“MaXXXine,” the conclusion of the gore-soaked trilogy that started with “X” and continued with the prequel “Pearl” (both released in 2022, both starring Mia Goth), is coming this summer. A24 dropped its first trailer on Monday. Watch it above.
Goth returns for “MaXXXine,” playing her character from “X,” the lone survivor of an adult film shoot gone horribly wrong. The year is now 1985 and she is trying to make a name for herself in the mainstream film world while putting the ghastly events of the earlier movie behind her.
Oh, and the Night Stalker, the notorious Los Angeles serial killer later identified as Richard Ramirez and convicted of 13 murders, is operating around the same time.
The trailer is atmospheric and moody, with writer/director Ti West playfully channeling Brian De Palma and the giallo work of Dario Argento (those black leather gloves), with some wonderful little moments that we’re sorry were ruined in the trailer, like Maxine showing up to the Universal Studios lot and looking up at Mrs. Bates in the “Psycho” house.
Everything is bathed in garish neon, with wise accompaniment by Animotion’s “Obsession” and Laura Brannigan’s underrated banger “Self Control.” (Perfect for Maxine, right?)
This cast is pretty, well, psychotic – Elizabeth Debicki plays a film director, Moses Sumney is her BFF, Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale are LAPD detectives, Lily Collins is an actress, pop star Halsey seems to be a fellow adult film actress, Giancarlo Esposito is her agent and Kevin Bacon is a private detective, likely looking to bring up the events of “X.”
“MaXXXine” hits theaters on July 5, which is the A24 horror sweet spot, where they opened “Talk to Me” last year and around the time they released “Bodies Bodies Bodies” the year before. We can’t wait to see how Maxine’s story ends; there will probably be a lot of blood.
Watch the trailer above.
