In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.

The third movie in Ti West’s ‘X’ horror movie trilogy is ‘MaXXXine’, a sequel to the first movie (‘X’) in the series and following on from the prequel ‘Pearl’. It was originally intended as the final movie in the series, however it now looks likely that West will make a further movie in this ‘universe’. In the case of ‘MaXXXine’ we now join the titular character in 1980s Los Angeles, following on from her escape from the massacre in rural Texas in ‘X’, as she tries to find fame in Hollywood. She’s still working in the adult entertainment business, but she has ambitions to break into ‘straight’ acting and early on, she gets her big break in a horror sequel from acclaimed director Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki).

This is against a backdrop of the serial killer known as ‘The Night Stalker’ operating, who may or may not also be the mysterious killer who starts targeting Maxine and her friends in the adult entertainment business, with Maxine’s past also playing a part in the unfolding violence. These movies have really just been a showcase for the talents of Mia Goth and she’s brilliant again here, nailing a more confident outward take on Maxine while internalising the demons driven out of her experiences in Texas. From a directing standpoint, West has captured the look and feel of the 1980s superbly, with a vibrant colour palette and era appropriate soundtrack, and it’s a fun movie to hang out with. In terms of the story, West teases out an intriguing mystery and Kevin Bacon is especially good as a sleazy PI on Maxine’s trail, but I did feel the way the story unfolded doesn’t quite deliver the payoff I was hoping for, which meant the movie didn’t quite hit the heights of ‘X’ for me.

‘MaXXXine’ is a stylish thriller with an excellent Mia Goth at its heart again, and it concludes (although it won’t!) a fun trilogy of slasher movies that have both paid tribute to and built on the legacy of the horror subgenre.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Ti West

Starring: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito and Kevin Bacon

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt22048412/