Director Ti West goes three for three, serving up a horribly watchable new episode in his outrageous black-comic franchise of aspirational horror porn, this time set in 80s Hollywood. Mia Goth returns triumphantly as Maxine, now known as adult movie star MaXXXine Minx, whose traumatic teen story was told in X from 2022 and its 2023 prequel Pearl. West mulches up a thick impasto of pulp, gore, filth and fear and gets away with some colossally self-aware scenes, including one in the Bates Motel set on the Universal studio lot, and one under the Hollywood sign; there is also some blue chip acting talent in the supporting roles.
The year is 1985 in sunny Los Angeles and the titles for this film are striped across the screen in Flashdance-type lettering, flickering a little at the edges as if being broadcast on live TV. Ronald Reagan is telling America its best days are by no means behind it; Frankie Goes to Hollywood and ZZ Top are on the turntable and at one cinema Jean-Luc Godard’s Hail Mary is evidently being shown for one night only. MaXXXine is now in her early 30s; a ruthless survivor and Ripleyesque careerist, she is determined to crown her work in porn with a crossover to horror, from where the further move into legitimate movie stardom is surely but a small step.
