MAXXXINE

The final film in writer/director Ti West's X trilogy, we pickup Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) in Hollywood, circa 1985. She's made a name for herself as an adult entertainment actress who's now trying to transition into mainstream films with THE PURITAN II, a sequel to a recent modest horror film. However, like any good trilogy, this one goes back to the original to right a wrong while also informing the audience about something they originally thought to be true, wasn't. West does a fantastic job with the nostalgia here from the hair/makeup, costumes, and music as a lot of care and respect are shown for the time period. In addition, this is the best film of the trilogy IMO and these 3 films have been a wonderful vehicle for Goth to showcase her talents. Lately she's been growing with every outing and this could be her best performance to date. Maxine is fearless, ambitious, powerful, and self-confident and Goth does such a wonderful job at taking that from page to picture. The story also incorporates the real life serial killer, The Night Stalker, as friends of Maxine's continue turning up dead around her while the killer plays with her like an animal before devouring their food. I had such a great time with this and it's easily in my top 5 (maybe even top 3) films of 2024 so far. I enjoyed it so much, and even though there's no connection to it, I'd be down for a THE PURITAN spinoff much in the same fashion as Eli Roth/THANKSGIVING. 7.5/10