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MaXXXine is the strongest entry in Ti West’s X trilogy if you judge the films by what they are about. It takes the trilogy’s interest in ambition and performance to 1980s Hollywood, and it makes cinema itself the subject rather than a backdrop. This is an argued preference, not a consensus ranking, and the counterarguments are laid out below.
What “best” means in this comparison
Calling one film the best of a trilogy is a claim about criteria. This article uses three: how directly the film engages with movies and the industry that makes them, how closely its setting follows from the lead character’s arc, and how well its craft supports that engagement. Critic and audience scores are treated separately, because they measure reception rather than artistic merit.
| Criterion | How MaXXXine handles it | Limit of the claim |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Moves Maxine to 1980s Hollywood, which director Ti West presents as the next step in her ambition | This is West’s framing of the setting; it is an interpretation of the arc, not a plot fact |
| Cinema as subject | Follows Maxine’s attempt to cross from adult films into mainstream acting | West describes the trilogy as concerned with cinema’s effect on its characters; ranking that concern above the earlier films is an argument |
| Horror mode | A Hollywood-set horror story that openly references the genre Maxine hopes to enter | Not established that it is scarier or more suspenseful than X or Pearl |
| Ending | Resolves the trilogy’s through-line | Reviewers disagree on whether it works |
The film in brief
A24 describes MaXXXine as a 2024 film written and directed by Ti West. Its official synopsis places the story in 1980s Hollywood, where an adult-film star and aspiring actress named Maxine gets her break while a mysterious killer stalks Hollywood starlets and threatens to expose her past. The key facts for readers placing it in the series:
- Director and writer: Ti West, who also edited the film.
- Lead: Mia Goth as Maxine Minx, reprising the role from the earlier films.
- Supporting cast: Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon.
- Position in the series: The Directors Guild of America describes it as the third film of the trilogy that began with X and continued with Pearl.
- Running time and rating: 101 minutes, rated R for gore, drug use, strong violence, graphic nudity, language, and sexual content, according to Rotten Tomatoes’ film page as captured in 2026.
- US wide theatrical release: July 5, 2024.
Hollywood is the logical next step
The strongest argument for MaXXXine starts with its setting, and the director makes that link himself. In a British Film Institute interview published July 5, 2024, West explained the move this way: “In 1979 her goal was to become a star. The logical next step was to take her to Hollywood.” If Maxine’s ambition is the engine of the trilogy, then Hollywood is where that ambition finally meets the machinery it has been chasing.
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#1 Best Overall
- Follows Maxine, who was the only survivor of the bloody incidents of X, as she continues her journey towards fame to be an actress in 1980s Los Angeles.
Why the 1980s
West cited the 1980s as an excessive period for the entertainment industry, the peak of VHS, and the horror films being made at the time. He also pointed to the summer of 1985, when a real-life serial-killer backdrop and public moral outrage over music, movies, and censorship shaped the mood. Those conditions suit a story about image-making, because the decade’s home video culture made films into objects that people watched repeatedly, owned, and argued about.
Los Angeles as a character
West says he wanted Los Angeles to feel like a character in its own right. He built the period “vibe” from news coverage and documentaries, alongside recognizable cinematic references. One of the most direct is the Psycho house, which West discusses as a literal reference; he says the Hitchcock estate gave permission to film there. A film that wants audiences to recognize the movies it is quoting needs a city that feels like a map of those movies, and MaXXXine uses Los Angeles that way.
Cinema as the trilogy’s subject
West describes the trilogy as concerned with cinema’s effects on its characters. MaXXXine makes that concern explicit. Maxine’s path from adult films toward mainstream acting is a story about how a person absorbs the images of stardom and then tries to become one of them. Her story is built on the gap between performance and identity, which is why the film’s central question is less “who is the killer?” than “what does it cost to become the thing you have watched on screen?”
Rank #2
- Follows Maxine, who was the only survivor of the bloody incidents of X, as she continues her journey towards fame to be an actress in 1980s Los Angeles.
West’s clearest statement on the point comes from the same BFI interview:
“That was part of the charm of the movie and of the trilogy as a whole: to embrace the artifice of Hollywood.” — Ti West, writer-director, speaking to the British Film Institute.
That attitude matters for the “best” argument. A horror film that treats Hollywood’s artifice as the source of its appeal, rather than as a corrupting surface to expose, gives the trilogy a self-aware ending that the earlier films only hint at.
Rank #3
Craft: editing and style under pressure
The self-reflexive premise only works if the image-making is deliberate. In a Directors Guild of America Q&A from July 2024, West says he edited the film himself and describes editing it as technically difficult. He also says that he and cinematographer Eliot Rockett tried to keep the film’s stylistic ambition intact despite schedule pressure. For a movie about the craft of making images, that is a meaningful detail: the look of the film is presented as a choice that had to be defended, not a default.
The ensemble
Several performances carry the Hollywood setting. In the BFI interview, the interviewer singles out Elizabeth Debicki’s director character, Kevin Bacon’s private eye, and Giancarlo Esposito’s agent for particular praise. These are the interviewer’s judgments rather than established facts, but they point to where the film’s industry satire lands. Mia Goth’s return as Maxine anchors the rest, since the film depends on the audience continuing to believe in her character’s ambition.
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An argument for “best” has to account for the scores that cut against it. The table below uses figures from Rotten Tomatoes’ film page as captured in 2026. These are mutable platform aggregates, not measures of artistic quality.
| Film | Measure | Value | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| MaXXXine | Tomatometer | 73% | From 295 critic reviews |
| MaXXXine | Popcornmeter | 73% | From 500+ verified audience ratings |
| X | Tomatometer | 94% | Captured on the same platform; a comparable Pearl score is not stated in this source |
Because the Pearl figure is not established here, these numbers cannot rank the whole trilogy. What they do show is that MaXXXine is not the critical favorite of the series on this measure, so calling it “best” is a judgment that has to rest on the film’s ideas and craft.
The ending
Reviews quoted on Rotten Tomatoes split on the resolution. One reviewer calls it predictable and disappointing; another finds the through-line satisfying. Two voices cannot represent the critical community, but they show that whether the film completes the trilogy is a live question rather than settled ground.
Horror and suspense
The BFI frames MaXXXine as a Hollywood horror story that knowingly pays homage to the horror Maxine wants to join. That framing supports the film’s genre self-awareness, but it does not establish that the film is scarier or more suspenseful than X or Pearl. A reader who prefers the earlier films for their dread should weigh that separately.
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Watching the trilogy in order
To judge MaXXXine as the final chapter, watch the films in release order:
- X
- Pearl
- MaXXXine
A24 Shop lists an X Trilogy: Collector’s Edition Box Set with all three films on three discs, available in Blu-ray and 4K UHD. The listed extras include a 64-page booklet with a new essay by Jon Dieringer, concept art, costume sketches, behind-the-scenes photos, original poster and VHS artwork, more than 90 minutes of making-of featurettes, and new commentary tracks on all three films. Check the current format, price, and stock with the seller before buying, since listings change.
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