Triple X Factor: A Review of Maxxxine

Illustration by Jordan Wolfanger

The wait is finally over for the third and (possibly) final movie in the X series by Ti West. SCAD students are certainly familiar with this series as both Jenna Ortega and Mia Goth visited our city of Savannah at the annual Film Fest in 2022 to promote this new horror movie. X came out first in 2022 and was shortly followed by the prequel Pearl in the same year. X was critically acclaimed with a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and Pearl followed with a 92%. Mia Goth stuns in these films as she plays both Pearl and Maxine. As someone with a poster of Pearl in my dorm, I was excited, to say the least, for the new sequel Maxxxine that came out this summer. Upon seeing it in theaters with my popcorn and cookie dough bites, I was a little let down. Here’s why:

I think that the filmmakers intended to combine the styles of Pearl and of X together in this movie but the attempt made for a clunky pace. Pearl is a physiological character study with a slower pace that focuses on the character rather than big events. X follows a more slasher horror movie style with the emphasis being on the events happening and the big bad villains. Maxxxine attempted to follow Maxine as a character study but then also gave the style of an 80s slasher. Because of the attempt to combine these  styles of film, the movie felt slow. Because I was anticipating a slasher film, parts where the film acted as a character study just felt slow and like they were taking away from the big plot of the villain. I wish that the filmmakers would have stuck to a character study film following Maxxxine rather than trying to throw in a slasher plot line as well. This would have made for a better film and would have cemented Maxxxine as a more iconic character. After seeing the film, I still think Pearl is the most iconic character to come from the series.

Another disappointment I had from the film was the big bag villain. This is a big spoiler here so you’ve been warned! I felt like her dad being the murderer all along was very predictable and a bit of a let down. It seemed like the easy way out in this situation. I also was unhappy with how the climax of the movie happened. We’ve seen Maxxxine completely escape a murder farm and defend herself against men in the alleyways but for this final scene, she essentially did nothing. It was all the cops that took down her dad besides that final blow to his head. It also seemed as though he was very easily taken out even though he is supposed to be this big bad villain the whole film. This disappointed me due to the ending feeling rushed and not satisfying.

With all this being said, I still think this movie was worth watching if you’ve seen the other movies. The gore was on par with the other two films and the aesthetics created in the film were iconic. There are certain scenes throughout the film that really shine and are worth seeing. I think Maxxxine finally getting her fame was satisfying to see at the end, especially with the theme of reaching fame being so present in all three films. 

Presently, Maxxxine has a 74% on Rotten Tomatoes. Though it isn’t up there with its sister films, it is still doing great all things considered. I think if I were to not compare this movie to the others, I may have a different opinion on it, but side by side it’s hard not to see its flaws.

Though Maxxxine let me down a little bit, I think I’m gonna rewatch Pearl for the 20th time this year. What can I say…she’s a star!!