The mad minx of the multiplex returns for her third entry in this gloriously frenetic franchise T he Mia Goth Oscar campaign starts now. If she can’t win a Best Actress award for playing two people at once in X , or for the best monologue in horror for Pearl , then she surely has to get something for stamping on a guy’s nut sack in a pair of stilettos..
. Three films into Ti West’s extraordinary trilogy, Goth proves yet again what a force she is to be reckoned with – and West proves that funny, dark, smart schlock horror still has a lot to say. We first met Maxine Minx (Goth) in West’s 2022 original X – then an aspiring porn star who was stalked through the Texas backwaters by a mad, rake-wielding OAP called Pearl (also played by Goth – here, and in West’s lavish Technicolour prequel, Pearl ).
Now a survivor with something to prove, Maxine has moved to Hollywood and made a name for herself in the adult film business. Shooting porn by day (alongside best friend Tabby, played by Halsey ), working a seedy Sunset Blvd. peep show by night, her real dream is making it as an actress in a “proper” film.
A successful audition with ferocious British director Elizabeth Bender ( Tenet ‘s Elizabeth Debicki) lands Maxine her big break in a horror sequel – which is terrible timing for her past to come calling. Someone knows what she did down in Texas, and sleazy PI John Labat (Kevin Bacon) isn’t going to let her forget it. There’s a (real-life) serial killer stalk.
