There have been a lot of great horror films in 2022, but one of the best genre revelations this year has been A24’s slasher hit X directed by Ti West. X has become the surprising horror franchise fans never knew they needed, and the film’s prequel Pearl is heading to theaters this Friday. If that wasn’t enough, at the TIFF premiere of Pearl this week, West shocked the world again by announcing the third film in his slasher franchise, MaXXXine, with a reveal trailer teasing star Mia Goth’s return as the title character. The story will see Maxine finally set her sights on Hollywood to accomplish her ultimate goal of becoming a star. While that’s all we know about the sequel for now, West also teased that MaXXXine is thematically inspired by the VHS boom of the 1980s.
At the screening, West said, “The way that X is a movie that is informed by and affected by independent exploitation auteur Americana and 1970s cinema, and Pearl is perhaps affected by the Golden Age of Hollywood and the glitz and glamor of cinema, MaXXXine will be more about within the industry itself and the boom of VHS.” What has made the X franchise so unique is how it has used Hollywood and the horror genre to comment on complex real world ideas. X was all about the fear of growing older and our deepest desires outlasting our youth, while Pearl looks to be tackling the horrors of isolation and the lengths someone would go to accomplish their dreams. MaXXXine has a real opportunity to explore the 80s era of excess and our deadly desire of always wanting more.
On that same note, it can examine how the VHS era helped revitalize not only a dying Hollywood industry and interest in the horror genre, but the “American Dream” in general. It refueled people's interest in becoming stars themselves. This has become a genre trilogy all about how Hollywood has influenced our everyday lives throughout the decades. What that means for Maxine in this particular film remains to be seen, but the mid '80s was the height of the slasher craze and our favorite new “final girl” has found herself in another messed up horror picture. Nothing refuels a dream more than a traumatic near-death experience.
X has become one of the more unique franchises that the horror genre has seen in the last number of decades. Besides the fact that the first film had so many crazy and blood-soaked sequences of thrills with some genuinely lovable characters, it was a thought-provoking journey into tragic madness. That has a lot to do with West’s genius, but it also has to do with Goth’s brilliant performances. What the actress has done as both Maxine and Pearl has quickly shot her to the top of horror royalty. That’s just because of X. Her further exploration of Pearl in the character’s self-titled prequel looks to be another distinct fever dream of Wizard of Oz proportions. Because of X and Pearl’s critical reception so far, you can easily understand why A24 was quick to greenlight a third film. Especially given how much horror fans have loved Goth’s killer performances. With this third film, X has a chance to become the best horror trilogy of all time.
Hearing that West and Goth are making a third X film is just exciting on that baseline information alone, but knowing that it's based around physical media’s conception should make any horror fan happy. Physical media changed the industry forever and still go together with the horror genre like chilling peanut butter and jelly. While we anxiously wait for Pearl's bloody triumphant return to theaters this Friday, you can watch the VHS inspired reveal trailer for MaXXXine down below.