Salvadora’s review published on Letterboxd:
I just never want it to end
I'm splitting this review into a longer non-spoiler section and a short section with spoilers, there will be plenty of warning so don't worry.
MaXXXine is the perfect end to the X trilogy. This takes inspiration from a lot of gialli for the style and feels Scream 3-esque with the amazing set pieces and Hollywood murders. Specifically, this feels very much like a Lucio Fulci film, The New York Ripper had a heavy influence on this clearly. In some of the cinematography, I saw bits of The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, which was great to see. Giallo is my favorite genre so of course I loved this aspect.
The score and soundtrack blew me away. Again reminiscent of giallo, the score was hauntingly beautiful. The soundtrack was iconic on its own, full of 80s gems. Every sing used, whether from the score or soundtrack, was nothing short of perfect for whatever scene it was in.
The direction was incredible. The cinematography, use of some long takes, and lighting all blew me away. Ti West knows how to create a hyper-stylized slasher, these aspects almost in the vein of Argento's masterpiece Tenebre .
Mia Goth was once again phenomenal. The other actors were great too, don't get me wrong, but she was the standout. Kevin Bacon and Lily Collins in particular gave inspired performances and Sophie Thatcher's cameo was great to see. Additionally, Elizabeth Debecki was great as the director.
When it was discovered that the film utilized the Night Stalker, there was some controversy, but I think it was done very well and not without a lot significance (more about this in the spoiler section).
I adored how Maxine's trauma from the first film was explored as well.
One last thing to note is the use of Hollywood, the set pieces were incredible. From Psycho locations to the Hollywood sign, this made the most of its location.
MaXXXine is the third perfect film in the X trilogy, but due to its giallo roots, parts reminiscent of my favorite film (Scream 3), and the use of another one of my favorites (Psycho), this is jumping straight into my top 4 (replacing Pearl which replaced X after my recent rewatches), is movie of the year, and is possibly the best yet.
****SPOILERS BELOW*******
There's a lot I couldn't touch on above without spoilers, so I'll do that here.
First, the Scream 3 comparisons weren't obvious to me until the 3rd act. The long lost relative as a killer in a Hollywood mansion is clearly Scream 3 inspired.
About the killer, I love the reveal of her father. Simon Crast gave an incredible, crazed performance. During the film, personally, I was hoping Lily Collins' character would be the killer with a grand monologue and all, but what we got made so much more sense. This makes the first film even more impactful in many ways. It's a beautiful and fitting way to wrap up the trilogy. I won't lie, I did suspect this at a few points during the film (namely when Maxine meets Kevin Bacin's character), but it was still an amazing reveal that I thought the movie wouldn't go to.
I don't hold previous expectations against a film, bur I will say I expected a bit more killings than we got (this makes sense with the killer being her father though). The standout scene for me was the murder at the video store, everything about that was perfect. From the way it was shot to the effects... *chefs kiss*.
Something a bit jarring for me was seeing Maxine kill the private detective. Looking back it makes sense, but that was shocking. The way it was done was perfect, the hydraulic press was so unique and also somewhat disturbing to watch. But it makes so much sense that she'd be able to do this after her trauma at the farm.
The film user the Night Stalker as I predicted, the killer using him to cover his murders, but it was much more significant than I realized. The reveal that it wasn't some Satanist, but extremist Christians is far too relevant in our society (not saying I support Satanists btw of that's how you took that). The extreme Christians create evils to ppint at to cover their actions both in the film and in reality.
Also, shoutout to the very in topic name of The Puritan II that she stars in, since her father is doing pretty much a modern day witch hunt.
ALSO, Maxine smashing that guy's balls was so amazing and so deserved and such pure queen shit.
I'm sure I have more to say, but it's late and I've already written this much so I'm done.
I'm not sure what to say to end this other than "I will not accept a life I do not deserve"
