Ti West hasn’t had a chance to breathe over the past few years having put forth not only two entries into his X universe but directing a Justin Timberlake music video and a few episodes of the horror series Them.
Now comes his direct sequel to X (the second film Pearl was a prequel). Since the first two were so well received fans are probably wondering if the third film MaXXXine will follow suit. According to early reviews, yes and no.
Currently holding a Metacritic score of 75 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 85% MaXXXine has the lowest ranking critically so far in the series. What does that mean? Nothing really since horror is subjective. Still Hollywood goes by these numbers as predictions for future projects and West himself said there could be a fourth film if MaXXXine proves successful.
Keep in mind these are critic’s reviews of the film, and not the more important assessment from the court of public opinion. Also, out of 21 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes so far, only three were less than glowing.
Here are some review pull quotes about MaXXXine from Rotten Tomatoes.
“Vibrant in sleaze, satire, and shocking violence, MaXXXine was on the brink of being the best West and Goth have made yet. But a bungled ending leaves a sour taste.” — Kristy Puchko, Mashable
“MaXXXine demonstrates that the trilogy never really had all that much going on, depth-wise… But Goth does her own synthesis of the characters she’s played across the titles, and the result is alternately disturbing, touching, and downright triumphant.” — Alison Willmore, New York Magazine/ Vulture
“Ultimately, of course, this is the Mia Goth show and fans wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s a magnetic presence who fortifies her command as a new breed of scream queen, tough enough to dish out punishment as well as receive it.” — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
“Stylish and fun, but the weakest of the trilogy.” — Chris Bumbray, JoBlo
“A dramatically inert pseudo-slasher with nothing interesting to say, despite its gestures towards other, better films.” — Siddhant Adlakha, IGN Movies
“If MaXXXine stopped basking in its own self-congratulatory cleverness for a moment, it might have had a decent film in there somewhere.” Christina Newland, iNews.co.uk
Tell us, are you excited to see MaXXXine, and do reviews influence your decision to see it in theaters? MaXXXine gets a theatrical release on July 5.
