Mia Goth in the 1980s: 10 Things We Hope to See in 'MaXXXine'

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For the first-ever franchise in A24 history, Ti West recently wrapped production on his third film in his X and Pearl universe trilogy, the sky-highly anticipated MaXXXine.

With a stacked cast boasting the likes of Elizabeth Debicki, Halsey, Kevin Bacon, Lily Collins, Michelle Monaghan, Giancarlo Esposito, and Bobby Cannavale and, of course, the mega return of Mia Goth to reprise her role as Maxine Minx, the film will follow the titular character as she chases showbiz life in Los Angeles circa 1985, where production also took place last month. (No word on an official release date yet.) Keeping plot details under lock and key, very little is known about the upcoming film, therefore, so much can be speculated about it.

Here are 10 possibilities, theories, and things we’d love to see in the upcoming MaXXXine. After all, we deserve nice things. We have cosmopolitan taste.

1) An Homage to Kevin Bacon's Horror Roots

‘Friday the 13th’

While Kevin Bacon has starred in several horror films in the last few decades, including Tremors, Stir of Echoes, You Should Have Left, and the recent They/Them, none have made him more memorable than his debut in Friday the 13th— thanks in large part to the film's goriest on-screen death of Bacon's horror career. While MaXXXine has not yet been confirmed to be another slasher like its filmic siblings X and Pearl, how cool would it be to witness a death scene with his character that pays homage to Jack Burrell's grisly arrow-through-the-throat death in Friday the 13th? The casting choice of Bacon as a private detective is an interesting one, as his character could be set up as either a hero to helping solve the crimes/murders taking place or a slayed victim himself in the crosshairs.

2) Further Explained Connection Between Pearl and Maxine

We’re unsure what exactly Ti West has up his sleeve, in terms of how these two characters are connected for trilogy purposes (and we know if Pearl was looking up from Hell, she’d be jealously fuming at Maxine's success), but perhaps we’ll get to see the parallels between Pearl and Maxine's similar struggles with obtaining fame and fortune— the same "X factor" elderly Pearl saw in Maxine when she encounters her in X that she also believed she once had in her youth. Based on some paparazzi shots of the MaXXXine set, Maxine seems to have gotten way further in Hollywood than Pearl ever dreamed, as Mia Goth was pictured surrounded by adorning fans while in character— but at what cost? Perhaps Maxine pulls a Showgirls move and breaks some legs of the girls who are her competition, just like Pearl axing her sister-in-law (although we doubt she’ll serve as the antagonist of her own story). An appearance from Pearl could even stem from a PTSD nightmare or a hallucination on Maxine's part. Not to mention, Maxine is now a blonde— and we know how Pearl feels about blondes.

3) Daddy Issues: The Return of Maxine's Estranged Preacher Dad

There's a strong possibility that the minor subplot of Maxine's judgmental, evangelical preacher father shown prominently on the Texas TVs in X will be better explained within MaXXXine. Does her dad track her down in Los Angeles, disapprove of her career/lifestyle, and wreak havoc upon her life? Does he perhaps even become a killer, along with his cult of like-minded church disciples, hunting her and her L.A. friends down? Regardless, without necessarily venturing into cheesy flashback territory, learning more about their father-daughter dynamic and how it shaped Maxine seems imperative to the story, especially the origin of "I will not accept I life I do not deserve" that Maxine reclaims from him.

4) Be Kind, Rewind: The Boom of VHS Culture

While X is constructed by independent auteur filmmaking of the ’70s and Pearl captures the idolization of glitzy, glamorous Classic Hollywood cinema, MaXXXine will reportedly examine the heart of ’80s physical media, aka the VHS boom— as is apparent on the film's title card released by A24 in recent months and a tease from West himself. Before their demises, the gang in X hoped to cash in on the upcoming home video train technology with their auteur porn movie, and, as the film's only survivor, Maxine will be the only character to have seen it through and discover what actually happened to their home movie aka what the cops refer to as "one goddamn, fucked up horror picture." Perhaps the discovery of it helps Maxine get famous in the first place. The timing couldn't be better, as VHS nostalgia and the hobby of collecting amongst horror fans has reached peak popularity in recent years. The cover art, the appeal of stumbling upon a hidden gem– we want to be transported back to the days of West Coast Video, Blockbuster, and Rogers Video. By 1985 (the year MaXXXine will take place in), video stores were EVERYWHERE.

5) Ti West Multiverse: Ties to The House of the Devil

‘The House of the Devil’

In a recent BTS pic, Halsey was seen covered in dirt, with a pentagram sketched into her back shoulder while in character— which immediately brings to mind the third act of West's beloved breakout, 2009's The House of the Devil, as Jocelin Donahue's Samantha awakens to find herself in the center of a ritual with a pentagram beneath her body. Could Maxine and Halsey's character fall victim to a similar lunar eclipse ritual? Perhaps they even make sacrifices or join a pagan cult to gain the fame they so desire a la 2014's Starry Eyes? West touches upon Satanic Panic and "stranger danger" fears that were prevalent in the early Reagan era in House, but perhaps he’ll explore themes of censorship and the "Keeping America's Children Safe" campaign that plagued the mid-80s even further in MaXXXine. This theory would also make sense if Maxine's dad came into the picture, as the conservative preacher man could want to deprogram Maxine from the devil that is Hollywood, or so he may think.

6) Inspiration From Sleazy (in a Good Way) ’80s Movies

‘Maniac’

Amongst many things, the 1980s were the decade of greed, capitalism, and especially excess, but the underbelly of that lifestyle is reflected within the grittier, sleazier (and this is not a bad thing) films being made at that time that weren't afraid of sex, nudity, and general perversion, such as Fear City, Ten to Midnight, Maniac, The New York Ripper, Pieces, Toolbox Murders, Troma films, and the countless parade of Friday the 13th slasher ripoffs. While X features rare post-2000s sex scenes and both real and prosthetic nudity (and one explicit shot of post-climaxing evidence), West still manages to shoot the scenes tastefully, aiming to convey a sense of indie arthouse flair on behalf of the film's director character RJ, and also reflecting West's respect for his actors and audience. Perhaps MaXXXine will allow West the freedom to push the envelope further, as the plot is said to "deal with the dangerous world of underground filmmaking," according to The Hollywood Reporter— not to mention the dangers of the porn industry during that time period, immediately after the "Golden Age of Porn," which ended in 1984. From the sounds of that minor plot detail, sounds like the anti-love letter to Hollywood film Star 80 could be a great precursor watch ahead of MaXXXine. At the very least, we think we can rely on West giving us gruesome, gratuitous gore and deaths.

7) Bobby Cannavale Doing What He Does Best

"The Watcher"

Speaking of sleazy, Bobby Cannavale, whose credits include Netflix's The Watcher, Boardwalk Empire, Annie, and Sex and the City— all of which he plays shady characters or sleazeballs to varying degrees— will reportedly play an LAPD detective, according to THR. Before this news broke, and based on Cannavale's track record of past roles, his casting announcement screamed "scummy porn producer," like a worse version of Martin Henderson's Wayne in X. But, as MaXXXine is shaping up to possibly be more of a procedural/serial killer thriller/giallo-esque hybrid movie, we would love to see Cannavale doing what he does best and play a shady, corrupt cop with secrets. Few police districts can be as challenging as working in or around 1980s Hollywood, and we could absolutely see Cannavale nail the role as a jaded detective working with the killer. Either West casted Cannavale against type, and his character will surprise us all as a do-good detective working diligently to solve the string of Hollywood murders…or we’ll get Bobby as a dirty, menacing Will Dormer-from-Insomnia kind of role. (We’re hoping for the latter.)

8) Correlation with The Night Stalker

Serial killer Richard Ramirez aka "The Night Stalker" terrorized Los Angeles from 1984-1985, killing at least 13 people and was convicted of five attempted murders, amongst several other crimes. While we have a feeling Ti West has written a more creative killer for the film, a possible appearance or link to the infamous serial killer isn't implausible. Going back to the pentagram on Halsey's character, Ramirez— who declared his love for Satan and flashed a pentagram to jurors during his trial— was known to sketch pentagrams on his victims’ walls, mirrors, and, yes, into his victims’ skin post-murder sometimes.

9) Excellent ’80s Aesthetic and Soundtrack

We’ve seen West tackle the early ’80s aesthetic in The House of the Devil, but we’ve never seen his vision of the excess of mid-’80s Hollywood culture. While House relied on muted, earthy toned-cinematography and soft hits like The Fixx's "One Thing Leads to Another," we’d love West to implement colorful cinematography, flashy/bright costumes, and edgier hair metal hits like Van Halen's "Panama," New Wave classics like Dead or Alive's "Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" or Goth gems like The Sisters of Mercy's "Neverland" that dominated 1985. Animotion's "Obsession" is already featured in the film's ambiguous teaser. Oh, and even more cocaine featured, since we already know Maxine loves the white stuff, as witnessed in X.

10) Maxine: The Final Girl (Again)

With the help of Mia Goth's sublime performances as both characters, Pearl has cemented herself as the scarcely seen female slasher villain, while Maxine has become one of the most adored final girls of the modern era in just one year post-release. With West's knowledge and appreciation for specific commentary on filmic trends of the decades in which his movies are set in, he may incorporate meta commentary on the "Golden Age" of slasher films, which would be prime for his 1985 backdrop. By that year, the Friday franchise was on its fifth entry, A Nightmare on Elm Street was massive, and the squeaky-clean Alices, Ginnys, and Nancys were dominant. But what does it mean to be a final girl that isn't so straight-laced and virginal, within a slasher franchise that is completely disinterested in the conservatism that many of those other films based their values on? Maybe Maxine attempts to profit on her experiences in X by starring in a slasher film about the massacre while a serial killer is simultaneously on the loose during the making of the film— anything is possible.

MaXXXine may not even categorically fit so neatly into just the slasher subgenre box per se, but as long as Maxine Minx makes it to the end, no matter how battered and bloodied, her reign as a newly supreme, modern final girl will remain.

Journalism/Communication Studies grad. A24 horror superfan- the weirder, the better. Hates when animals die in horror films.

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Humanity has been telling tales about simulated realities since the very dawn of storytelling, so it makes sense that modern audiences are absolutely fascinated with open-world gaming. Be it fantasy role-playing titles that allow you to step into the shoes of a more magical version of yourself or crime sims that encourage you to live out your most violent daydreams upon unsuspecting NPCs, franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Grand Theft Auto are the closest we’ve come to the immersive digital worlds that were promised to us by science fiction.

However, when it comes to horror games, the genre usually benefits from a highly curated experience with little room for side adventures. Give players too much free reign over their monster slaying and item collection and you usually end up with a gameplay loop that doesn't mesh well with virtual frights. That's why open world horror titles don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to balancing freedom with scares, with initially promising titles like the ill-fated Days Gone being criticized for dampening the horrific elements that made these projects interesting in the first place.

Fortunately, it's not all doom and gloom when it comes to open world horror, as quite a few recent titles have learned from the mistakes of the past and are giving large scale scares another chance. The latest of these sandbox terrors comes in the form of Frictional Games’ ambitious sequel Amnesia: The Bunker (read Reyna's full review here), a first-person thrill-ride that traps players in the shoes of a French soldier imprisoned in a World War I bunker with only a demonic man-eating predator to keep him company.

And while the game is impressive enough with its innovative use of physics puzzles and a genuinely terrifying narrative mostly told through epistolary tidbits, today I’d like to discuss what other developers could learn from Frictional's labyrinthian experiment. But before we dive into the specifics of what makes The Bunker such a compelling sandbox, I think it's worth looking back on the evolution of open world horror as a whole.

More impressive than the original GTA!

With the exception of text-based adventures (which usually allowed for more player freedom due to the lack of complex graphics), the first open world titles were mostly relegated to top-down RPGs. It was only with the advent of easily accessible 3D technology that developers began to show more interest in adding sandbox elements to other genres. However, the ever-increasing costs of development meant that more niche experiences like horror games rarely received the financial push necessary to produce a convincing open environment.

In fact, I’d argue that Konami's original Silent Hill was the first real Survival Horror pioneer when it comes to immersing players in an explorable three-dimensional world. While the game is still mostly linear, with Harry Mason being forced to complete a series of urban "dungeons" in order to progress and having no real reason to explore the rest of the town other than collecting extra resources, the developers at Team Silent still managed to push the PlayStation to its absolute limit when crafting a believable all-American town. Sure, the game takes a few shortcuts by blocking off certain areas, but it was still a sign of things to come.

The new millennium brought with it an obsession with open worlds sparked by the massive success of Rockstar's GTA sequels, and it wasn't long before developers were attempting to revamp existing horror franchises with this new and expensive approach – usually with mixed results.

In 2008, we’d see Eden Games’ baffling revival of the Alone in the Dark series, which attempted to combine an episodic structure with sandbox exploration as players were forced to scour an apocalyptic rendition of Central Park for items and monsters. Naturally, the result was an unfocused experience that couldn't capitalize on neither its scares or its blockbuster elements (though I admit that I have a soft spot for the game's clunky fire-based combat and clever inventory management system).

A few years later, Silent Hill: Downpour would expand the franchise's iconic setting into a fully-explorable map, complete with hidden areas and optional side-quests. Unfortunately, the added padding and recycled assets ended up diluting the experience while also making the main story feel less urgent (and consequently less terrifying). This would become a recurring theme in future open world horror titles like The Sinking City, with optional content often including more traditionally game-y elements that ruin the immersion that makes gaming ripe for scares in the first place.

We saw some improvement during the survival boom of the 2010s, with titles like DayZ and The Forest boasting gigantic maps and encouraging exploration while still factoring in resource management and disturbing enemies as a part of their core experiences. That being said, the collaborative nature of most of these titles mean that their scares were often hampered by online interactions – after all, it's hard to feel truly frightened when you’re having a good time with your friends (or when you’re being trolled by strangers, for that matter).

Bigger world, bigger problems!

While these aren't the only examples of horrific open worlds gone awry, most of these misguided titles tend to share a common thread when it comes to conflicting design choices. After all, a real horror game shouldn't feel like a leisurely adventure, it should feel like grueling trip through hell. That's why I think Frictional Games did right by the Amnesia franchise when they managed to find an entertaining middle ground where players could explore to their heart's content (with clear inspiration from Metroidvania titles) while still having an ever-present Lovecraftian horror keeping them on their toes.

It helps that the title has a solid foundation rooted in its main character's predicament, with the game handing you a singular objective (escape) and allowing for organic scares along the way. The Bunker's unpredictable antagonist means that you never feel safe as you explore the titular environment, though the game also rewards inquisitive players that think outside the box, achieving a rare balance that feels like a natural evolution of the franchise's focus on environmental manipulation and the freedom to experiment with unorthodox problem solving.

In some ways, one might argue that The Bunker is the ultimate evolution of the ideas that were first introduced in Frictional's Penumbra games all the way back in 2007. Even though some of the mechanical limitations feel arbitrary (like how you can shoot padlocks but not chains), the game's focus on unscripted terrors proves that player freedom can also be used to create organic scares that wouldn't have the same effect had they been planned beforehand.

At the end of the day, not all horror games can (or should) take the sandbox route, but when they do, I believe the winning formula is to allow enough freedom for player choices to matter, but not so much that they lose sight of the horrors at hand. And if future horror titles can apply the lessons learned by The Bunker to their own open world adventures, I think we’re headed for an interesting era of horror gaming.