Back in 2022, filmmaker Ti West launched what would become a curious trilogy with X, a horror flick set in the 1970s. The next chapter offered a prequel, though, as 2022’s Pearl went back to 1918 and told the “origin story” for X’s “villain”.

With 2024’s MaXXXine, we find a proper continuation of the tale from X. This one moves into the 1980s and focuses on the lone survivor of the original film.

In 1979, Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) aspired to become a movie star, and in 1985, she enjoys fame – in the world of porn, that is. Maxine wants to move into mainstream films and she hopes to score a big role in a prominent horror sequel called The Puritan II.

However, as this occurs, a mysterious killer called “The Night Stalker” slays women in LA and perhaps will target Maxine. In addition, private investigator John Labat (Kevin Bacon) threatens to uncover sordid details of Maxine’s past that will damage her career – if she survives that long.

Given that I viewed X as self-indulgent and dull, I went into Pearl with low expectations. It surpassed those, but I still felt it seemed more like a stylistic experiment than an actual movie.

Obviously this meant I entered MaXXXine without great hopes West would finally produce an “X Trilogy” flick that satisfied me. That said, a few factors created some dreams it would fare better than its first two flicks.

The cast became the primary attraction, as it brings in a mix of famous folks. When X hit, Brittany Snow – part of the Pitch Perfect flicks – was the biggest star. That flick boasts Jenna Ortega as well, but she wasn’t a “name” yet then.

Pearl also came with a cast of not-so-known actors. MaXXXine changes this, as in addition to Bacon, it involves Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Monaghan, Giancarlo Esposito, Lily Collins, Bobby Cannavale and musician Halsey.

Does this move toward a more star-studded cast help MaXXXine deliver a superior film compared to its two predecessors? No, as it becomes another example of style over substance.

Though perhaps less so than the two prior movies, as West seems less hung up on his attempts to replicate the era’s cinema. To be sure, MaXXXine comes with definite stabs at the 1980s vibe.

However, these moments tend to crop up mainly during the movie’s early moments. West appears to get the “hey – it’s the 80s!” stuff out of his system pretty quickly, so while we find some of those affectations the rest of the way, these components come across as less pervasive.

Nonetheless, it appears West devoted most of his energy to 1980s callbacks and forgot to come up with an actual interesting story. MaXXXine casts a broad net that makes it scattered and ineffective.

We get a simply story at the core. The concept of Maxine – who we know to possess ruthlessness and the willingness to commit violence to survive – up against a serial killer feels like a good combination.

Instead, West leaves that theme on the shelf far too much of the time and bogs down MaXXXine with ancillary and unnecessary tangents. The entire subplot with the private detective could get cut out of the final film and not harm the movie at all, and it doesn’t become the only extraneous domain.

Though the film occasionally gives us glimpses of Maxine’s potential, too much of it makes her a dull and passive passenger. This feels like a major mistake, as I suspect fans want a badass Maxine who goes medieval on her tormentors.

Instead, Maxine feels more like a traditional horror movie victim too much of the time. Eventually she becomes more proactive, but just barely so.

This leads to a shockingly flat finale. Not only does the reveal of the Night Stalker prove less than thrilling, but also the Big Climax just lands with a thud.

Buried in this mess, MaXXXine could deliver a fun 80s thriller/horror pastiche. The end result seems feeble and forgettable, unfortunately.

MaXXXine appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Despite a mix of stylistic choices that impacted the visuals, this usually became a solid Dolby Vision image.

Given some blown-out shots, sharpness occasionally felt a bit fuzzy. However, those instances occurred due to photographic choices, and the majority of the flick came across as well-defined.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects arose, and I saw no edge haloes. Outside of fake “print flaws” that accompanied flashbacks, the movie lacked source defects.

Despite the film’s 1985 setting, the colors usually opted toward modern teal and amber, along with some heavy reds. The disc reproduced the hues as intended and HDR gave them some added pop.

Blacks seemed deep and dense, while shadows offered good clarity. HDR allowed whites and contrast greater impact. Again, the nature of the cinematography meant some visual inconsistencies, but the movie usually looked solid.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the movie’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack seemed suitable for the story. That said, one shouldn’t expect fireworks from it.

Much of the mix concentrated on general ambience. The track kicked to life a bit more during some of the violent scenes, but the audio largely preferred moody atmosphere and music.

Audio quality worked fine, with speech that came across as natural and concise. Music showed nice vivacity and range.

Effects boasted appealing accuracy, and when necessary, they packed a nice punch. Nothing here dazzled but the mix worked fine for the material.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both came with identical Atmos audio.

The Dolby Vision image boasted somewhat superior colors, blacks and delineation. However, the photographic choices didn’t often take full advantage of the native 4K source, so don’t expect a major upgrade.

The disc comes with a few video extras, and we open with The Belly of the Beast. It goes for nine minutes, 39 seconds and delivers info from producer Jacob Jaffke and actors Mia Goth, Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Debicki, Halsey, Giancarlo Esposito, Lily Collins, Moses Sumney and Michelle Monaghan.

“Belly” discusses the “X Trilogy”, cast and performances, and the work of writer/director Ti West. Expect a lot of happy talk and not much substance.

XXX Marks the Spot lasts 11 minutes, 21 seconds. It comes with notes from Goth, Bacon, Debicki, Monaghan, Jaffke, director of photography Eliot Rockett, and production designer Jason Kisvarday.

With “Spot”, we look at cinematic influences, attempts to reflect the 1980s setting, sets and locations. A few useful notes emerge, but much of “Spot” focuses on self-praise.

Next comes Hollywood Is a Killer. It spans eight minutes, 14 seconds and features Bacon, Monaghan, makeup designer Sarah Rubano, key prosthetics makeup artist Kevin Wagner, and SFX makeup designer Justin Raleigh.

Here we get thoughts about makeup and effects. We get a pretty informative overview from this brief program.

Finally, we locate a Q&A with Writer/Director Ti West. Shot after a screening at Alamo Drafthouse, moderator Jen Yamato chats with West over this 25-minute, 23-second reel.

West looks at the development of the X trilogy, story/characters, music and period details, cast and performances, influences and inspirations, and connected topics. West touches on the film well and makes me wish he'd recorded a commentary.

The disc concludes with both teaser and theatrical trailers for MaXXXine. Also from A24 brings ads for Pearl, X, Civil War and Talk to Me.

A second disc provides a Blu-ray copy of MaXXXine. It includes the same extras as the 4K.

Ti West’s “X Trilogy” ends on a sub-mediocre note with MaXXXine. Given I didn’t think much of the first two movies in the series, this doesn’t come as a major disappointment or surprise, but I nonetheless can’t find much in this meandering 1980s callback to endorse. The 4K UHD comes with largely positive picture and audio as well as a moderate mix of supplements. Ti West boasts talent but he doesn’t exhibit those skills with the forgettable MaXXXine.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of MAXXXINE