Adult film star Maxine is wanting to leave the adult film industry for the glitz and glamour of more legitimate movies in 80s Hollywood. But as things start coming into place a killer lurks in the darkness turning the silver screen red.
From director and writer Ti West this sequel to both ‘X’ (2022) and prequel ‘Pearl’ (2022) this movie follows on with lots of raunchiness, psychological trauma and blood, lots and lots of blood. As someone who normally doesn’t gravitate towards horror movies this was a pleasant surprise. When I first saw the trailer I had no idea this was a sequel. It seemed to be a stand alone movie that had an interesting premise. An actress in 80s Hollywood hunts a killer. It fulfils this pledge and then some.
Upon realising this was a sequel and that there were two movies to proceed this we did a marathon to get to this particular movie. Although not 100% necessary I would recommend this as it does give some context to the overall arching plot. Since the first two movies in this series have become somewhat cult favourites this third instalment was able to garner much more star power when it came to its cast this time around.
The movie is of course stars the amazing performance of Mia Goth who is reprising her role as Maxine Minx. She is a tough adult film star who sees the writing on the wall that she is getting older and needs to move to a more secure film industry. Her opening scene and monologue is an amazing example of her unbreaking character when on screen. Her first film opportunity is in a slasher horror movie being directed by Elizabeth Debicki’s character when things start to go wrong.
When Kevin Bacon’s character John Labat turns up threatening to derail her plans with proof of her dark past from her time in the previous movie ‘X’ her agent played by Giancarlo Esposito will have to help her juggle career, crimes and killers in a thoroughly enjoyable way. With a gun in her purse and drugs anywhere she looks, Maxine is ready to fight for her new life.
Ti West has managed to frame this movie with a very retro feel with the backdrop of satanic panic playing its own part in the overall story of this movie. It’s a style that’s become very popular with shows like ‘Stranger Things’ rocketing up the streaming charts. It makes the scenery and interactions with the environment seem more interesting and really did capture my attention.
The movie really does show a version of the dark side of 80s Hollywood with a heavy leaning towards drug use, violence and strong sexual themes. It’s a great window into the lives of people trying to claw their way into Hollywood and out of their previous lives. This partnered with the danger of a killer on the loose stalking the alleys and homes kept me on the edge of my seat.
As a stand alone movie i can still recommend this but i do thoroughly recommend watching all three in the order released to get the full picture of all the goings on that are referenced in this movie.
Author: Matt, Web Sales
