In a conclusion to what has proven to be one of the most singularly peculiar, and some would argue wholeheartedly unnecessary, film trilogies in recent memory, Ti West has produced MaXXXine, a film that brings an end to a series of films in which the self-styled 21st-century schlockmaster experiments with different styles of horror, following the traditional slasher horror of X and the Technicolor nightmare that was Pearl with a Giallo inspired story of the protagonist of the first film attempting to leave her past as an adult film star behind, entering into mainstream Hollywood and in the process unearthing a sinister conspiracy in which a string of murders are being committed, all of the victims being traced back to her in some way, leading to a rise in paranoia as she desperately attempts to determine what the origins of these brutal crimes are, and how they relate to her attempts to make it in the industry. West is a fascinating filmmaker, someone who may not always make good films, but constantly proves to have the ambition and grit to earn the benefit of the doubt, at least enough to stir our interest in seeing whatever bizarre concoction he has prepared for us, but unfortunately much like the two previous films, MaXXXine is slightly lacklustre in a way that doesn’t feel organic or meaningful in any real way, even though it offers enough thrills to be partially entertaining, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome in the same way as the first film in the trilogy, which was a decidedly more unpleasant affair in every way. Far from as effective as it could have been, but still entertaining enough to keep us engaged for the duration of time we spend with it, MaXXXine is squarely a middle-of-the-road offering, a film in which we see West attempting a different style of storytelling, and not necessarily achieving the same level of success he found with Pearl (a genuinely good film), but still offering enough solid entertainment to at least keep the audience invested, for whatever it ends up being worth.

The main attraction of West’s trilogy has been that each of the three films is set in a different era, and reflects films that were common during that period, focusing on various genres, with a particular focus on horror and the way it has changed over the decades. MaXXXine is his attempt at a hardboiled crime thriller, with major overtures of the aforementioned giallo and traditional slasher horror, albeit the kind produced during that brief moment in which the genre focused on the urban space more than the rural, which is where it was most prominent in its earlier years. This is all just a way of discussing the one truly interesting elements of these films, which is that they essentially serve as West’s efforts to pay tribute to the medium he adores, and specifically the genre to which he has seemingly dedicated his career. There is something truly charming (and perhaps even admirable in most instances) about an established director who is insistent on making their influences known, and this is why we cannot ever entirely discount West as a filmmaker with value. Unfortunately, it becomes clear that he is perhaps too enamoured with the genre and its history to be entirely effective – it has its references in order, but it lacks substance, which becomes quite a problem, especially considering it is attempting to conclude a trilogy (in which everything needs to be tied together, both narratively and thematically), and as a film on its own, since it leads us down a path with the promise of being daring and invigorating, but falls short when it comes to actually doing something valuable with these homages. West is not the first filmmaker to demonstrate this artistic flaw, so it’s not fair to suggest it is something that could have easily been avoided, but his attempts to capture the texture of the 1980s begin to fall short after some time, becoming nothing more than a few well-crafted pastiches to a previous era in which very little impact is actually made, and the stylish elements just cannot support the weight of the film when it lacks narrative cohesion.

One of the sincere merits of this trilogy is that it has allowed audiences to become more acquainted with the wonderful talents of Mia Goth, who has been acting for a while and has always delivered terrific performances, but has not received the attention she deserves until recently. These films place her front and centre, a smart decision considering her greatest asset is a sense of genuine versatility and a willingness to do whatever is necessary to bring these characters to life. MaXXXine continues this trend, and much like Pearl, Goth commits wholeheartedly to exploring this character and each of her intricate traits. She had previously played her in X, but that was far more of an ensemble piece (as well as one where most of the focus was on the novelty of her dual performances), whereas this gives her more space to develop the part. She’s objectively wonderful here, with the film itself being too limited when it comes to allowing her the space to grow and develop the part as far as it could have done with a more consistent perspective. The cast is filled with several other interesting performances that may not be as distinct, but still contribute something meaningful where it was required – Elizabeth Debicki is perhaps the only other person who feels like she is given the space to fully craft her character, playing the part of a film director trying to make her own mark in an industry defined by men, which is something over which she and the titular protagonist bond. Giancarlo Esposito is given the rare opportunity to play a more eccentric character, rather than the stiff, foreboding patricians into which he’s seemingly fallen over the years. Kevin Bacon goes all-in as an outrageous private detective, showing his comedic skills in a way that is entertaining but unfortunately one-dimensional (and his premature fate means we were robbed of a potentially more rivetting development of an interesting character), the same being true for a number of other great supporting performers who have good parts but are dismissed far too early, leaving us to wonder how much better the film could have been had it been aware of the potential these characters had. It’s a solid cast, and Goth is a terrific lead, but considering how it was promoted around its cast beyond Goth, it’s difficult to not feel somewhat disappointed that it doesn’t do too much to develop its characters outside of the lead.

Beyond West being enamoured with the past, MaXXXine does feature a very clear attempt at capturing some deeper meaning, which he unfortunately does botch through not being able to find the right approach. The three films in this trilogy are designed to have an accumulative effect, with small cues in the first being gradually developed over the course of the trilogy, before coming to their conclusion here. Logically, this sounds promising, until we realize that this ambitious approach is almost entirely botched by the surrounding execution. Throughout this film, West touches on themes of fame and stardom, crafting what he imagines is a smart and insightful Hollywood satire, looking at the decadent, lavish world of the film industry in the 1980s (and to his credit, he does to relatively well in capturing that specific element, although it is very superficial), but when it comes time to put it into practice, it immediately begins to fall apart, especially when he introduces the theme of conservative values and how they have always been in conflict with the industry and its libertine nature. The tug-of-war between decency and stardom (which West argues are somehow mutually exclusive) persists throughout the film, but it comes across as extremely shallow since he doesn’t have anything to say – outside of the constant refrain of “I will not accept a life I do not deserve”, an objectively interesting concept, there is nothing particularly daring about this film, and while it does introduce several very promising ideas, absolutely none of them are followed through in the way that we would hope, leading to quite a hollow experience in which it seems like something valuable is being said, but instead we are just given a bundle of lacklustre moments tied together by a very obvious message that is neither strong nor interesting enough to sustain the film’s very ambitious ideas. West has the right ideas, but he doesn’t have the narrative prowess to tie them all together, which is quite a problem when it comes time to putting these ideas into practice and delivering what we would expect from this film.

By the end of MaXXXine, we are struck by the realization that this is a profoundly and undeniably tacky film. Yet, this did not necessarily have to be a shortcoming, and in the hands of another filmmaker, or even still retaining West at the helm, but requiring him to develop its themes and storyline to be more than just a thin pastiche of a genre he appreciates and adores, but seems unable to entirely honour in the way that seemed entirely within his capabilities, just requiring some additional work. Taken for what it is, MaXXXine is relatively entertaining and has its moments of slight ingenuity – it is very stylish and has some genuine fantastic setpieces (including an unforgettable use of the Universal Studios lot, particularly the set used for Psycho – but this has its own unintended consequences, since it not only makes his intentions blatantly obvious, but reminds us of better horror films and how they function, which West fails to achieve), and the story itself has a lot of value. It’s the execution that feels lacklustre – the themes are too limited to be entirely effective, the message is heavy-handed and forced onto the audience, never really achieving anything particularly valuable outside of its overarching narrative, which becomes somewhat frustrating after some time, leading to us wonder just how far the film was willing to go before it actually committed to following through on its ambitious ideas. It remains to be seen whether or not we’ll revisit this world – West has suggested we may return in a fourth film (even if it was designed as a trilogy), but based on what we have seen, a lot of work would be required, especially in realizing the underlying concepts. MaXXXine is only serviceable at the best of times when it comes to realizing its ambitions, and it never really achieves much value outside of its visual elements and a couple of strong performances. It is mainly a bundle of missed opportunities, which is unfortunately par for the course, and we can’t help but wonder what could have come of this film with a more consistent approach and a stronger approach to both its concepts and execution, which could have potentially resulted in a more intriguing and impactful work.