As Mia Goth and filmmaker Ti West walked the red carpet this week for the premiere of “MaXXXine,” the final installment of the pair’s buzzy horror trilogy, a group of hired “protesters” stood outside the TCL Chinese Theatre chanting and holding signs with messages like “Horror is not art” and “Hollywood is Satan’s playground.”
The marketing stunt was an homage to the movie’s backdrop against the satanic panic and censorship wars of the 1980s. But, like the movie, it was also a commentary on what society considers trashy or tasteless and an airing of grievances about sustained sentiments toward one of the most polarizing genres of film.
