Ti West and Mia Goth's X trilogy as a whole is somewhat tricky to define. What started as a subversive slasher depicting the "Texas Porn Star Massacre" in X jumped back in time to reveal the star-driven origins of its murderous, elderly villains with Pearl, only to then jump back to the 80s for the newly released Maxxxine, tying together the central threads of Mia Goth's titular final girl and how she copes with the trauma of survival. Horror genre fans are no stranger to untraditional sequels (boy do they love to defy tradition), but taking that a step further, Ti West made a name for himself with his trademark slow burn pastiche executed to perfection in House of the Devil and The Inkeepers. Working within his first set of sequels, its no surprise he upped the ante to take Maxxxine a step further and subvert on another layer. Maxxxine isn't with out its slasher influences, nods, and winks of course. That being said, if we examine it through a strictly analytical level would it still be considered a traditional "slasher" film, structurally or otherwise? I personally think not, and its all the better for it. Where X is more in conversation with Tobe Hooper, Maxxxine is more in conversation with Brian De Palma and Roman Polanksi (Pearl is a different ball game, but that's for another article). Let's break down Maxxxine from a structural perspective and explore its genius use of genre pastiche. Beware, spoilers for Maxxxine follow!Reliance on...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Monday, 8 July