NEW YORK (OSV News) — With the crimes of the Night Stalker looming in its background, the thriller “Maxxxine” (A24) offers moviegoers a seedy slice of 1980s Hollywood low life. As presented here, the film’s setting is neither a time nor a place in which viewers will want to immerse themselves.
Writer-director Ti West adds another sleazy chapter to his “X” franchise, which kicked off in 2022, by continuing to profile hard-driving porn star and would-be celebrity Maxine Minx (Mia Goth). As Maxine tries to break into the mainstream, she gains a mentor in Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki), the British helmer of the horror sequel in which she’s been cast.
At the same time, Maxine is forced to cope with the demands of John Labat (Kevin Bacon), the agent of an unknown blackmailer who has evidence of her criminal past. He lives to regret making her his adversary.
Amid both gory and sexual excess, West muses, in a muddled way, on what it takes to achieve success in Tinseltown as well as on the need for Maxine to adopt a no-holds-barred approach to defending herself. He also continues his attack on a wildly caricatured version of Evangelical Christianity, personified by Maxine’s minister dad, Ernest (Simon Prast).
By turns lurid, loopy and loathsome, West’s retrospective inspires revulsion rather than nostalgia.
The film contains grotesque bloody violence, strong sexual content, including brief graphic activity, rear and upper female nudity, drug use, a couple of profanities, considerable rough language and several crass terms. The OSV News classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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