In an interview, we were able to talk to the stars of “MaXXXine” in detail and ask them, among other things, what makes the latest installment the best in the series.
With “MaXXXine“, director Ti West concludes the “X” horror film series consisting of “X”, the prequel “Pearl” and the latest installment. As the films’ respective critics’ ratings of 78% to 94% on Rotten Tomatoes prove, the film series is a brilliant addition to the horror genre. This success is based on all kinds of facts: For one, Scream Queen Mia Goth gave us two incredibly complex and tough anti-heroines with her performances of Maxine Minx and Pearl that you can’t help but be absolutely mesmerized by on the big screen. Secondly, West’s expertise in the horror genre and the nostalgic depiction of the time period each film is set in is hard to ignore. He thus creates a tangible cinematic world for us viewers that is easy to immerse ourselves in.
We were able to talk to Ti West, Mia Goth and the stars Giancarlo Esposito (Maxine’s manager Teddy Knight) and Moses Sumney (Maxine’s good friend Leon Green) in an interview about the conclusion of the “X” trilogy. You can find out what insights they gave us below. Before that, this trailer gives you a first impression of “MaXXXine”:
Interview with the stars of “MaXXXine”
In “X”, Ti West succeeded in creating an atmospheric portrayal of the late 1970s, which he based stylistically on the American independent cinema of the time. In “Pearl”, he made the leap back to the late 1910s, when people still visited movie theaters for short silent films, for which Pearl shows a particular weakness in the film. Pearl’s dream of becoming famous as a dancer and leaving her parents’ Texan farm is staged by the director in bright colors, reminiscent of the first Technicolor films such as “The Wizard of Oz” from 1939. In “MaXXXine”, the 1980s are now thematized in Hollywood, which is sometimes shady. Ti West described the challenge of the production as follows:
“The fun thing about shooting period films for me is when you’re making a movie set in, let’s say, 1980s Hollywood, […] all the props have to be specific. All the signs on the buildings or even the way it’s shot have to be specific, because to imitate the 1980s, you have to emphasize every single thing. […] That forces you to be creative in every conceivable way. It’s less about paying homage to movies and more about trying to really put yourself in that era. And part of the feeling is not just nostalgia for that time, but also nostalgia for the media of that era, because you grew up watching it. […] And that can very quickly become kitschy. So it’s always a fine line. For me, it’s just fun to be on set and see, wow, we’ve transformed a block of Hollywood Boulevard into another era.”
Giancarlo Esposito added:
“All the TV clips that are in here that I had seen back when they actually came out were all authentic and I couldn’t get out of my amazement. […] Even [‘The Puritan 2’], the movie within the movie, was very special to me because I was in some of those studios back then and you can feel the energy of the old studios compared to what we do today. I mean, I’m shooting in Atlanta in these brand new box studios. They have no soul. This movie to me embodies some of the soul that we made movies with back then. And you can feel it, taste it and see it.”
In the L.A. of this time, Maxine Minx now dares to make the leap from her previous career as a porn actress to a true Hollywood actress – and she lets nothing and no one stop her from achieving this goal, which makes her an absolutely fascinating character, as Mia Goth herself described:
“She’s fearless, she just has so much courage in her and it’s really refreshing to see that, to read [in the script] and to be able to portray that. One of the reasons I’m drawn to the horror genre is that you have the opportunity to come across characters that are written that way, which is sometimes harder to find in other scripts. And it was just a pleasure to play her and I learned so much from her and I’m very grateful that we were able to make a trilogy out of it. That’s something very special.”
Six years have passed between the events of “X” and “MaXXXine” and Maxine has changed significantly in that time. A few years have also passed for Mia Goth between the filming of “X” and “MaXXXine” and she has also gained a lot of new experience in the meantime, which she was able to incorporate into the preparation for the new version of Maxine. “It was pretty cool to see how my life and Maxine’s life have aligned [in the meantime] and what parallels there were,” said the actress.
Back in 2023, Mia Goth revealed to Collider that “MaXXXine” was the best movie in the series for her, as the stakes were the highest for her character. Her co-star Giancarlo Esposito echoed this statement:
“I think the best thing [in ‘MaXXXine’] is that you see how [Maxine is on the verge of realizing her dreams] that she’s always had and that she’s unstoppable and that she shows determination and dedication and that’s really exemplified by Mia’s acting. I think that’s also the world we wanted to achieve. You were made curious in ‘X’ and ‘Pearl’ […] and now you’re finally there. It’s the icing on the cake and [the movie is the] best of the three.”
Moses Sumney added jokingly:
“This one’s the best because I’m in it. To keep it short.”
“MaXXXine” marks the end of the “X” trilogy, which began production in 2020. This naturally raises the question of whether Ti West knew from the beginning how his horror trilogy would end, which he happily answered for us – without spoilers:
“I didn’t know where [‘MaXXXine’] was going to end. I knew what the movie was about when I made ‘X’ […]. I had the idea for ‘MaXXXine’, but I didn’t really know how the movie would end until I wrote it. I had an idea, but when you write something, sometimes the idea is not what you want it to be. You have to find it bit by bit. But I had a lot of pressure on my shoulders because I really wanted to finish this trilogy that I didn’t expect. So I wanted ‘MaXXXine’ to end satisfactorily, but also to bring the trilogy to a fitting conclusion. And that was something that kept me awake at night, but I think we did it. And I think it’s a cathartic ending in a way for them and hopefully for the viewers who have seen all three films.”
And it is this satisfying, fitting and cathartic ending that has been absolutely successful – not only for us viewers, but also for Ti West and Mia Goth, the three films have been an absolute asset to their careers. So said the director:
“The beauty of the films is that they are so different and that they complement and enrich each other, but can also exist on their own. And that’s what makes this trilogy so unique, what made it so exciting for me.”
And Mia Goth added:
“I didn’t know that [Ti’s] idea would evolve into this trilogy. All of this was a complete surprise to me, but it was the most creative experience of my life. And I’m very proud of these three films.”
“MaXXXine” opens in cinemas on July 4, 2024. As “MaXXXine” follows on from “X”, we recommend watching “X” before going to the cinema if you haven’t already seen it. Fortunately, the first part of the trilogy is currently available to stream on Prime Video. Although “Pearl” is not absolutely necessary for “MaXXXine”, the prequel is definitely worth watching.
