Studio: Lionsgate
Release Date: 10/8/2024
Rating: R
Film Grade: C-
The Story: After surviving the events in X, Maxine Minx finds herself at the top of the adult entertainment industry. But she knows that her prime days are behind her, and it’s time for a career shift to real films. Enter her big break, an audition for a horror film, one step up from her current line of work and a steppingstone toward legitimacy in the actual movie business.
Complications soon arise, as it seems someone has been watching her. Someone who knows what happened at that Texas farmhouse and could short circuit her bid for a new life.
My Take: The movie is set in 1985, during the height of the Satanic Panic as the California public is gripped with fears of the Night Stalker’s string of serial killings. Major targets include rock music, horror movies, and role-playing games. There’s a good retrospective of actual news stories hitting all of those elements of the time, setting the appropriate mental state for the events of the film.
Aiding that goal is the production design. They’ve done a solid job of showing the stark contrasts of that era, whether it be the greasy strip joints, a swanky Hollywood Hills mansion, bare-bones apartment, high-end hotels, filthy dance clubs, tacky agent’s office, a dimly lit little video store, or a film studio backlot.
At the center of all of those elements is Maxine, who knows exactly what she wants and is not afraid to go after it. As such, the thin story doesn’t leave much room for the character to grow. In Pearl, Mia Goth gave us a performance that ranged from young innocence to delusional performer, and finally to aggressor. In this movie her character arc doesn’t change much from start to finish, so Goth’s talents largely go unused, which is a shame. She has natural star quality, and I expect we’ll be seeing more of her in the future, hopefully paired with better material.
There are some other actors worth noting in the movie, but they’re limited to paper-thin roles. Kevin Bacon hams it up as an ultra-sleazy private eye. Giancarlo Esposito is more grounded as Maxine’s no-nonsense agent. Halsey has a small role as another peep show girl. Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale play a couple of inept police detectives. But they’re all secondary to Goth, and don’t make much of an impact.
At times it’s hard to tell if director Ty West is trying too hard to emulate movies from the 80s or if he just didn’t stage things very well. This is apparent during the finale, where we witness an action scene that is shot so hastily, and almost clumsily that one isn’t sure if it was meant to be taken seriously or as a parody of cheapo action thrillers. I’m leaning towards the later, since West has talent, and he also edited the movie. If so, it’s a puzzling choice given the gritty subject matter of the movie.
Like Pearl, the movie’s biggest problem is the plot. While the pacing is fine, it offers only a few twists, and they don’t feel significant enough to really surprise the audience. That goes from the early fake-outs to the lackluster kills. Then there’s the denouement, which comes out of nowhere, and feels hokey and cheap. It’s hard not to reach that point without thinking, “That’s it?”
Visuals: Vital in capturing the feel of the era is capturing the look of the era. Cinematographer Eliot Rockett returns for this installment of the series. The drenched technicolor look of Pearl has been transformed into a dark, gritty playground. Shot digitally at a high ASA, it’s filled with dancing noise to give it an authentically grainy look. Lights will often cut through darkness, providing sharp contrast to the picture.
The movie is not as crisp or clear as most modern productions, but that’s entirely the filmmaker’s choice, and crucial to the feel. Moodiness is the goal here, rather than clarity, and it succeeds in that regard.
Comparing the 4K disc to the standard Blu-ray, the picture has greater depth and nuance to it, making it a better experience.
Audio: The extra channels in the Atmos soundtrack are mostly used for music, but there are some select overhead effects, such as aircraft. I didn’t find great use of wides. Weirdly, we hear a helicopter’s rotors overhead, but the PA voice comes from the center channel. There isn’t an abundance of sound effects, but they’re they do pop up when needed. Dialog is clear throughout the movie.
The musical score is primarily rock/synth that fits perfectly with the time period. A few rock music pieces take advantage of the additional speakers and are well-paired to the scenes. Overall, the sound is a good match to the look of the film.
Special Features: The making-of segments are informative, and feature things like how one of the special effects shots was done and how they were able to use the real Hollywood Blvd. I found them to be worth watching.
- The Belly of the Beast
- XXX Marks the Spot
- Hollywood Is a Killer
- Q&A with Writer-Director Ti West
- Teaser Trailer
- Theatrical Trailer
Final Verdict: While marketed as a horror movie, it would be better classified as a thriller. An angle in the initial script that was excised before shooting would have pushed it into the former. I don’t know if it would have helped the story, but it could have at least added an additional element to the otherwise straightforward film.
Stylistically, it does a great job of placing the viewer in the story, but there just isn’t much of a story to keep them attached. It has some winks and nods to Hollywood and the movie making process that may interest some, but there are better examples of that, like Once Upon a Time. . . in Hollywood or Babylon. While there are some specifically graphic elements, the overall product is surprisingly tame, and much less visceral than one would expect given the subject matter.
This is for fans of Mia Goth or the first two movies who want to see how it all plays out. While it includes enough information for a novice to the series, there’s not much substance to hold their attention. My wife liked it a bit more than I did and would give it a C.
Fun Quote: “So said every dead girl in Hollywood.”
My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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