MAXXXINE (2024)
Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD
Label: Second Sight Films
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Cert. 18
Duration: 104 Minutes, 16 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (True HD 71), DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Ti West
Cast: Mia Goth, Kevin Bacon, Giancarlo Esposito, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Sophie Thatcher, Moses Sumney
Maxxxine (2024) is the concluding chapter in director Ti West's gory X Trilogy, with star Mia Goth (Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein) reprising her role from X (2022) as porn actress Maxine Minx now living in Los Angeles in 1985, it's been six years since she survived The Texas Porn Star Massacre from X, she's now a working adult film star trying go legit, the film opens with her auditioning for the lead role in the new horror film The Puritan II, the new film by up and coming Brit director Elizabeth bender (Elizabeth Debicki,
Tenet). In the background The Night Stalker murders are happening, and we see a giallo-esque figure in a black leather trench coat and gloves stalking Maxine, following her to her side gig at a peep show and dropping a quarter in the slot to lift the curtain and see her do her peep show thing, the unknown figure becoming visibly excited, wringing their leather-gloved hands to creepy effect. This individual is killing people in her friend's circle by way of porn actresses Amber (Chloe Farnworth, 12 Hour Shift) and Tabby (pop-star Halsey), both of whom turn up dead with pentagrams burned into their skin after attending a party in the Hollywood Hills. The cops investigating the murders, Det. Williams (Michelle Monaghan, True Detective) and Det. Torres (Bobby Cannavale, Boardwalk Empire), quickly realize that Maxine is somehow connected to the murders, but still hiding from her Texas Porn Star Massacre past she refuses to assist the investigation out of fear of exposing herself, figuring she can defend herself well-enough. We see early on how well she can fend for herself when a Buster Keaton costumed street performer follows her into a darkened alleyway and attempts to rape her, but instead he has the tables turned on him by the resourceful and armed Maxine, resulting in a visceral scrotum-smashing bit of violence that reaffirms her own inner strength and willingness to defend herself when threatened.
Another figure on her trail is the ultra-sleazy New Orleans P.I. John Labat (Kevin Bacon, X-Men: First Class), Bacon is full tilt sleazoid here, he's dripping with skin-crawling creepiness and I love it. He begins hovering around Maxine's orbit, working for the mysterious leather-clad killer, who threatens to expose her past if she does not agree to meet with his benefactor. At one point he chases her across the Universal Studios Backlot through the Back to the Future/Gremlins town square and into the Psycho house, which was pretty cool. We also get Maxine's loyal talent agent Teddy Knight (Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad), who is seedy but is also willing to just about anything for his client; and her best pal Leon (musician Moses Sumney), a queer metalhead/horror fan who runs a video store located just below Maxine's apartment.
I love the mid-80's setting, offering a sleazy underside of L.A. lit by neon and lousy with garish pastel colors, the streets are filthy, the characters are seedy, it's just a terrific setting, reminding me a bit of a West Coast version of Lucio Fulci's Murder Rock or New York Ripper. There's a ton of tasty era specific touches that paint the world, I love the video store, the retro fashions and decor, it does excellent work establishing the era, especially during the opening title sequence that with a very 80's font, news clips of satanic panic, The Night Stalker killings, and we even get clips of the PMRC Rock Porn Senate Hearings, which was quite a nostalgic blast for me as a young metalhead in the '80s. I won't spoil it further other than to say the climax of this trilogy is set high-up in the Hollywood Hills and delivers the grisly goods and is totally wild, going places I wasn't expecting, and leaving me with a big smile on my face.
Maxxxine (2024) is a terrific finale to the X/Mia Goth Trilogy, I thought it was a pretty terrific '80s-set exploitation thriller that I think captures that seedy early eighties vibe quite well, even getting a bit goofy at times, and continues the theme of cinematic ambitions and the darkness that can accompany that pursuit, all wrapped up in a bloody and gruesome neon-lit slice of 80's carnage.
Audio/Video: Maxxxine (2024) arrives on 4K Ultra HD from Second Sight Films framed in 2.39:1 widescreen in 2160p Ultra HD with Dolby Vision HDR10 color-grading. The film was shot to emulate the look of 80's exploitation films like Angel, shot on digital but with a digital grain filter applied from the looks of it. The garish 80's neon and paste; colors look terrific, blacks are solid, and depth and clarity are pleasing. Fine detail in the close-ups of fabrics and faces look terrific, especially when lingering over the seedy features of the gold-toothed Labat. The Dolby Vision HDR really juices up the candy-colored highlights, blacks are deep and inky, contrast is nicely dialed in, and the 4K resolution offers crisply resolved textures and detail that improves upon what the Lionsgate Blu-ray I have in the collection could muster.
Audio comes by way of Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1) and DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with optional English subtitles. The track is robust and well-balanced, dialogue exchanges please, and the soundtrack from Tyler Bates, plus period specific tunes by way of ZZ Top’s “Gimme All Your Lovin’”, Judas Priest's "Prisoner of Your Eyes, Ratt's "I'm Insane"," Animotion’s “Obsession”, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Welcome to the Pleasuredome” among others, sounds fantastic, the Atmos track having pleasing depth, the immersive track immersing you in the sleazy 80s-ness of it all.
Second Sight knock it out of the park with a slew of new extras and archival extras. We start off with a brand new Audio commentary by Bill Ackerman & Amanda Reyes that is both humorous, engaging and informative, tackling 80s touchstones, the cast, locations, and giallo films that inform the story. Also new is the 16-min Back to the Blank Page: Interview with director Ti West, writing the big, bombastic finale to the trilogy, transforming L.A. into seedy 80s L.A., the theme of cinematic, the VHS-era aesthetic, the connective tissues of the trilogy, themes of being haunted by the past, casting stories, the shooting locations and tight scheduling on the Universal backlot, and other touristy iconic Hollywood locations, cut scenes, the four year journey making the trilogy. Next is the 30-min Money on the Screen: Interview with producer Jacob Jaffke, not really starting out as a horror fan till he worked on I Sell the Dead for Glass Eye Pix, then into House of the Devil with Ti West, and onward, producing five film while in grad school. West pitching horror-porno X, developing the franchise based on a bad joke, what a terrific collaborator Mia Goth was, the sticker shock of shooting a period film in LA, complications shooting the Hollywood sign lead to creating their own set in Santa Clarita, casting, special effects, a troublesome exploding head gag, shooting on the empty studio lots during the strike, how cool it was hanging out on the Psycho set, ad how with this trilogy he came into his own and grew as a producer.
The 21-min B-Movie Aesthetic: Interview with director of photography Eliot Rockett, features Rockett speaking about working with a larger budget, the giallo/DePalma vibe, lots of technical talk, visual references, planning out the back lot shots, the logistics of the Hollywood sign set, Kevin Bacon's gruesome death scene, the scrotum crush scene, and Ti's commitment to practical effects,
Then into the 24-min Curating Space: Audio interview with production designer Jason Kisvarday, he gets into overseeing three art directors, developing references books for look and tone, the draw of recreating the 80s L.A. of his youth, the challenge of breaking down the script and managing the production designers while on budget, working on sets versus locations, and what he's most proud of about his work on the film. Th e last of he new extras in the 15-min The Whole World's Gonna Know My Name: Kat Hughes on MaXXXine, a visual essay that examines the pursuit of the Church of Fame in the context of the trilogy, dissecting the character of Maxine and others that populate the film.
Archival extras carried over from the US release from Lionsgate include about an hour's worth of featurettes; we get the 10-min The Belly of the Beast; 11-min XXX Marks the Spot; 88-min Hollywood Is a Killer; these explore the 80's vibe, the set design, and some of the special effects work. We also get a 25-min Q&A with Writer-Director Ti West that is moderated by journalist Jen Yamato, which I believe was an Alamo Drafthouse live-stream exclusive.
The single-disc 4K UHD Limited Edition release arrives in a sturdy Rigid Slipcase with new artwork by OC Agency Group, inside there's a 120-page book featuring all new essays by Reyna Cervantes, Sarah Miles, Sam Moore, James Rose, Rebecca Sayce and Michelle Swope, plus Six Collector's Art Cards. The 4K disc is housed in a gatefold digipak with a clear plastic tray holding the disc. This is quite a wonderful edition and easily the most definitive release to date with a pleasing Dolby Atmos/Vision presentation and some terrific deep-diving extras.
Special Features
- Presented in HDR with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos
- NEW! Audio commentary by Bill Ackerman & Amanda Reyes
- NEW! Back to the Blank Page: Interview with director Ti West (16:03)
- NEW! Money on the Screen: Interview with producer Jacob Jaffke (29:54)
- NEW! B-Movie Aesthetic: Interview with director of photography Eliot Rockett (21:09)
- NEW! Curating Space: Audio interview with production designer Jason Kisvarday (24:28)
- NEW! The Whole World's Gonna Know My Name: Kat Hughes on MaXXXine (14:58)
- The Belly of the Beast (9:37)
- XXX Marks the Spot (11:19)
- Hollywood is a Killer (8:12)
- Q&A with Ti West (25:29)
Limited Edition Contents:
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by OC Agency Group
- 120-page book with new essays by Reyna Cervantes, Sarah Miles, Sam Moore, James Rose, Rebecca Sayce and Michelle Swope
- Six collectors' art cards
