15 Details From The New "MaXXXine" Trailer That Have Me Even More Excited For The Release
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ICYMI: Ti West has been killing and (ironically) simultaneously reviving the horror movie genre lately with movies X and Pearl.
Now, he's bringing the long-awaited continuation of Maxine's story in MaXXXine. With the trailer now here, let's break it down:
1.It takes place six years after X.
The first movie in the trilogy took place in 1979 Texas, and MaXXXine will be taking place in 1985 Los Angeles. By this time, Maxine has gotten an agent and made a name for herself in the adult film industry. And now she wants to break into Hollywood.
2.Maxine scored a role in the fictional horror movie The Puritan II, which was also the working title of MaXXXine while it was in production.
A puritan is someone who has very strict morals about pleasure and sex and often criticizes others for giving in to them. Very fitting with the trilogy's themes of sex and pornography. Is Maxine playing a Puritan character? Or is the title ironic?
3.Maxine has dyed her hair blonde. And you know who hated blondes? Pearl.
The Easter eggs never end. We love to see it.
4.We got a glimpse of Bates Motel from Psycho.
A24, Via Paramount Pictures
Maxine is driven in a golf cart through the sets of The Puritan II. They also pass by Bates Motel, but it's not a crossover. It's actually the set of Psycho in the Universal Studios Lot. Very meta.
5.Maxine sees Pearl in the window of Bates Motel, a callback to both X and "Norma Bates" in Psycho.
A24, Paramount Pictures
6.The first song that plays is "Obsession" by Animotion, which describes feeling so obsessed with someone that it becomes madness.
7.The second song is "Self Control" by Laura Branigan, which is about being entranced by the nightlife.
8.Maxine drives by a line of protesters. Considering the time period and themes of the trilogy, they could be against Maxine's casting or something broader.
The porn industry exploded in the '80s with the boom of home videos, and pornography became a lot more "normalized." On top of that, when Roe v. Wade was recently passed in 1973, feminists and conservatives alike protested and debated about pornography and sex work. Or perhaps it's more specific, and they are protesting the police handling of the murders?
9.The news mentions the Night Stalker, a real-life serial killer named Richard Ramirez.
Ramirez killed victims in Los Angeles and San Francisco from 1984 to 1985. However, the PI (?) says Maxine "knew three people who were murdered in three days." That doesn't match what we know about Ramirez, so the killer of the movie must be someone else.
10.The murder victims have pentagrams carved into them
Ramirez was very interested in Satanism and occasionally drew pentagrams: once in lipstick on a victim's thigh, once on the walls of that victim's home, and once on his hand in court. This new killer, however, carved pentagrams into seemingly every victim.
11.You can hear Lorraine's scream when Maxine shows her agent the tape she found.
It's probably non-diegetic and just for the audience's benefit, but you can hear Jenna Ortega's iconic basement scream.
12.St. Elmo's Fire is playing in a theatre Maxine and Ginger walk by, juxtaposed by the brothels nearby.
This coming-of-age movie was released on June 28, 1985. It was about university graduates learning about the responsibilities of adulthood and all the relationship problems that come with it.
13.Kevin Bacon plays a private investigator hired by a "powerful man" to find Maxine.
Who is his employer, and why is he interested in Maxine? He seems to suspect her of something.
14.The Puritan II's premiere takes place at the actual movie palace Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
A24, AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
15.And MaXXXine is inspired by Dario Argento and Giallo films, and you can 100% see it.
A24, Produzioni Atlas Consorziate
Giallo is a film genre murder mystery with bloody deaths, bright colors, the killer's POV, and lots of nudity and sex. They're often themed around madness and sexuality and prioritize stylish visuals and camerawork over characterization and logic. They were widely influential to American slashers.
MaXXXine hits theatres on July 5th. Don't miss out!
