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Sometimes I write these immediately after seeing a movie without reading others’ thoughts on it. Sometimes I don’t. When my partner and I were at dinner talking about Maxxxine right after seeing it, my main complaint was that Mia Goth was put into a role where she wasn’t running the show. What made Pearl so effective was Mia Goth unleashing her singular star power on the audience. Batshit crazy monologues accompanied by acts of B-movie inspired violence amounted to a very fun and memorable experience. So, I was excited for what Ti West had in store this go round.
Before writing this, I decided to read a few reviews on Maxxxine and it seems like a lot of viewers share my complaint about Goth and her character functioning as a more reactive force in the story. Much of what makes X and Pearl a good time at the cinema—the cheeky nods to horror classics (I enjoyed that Omen reference at the end), over-the-top and at times hilarious acts of violence, an undeniable filmmaking style that props up West’s ode to cinema writ large—but the choice to position Goth’s character as a potential victim within a serial killer plot is West’s fatal flaw in this third installment. Such a shame, because the opening scene signals just the opposite.
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