As someone who is always in the mood for horror, I jumped at the chance to watch Maxxxine. It looked to be interesting to say the least. And if it happened to disappoint, I felt it was worth the risk since it’s relatively short and appeared to have the potential to at least be unique.
With this being the third film with Maxxxine as the main character, it’s best to know a bit about the previous two films beforehand. We’re still following this traumatized actress who is now attempting to go from the adult industry to the bright lights of Hollywood. While that change can be difficult enough, her demons appear to be following her and aren’t willing to let her move on from her past.
There are certain callbacks to characters and moments that took place in the films that may leave you somewhat confused if you haven’t seen them beforehand. Outside of that, it’s a pretty easy movie to follow. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t have changed some things in the story. There are some elements that I would have completely removed since they didn’t serve any real purpose.
You may also go into this expecting a genuine horror movie experience, but you won’t get it here. In reality, Maxxxine is more of a thriller with slasher elements. At no point do you ever feel as if this movie is out to scare you. Heading into this knowing this ahead of time will make Maxxxine more tolerable.
With its slasher elements, there’s a great deal of blood and gore here. At times, it feels as if it’s going to go over the top, but it never quite reaches that level. Some will definitely disagree with that sentiment since it does get rather gruesome on multiple occasions. I guess because that stuff is spread out enough, it doesn’t feel as if it’s trying to do too much.
In spite of its lack of actual horror, I found much of this to be entertaining. Much of that is due to many of the characters. Some of them didn’t get a ton of screen time, but they managed to leave a positive impression in the short amount of time they were given.
As the lead and titular character, Mia Goth is obviously important and does well, but she isn’t asked to completely carry the film. These other actors come in to make things fun as we’ll follow the journey of the protagonist. In short, mostly everyone does their job and contributes positively.
Maxxxine is certainly a watchable film. I think those who have an idea of what to expect and are interested in this kind of thing will likely leave pleased with what they get for the most part. It’s not a game changer, but it has legitimate entertainment value.
Others may feel as if it’s not as scary as it should be while some will complain about some of the excessive content included in the story. Regardless of where you end up, I don’t think you’ll spend too much time dwelling on this movie as time goes by.
Director:
Ti West
Writer:
Ti West
Cast:
Mia Goth
Elizabeth Debicki
Moses Sumney
Michelle Monaghan
Bobby Cannavale
Halsey
Kevin Bacon
Giancarlo Esposito
Lily Collins
Rating: R
Film Length: 104 Minutes
Release Date: July 5, 2024
