MaXXXine film review: this is a bloodbath to the maxxx

When British actor Mia Goth is on the screen, she commands attention. As someone puts it, she’s ‘a powder keg ready to blow’.

Mia Goth in Maxxxine.

MaXXXine is the third instalment in a slasher movie series written and directed by American filmmaker Ti West, following X and its prequel Pearl, each released in 2022.

Its strength is the star of each film, British actor Mia Goth. When she is on the screen she commands attention. As someone puts it, she’s “a powder keg ready to blow”.

It’s 1985 and she is Maxine Minx, an adult movie actor who is about to turn 33. Knowing “porn can only take me so far”, she auditions for a “straight picture”, a horror movie directed by British director Elizabeth Bender (Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki, who is impressive).

The audition scene shows what a fine actor Goth is. Maxine lands the role and declares she’ll soon be as famous as Brooke Shields. Yet it’s the director who is nearer the truth when she tells Maxine they will prove the critics wrong “in a beautiful f..king bloodbath”.

Hollywood is in a state of heightened fear because of a serial killer dubbed the Night Stalker. Two homicide detectives (Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale) think Maxine is a person of interest.

When someone starts following Maxine, the question is whether it’s the Night Stalker. There is also a private detective (Kevin Bacon) on her tail. He knows about her Texas past (as seen in X).

This set-up – Hollywood, the 1980s, the Night Stalker (in real life he was Richard Ramirez) – is accomplished but what unfolds is less so. The plot moves from suspense to slash and shoot, and when the twist comes it’s a bit predictable.

MaXXXine (MA15+)

104 minutes
In cinemas

★★½