Upamanyu Biswas
The third installation of the ‘X’ film franchise, ‘MaXXXine‘ delves into the titular protagonist’s journey into mainstream Hollywood after she lands a role in an upcoming horror movie titled ‘The Puritan II.‘ After years of stardom in the adult film business, Maxine Minx is tired of her seedy image and wants to legitimize her fame through the glitz and glamour of the movie industry. Unfortunately, the young starlet finds herself as the target of a mysterious serial killer in the middle of a moral panic gripping the streets of Los Angeles, California, centered around the public condemning of so-called satanic entertainment.
The Ti West directorial places a gory slasher narrative in the middle of Maxine’s career transition, opening the door to the protagonist’s newfound determination to succeed at all costs, no matter the obstacle in her path. The treacherous landscape of the movie industry highlights what Maxine has to do to rise to stardom with mass hysteria and the murderous trail of a serial killer stalking her every step along the way. Naturally, examining the film’s genesis sheds light on its inspirations and the reality of Maxine’s character, whose struggles are punctuated by a horror narrative that raises questions about whether ‘MaXXXine‘ is based on a true story.
MaXXXine Taps Into the Panic of a Real-Life Serial Killer on the Loose
‘MaXXXine’ is driven by a fictional narrative rooted in some real-life events that lend it a solid footing, allowing it to veer off into elevated territory without comprising believability. The screenplay was drafted by writer and director Ti West, who continued the titular protagonist’s journey from her first appearance in the 2022 film, ‘X.’ In the third installment, Maxine Minx wishes to catapult her adult film stardom toward greater heights by pursuing a breakthrough opportunity in the movie industry. As such, the director settled upon the 80s era, specifically the summer of 1985 in Los Angeles, California, to tap into Maxine’s journey, as it was rife with moral tension and the backdrop of a real-life serial killer dubbed The Night Stalker.
Although the character’s name is mentioned in passing, The Night Stalker was a vicious serial killer, rapist, and burglar, who claimed the lives of at least 13 people in California between 1984 and 1985. The killer’s real identity was Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramirez, also known as Richard Ramirez. He was dubbed the Night Stalker because of his nocturnal criminal habits. He was a self-professed Satanist who would sneak into people’s homes in the middle of the night, ransack them, attack the inhabitants, often raping and murdering them. In 1989, he was convicted and handed multiple death penalties after being found guilty of 43 counts of crimes — 13 murders, 5 attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults, and 14 burglaries. He passed away in 2013 due to blood cancer while still on death row.
The Neon Grunge of Hollywood Plays a Prominent Role in the Narrative
While ‘MaXXXine’ references the hysteria seeded by the Night Stalker, its real purpose is to add a layer of intrigue and realistic suspense to the dangers surrounding Maxine. More prominently, the narrative explores the Satanic panic of the 1980s, a moral outrage directed towards all forms of deviant entertainment, like pornography and graphic slasher horror. Maxine’s leading role in the horror production ‘The Puritan II’ alights upon other religious-horror films from the 20th century that incited collective anxiety and nervousness in people. Throughout the film, Maxine’s professional career plays a pivotal role in her development. “This trilogy [X film trilogy] has become, in some ways, about how cinema is affecting the characters – so it felt like the logical progression,” West told the British Film Institute.
The director admitted that he was trying to capture the vibe of Los Angeles and its cinema heritage as a significant character in the narration. It blends into the thematic and cultural elements taking root in Maxine’s life. “There’s a subgenre of movies where LA plays itself and that was a part of it. There are certainly nods to aesthetic references throughout different movies and homages, all the way down to something as literal as Psycho (1960). But it was more just about recreating a vibe of an era, which you can do by researching the news or documentaries.” Despite being a fictional tale, ‘MaXXXine‘ draws inspiration from several real-life sources to augment a layer of grunge and seediness to its narrative that combines horror and Hollywood stardom in its heightened drama about rising to the top.
The Fictional Origins of Maxine Minx
At the heart of ‘MaXXXine‘ is the titular protagonist, Maxine Minx, whose aspiring film career is roadblocked by the arrival of a killer stalking her wherever she goes. The adult film actress is a fictional character created by writer-director Ti West, who first appeared in the 2022 film ‘X.’ In her first foray, Maxine is a young girl looking to become a star no matter how, owing to a deep-seated ambition to gain recognition. Years later in ‘MaXXXine,’ her relentless drive continues to define her personality. West said, “In 1979 her goal was to become a star. The logical next step was to take her to Hollywood. The 80s was an appropriately excessive time for both era and industry, for the peak of VHS and the kinds of movies that were being made, especially horror movies.”
He continued, “To take her to the belly of the beast and to set it in the summer of 1985, which had the backdrop of a real-life serial killer as well as a lot of moral outrage about music and movies and censorship, felt like the right setting and the right time and place.” In ‘MaXXXine,’ the eponymous protagonist is tired of her stint in the adult industry and wishes to gain more significant and widespread renown by stepping into the ring of Hollywood. While she may be fictional, cases of pornstars taking the leap over the XXX line are plenty in reality. Stars like Tori Black, Sasha Grey, and Stormy Daniels have all made appearances in non-adult films and shows over their long careers. Famously, adult film actress Marilyn Chambers even starred as the lead in David Cronenberg’s 1977 body-horror film ‘Rabid.’
Therefore, Maxine’s motivation to cross over into the movie business is rooted in several real-life cases of pornstars who did the same as her. As fame is her one and only motivating factor, it is likely that Maxine pursues her opportunity in ‘The Puritan II’ not to escape the objectification of leading a career in porn but to legitimize herself as a shining beacon of stardom that cannot be brought down to earth easily. Despite her realistic drive and ruthless obsession, she is a fictional character who does not exist in reality.
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