Summary
Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese praises Ti West’sXslasher trilogy, explaining why the series is a thorough exploration of the changing “Greater Culture” of Hollywood across the decades. West and Mia Goth’s slasher series debuted in 2022 with X,where the actress portrayed an aspiring star longing for Hollywood who is swept up in a massacre at a remote adult movie shoot.Xwould be expanded upon withPearl’s exploration of the original movie’s antagonist’s origin in 2023, before continuing Maxine’s (Goth) bloody quest for stardom in 2024’sMaXXXine.
Scorsese shares his appreciation of West toThe New York Times. As part of an in-depth exploration of West’s trilogy, the director behindTaxi Driver, andKillers of the Flower Moonexplained thathe viewed each feature as representing a distinct period of horror in Hollywood. WhileXtook on the golden era of the then-emerging slasher feature in the ’70s,Pearlexplored the highly emotional, less overtly brutal melodramas of the 1950s, beforeMaXXXineturned its lens to the ’80s exploitative, sensationalized horror.
The X Trilogy Is A Journey Through Horror’s Evolution
Every Decade Is Known For A Different Type Of Horror
As stated by Scorsese, theXtrilogy’s microcosms of Horror stretch far beyond just often being set in their respective heyday’s time periods. InX, the movie tackles the slasher subgenre head-on through its slow, bloody execution of the cast which leavesMaxine to take on the role of a Final Girlestablished throughout the ’70s.Pearlin comparison is a more cerebral feature where the horror is drawn from Pearl’s (Goth) unraveling sanity in her pursuit to be a star, embracing ’50s technicolor during her declining mentality.
MaXXXine Ending Explained
The ending of MaXXXine serves as a fitting if quietly ambiguous finale to the X trilogy, even while leaving room open for further sequel expansion.
MaXXXinebrings West’s exploration of Hollywood into the ’80s as Maxine finds stardom through a horror sequel having a side job among the sketchier, more exploitative side of Los Angeles, as her past comes back to haunt her.An overarching theme of West’sXtrilogyis morality and how horror represents these ideals. While Pearl finds herself succumbing to the strict ideals enforced by her parents, later enforcing them herself, Maxine is consistentlyfighting against killers who seek to punish her for her “sins”, be they Pearl and Howard (Stephen Ure) inX, or her father Ernest (Simon Prast) inMaXXXine.
With Scorsese celebratingXasWest’s trilogy comes to a close, all three films are sure to receive renewed interest. While West has never hidden his intent of a deeper exploration of the film industry throughout the trilogy, Scorsese’s analysis may leave viewers who missed the deeper subtext of the feature with a greater appreciation of the feature. Furthermore, with West having unpacked ever-changing horror in Hollywood throughX, many may be left wondering whether West will turn his lens to a new subject with his next feature.
X
Cast
Director Ti West presents X, a horror slasher film set in 1979 in rural Texas that follows a group of amateur filmmakers attempting to shoot a pornographic film.
