memories. X memories.
Two of her friends from the porn world, Amber (Chloe Farnworth) and Tabby (Halsey), are last seen heading to a party in the Hollywood Hills, thrown by a mysterious producer. Maxine receives an anonymous video recording of disturbing violence, and two detectives, Williams (Michelle Monaghan) and Torres (Bobby Cannavale), begin to rely on her to share information as victims linked to her begin to multiply .
Worse still, sleazy Louisiana private detective John Labat (Kevin Bacon) becomes a nuisance, acting as mediator for an obscure client, initially seen only as a pair of hands clenched in black leather gloves. Maxine’s lawyer, Teddy (Giancarlo Esposito), proves useful in the fight against the parasites, leading to one of the most spectacular deaths in the trilogy. But Maxine’s fearlessness ultimately puts her in a precarious situation where she comes face to face with her past.
West’s perception of the time and place is impeccable, from the sleazy trash-flashy Hollywood Boulevard of that era, with its assortment of punks, freaks and celebrity impersonators, to the “Satanic Panic” » fire and brimstone of the insane climax.
There is humor in the use of famous landmarks, from the strategic action taking place around the Hollywood Sign to a splashy premiere at Mann’s Chinese Theatre, as it was then known; Psychology house still in disrepair on the backlot through a photo of Maxine’s boot crushing a cigarette on Walk of Fame star Theda Bara.
When two murder victims show up at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, a police officer informs Williams and Torres: “A few gay guys who were walking by Judy Garland’s grave found the bodies. “It’s one of many nuggets of dialogue reminiscent of the era, even if it’s historically inaccurate given that Garland’s remains weren’t moved there until 2017.
West’s genre skills are matched only by his penchant for the look and feel of the 1980s B-movie, an unmistakable benchmark that nevertheless transcends pastiche.
He benefits from invaluable assistance from trilogy director Eliot Rockett, who participates in some fascinating follow-up sequences, notably early on when Maxine gets out of her car to drive to a porn studio, taking a drag of Coke from a large jar cookies while preparing to shoot a naughty nurse. scene. Another great sequence shows Liz and Maxine cruising around the studio backlot on a golf cart, providing informal commentary on the blurred lines between reality and illusion in Hollywood. The atmosphere of the film oscillates between scorching daylight and grainy nightscapes, printed here and there with neon lights.
The deft deployment of wipes, split-screen, and aspect ratio switches also evoke this period, as do the tasteful production and costume design of Jason Kisvarday and Mari-An Ceo, respectively. Nostalgic fans will devour the tracks from the soundtrack, including tracks from ZZ Top, New Order, Judas Priest and Kim Carnes, as well as the essential synth-pop groove of Animotion’s “Obsession”. And Tyler Bates’ chilling score helps build the suspense.
The film gets a lot of juice from its ensemble cast. Debicki is no-BS authority and clear emotional detachment as a driven woman determined to make her mark in what is still a man’s world; Esposito, with a spectacular wig, is a shady operator who is paternally protective of his client; Monaghan and Cannavale establish a piquant dynamic between the law enforcement partners, with Williams the more intelligent and level-headed and the failed actor Torres the more brash; and Bacon bites into grimy, sweaty Labat with relish and a big N’Awlins drawl, sipping a Bloody Mary or downing a bottle of Pepto Bismol.
Halsey gives a good Debi Mazar in her brief turn, while Lily Collins is amusing as a North Yorkshire council estate transplant who got her break in the first Puritan In the film, musician-actor Moses Sumney has a laid-back appeal as Maxine’s friend from the video store downstairs, and Simon Prast gains momentum with a key role that’s best kept as a surprise.
Ultimately, of course, this is the Mia Goth show and fans wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a magnetic presence that reinforces her command as a new breed of scream queen, tough enough to dish out punishment and receive it.
In just two years, the actress and her director have concocted a highly entertaining slasher trilogy that nods to the past while striding forward into the meta-future, delightfully blending the quest for fame and allure of desire with a subversive vision. about female objectification and a surge of love for the profession of filmmaker. As Maxine prepares a line of coke with her SAG card, you might find yourself hoping we’re not done with her.