Warning: This article contains spoilers for MaXXXine (2024).
Summary
The in-universe movieThe Puritan IIhelps shape the setting ofMaXXXineby highlighting a divisive horror movie era in Hollywood.MaXXXineconcludes A24 and Ti West’s horror movie trilogy, following Maxine Minx as she tries to break into mainstream show business. After many auditions, Maxine finally gets cast inThe Puritan II, but her past threatens to derail her career when murders start happening all around her. When watchingMaXXXine, it’s easy to mistakeThe Puritan IIfor a real horror movie.
After all,MaXXXineincludes references to true crimesthat took place in Hollywood, rather than inventing serial killers and crimes. Additionally, Maxine asks Leon about actors who got their start in horror, and he lists Jamie Lee Curtis, Brook Shields, and John Travolta. These famous actors started out inHalloween;Alice, Sweet Alice; andThe Devil’s Rain– respectively.With such a realistic foundation for the movie, it’s surprising thatThe Puritan IIis entirely fictional.However, the film does draw inspiration from a real era of horror movies.
Every Death In MaXXXine, Ranked By Brutality
The most brutal deaths in MaXXXine are a mix of surprisingly traigcc and gruesomely inventive, with the most memorable being a particaurly gory one.
MaXXXine’s The Puritan II Takes Inspiration From Classic Religious Horror Movies
The Puritan II Uses Common Themes And Visuals From Supernatural Horror Movies
The best-known’80s horror subgenre is slasher movies, butthe ’70s and ’80s also saw a rise in supernatural religious horror movies. Iconic horror moviesThe Omen,The Exorcist,Night of the Demons, andDeadly Blessingall came out during this period. Films about children being possessed by the devil became extremely popular with horror movie lovers.
The Puritan IIinMaXXXineseems to pull inspiration from these movies in the visual style, basic concept, and script.The main character appears to be a young woman with demonic behaviors. ThePuritan II’spremise is more akin to the 2015 movieThe Witchstarring Anya Taylor Joy because the fictional and real movies are both period pieces. However, the inclusion of horror elements from the ’80s makesThe Puritan IIseem like a movie that could have come from that era.
I Love This MaXXXine Quote That Perfectly Describes The Conclusion To Ti West’s Horror Trilogy
In the conclusion to Ti West’s X trilogy, the character Elizabeth Bender describes her movie The Puritan in a meta way that also describes MaXXXine.
The Protests Against The Puritan II Draw From Actual History
Protests Against Horror Movies Occurred In the ’80s
InMaXXXine, protesters are shown objecting to pornography, horror movies, and specificallyThe Puritan II.This is narratively significant because Maxine Minx is an actor from the pornography industry trying to gain mainstream fame. However, the protests weren’t just created out of nowhere. Because of increased serial killer coverage and satanic panic, a moral outrage developed towards anything perceived as satanic, including rock n’ roll, TV shows, Dungeons and Dragons, and horror movies.
By tying these real-life elements intoMaXXXine, Ti West created a more realistic horror story that felt gritty and grounded.
Horror specifically was targeted, withreligious groups protesting, critics tearing them apart, and the UK threatening to charge people with breaking obscenity lawsfor selling horror movie VHSes. Specific examples of ’80s movies getting protested include The Evil Dead and Silent Night, Deadly Night. By tying these real-life elements intoMaXXXine, Ti West created a more realistic horror story that felt gritty and grounded.
