Though only two films in, Ti West’s X film series has been quite the rollercoaster. His first movie “X” was said to be a tribute to slasher films although he wasted far more time on other interests. It was a trashy imitation rather than a bonafide homage. His second installment, “Pearl” was a delightfully brutal blast of technicolor-soaked horror – one that was impossible to put into a single box. It was a rural horror flick, a psychological thriller, a pitch-black comedy, and a gonzo exploitation flick all wrapped into one. I loved it.

With all of that swirling around in the back of my mind, it was hard to know what my expectations should be for “MaXXXine”, the third film in the trilogy and a direct sequel to “X”. Series star Mia Goth returns, this time with a star-filled ensemble that includes Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Debicki, Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Monaghan, Giancarlo Esposito, Lily Collins, Halsey, and Moses Sumney. That alone is a big shift from the two earlier films and it certainly adds some supporting star wattage.

“MaXXXine” leaves the small town setting of its predecessors for seedy 1985 Los Angeles. As the brutal Night Stalker murders make headlines across Southern California, 34-year-old Maxine Minx (Goth) is in Hollywood, still obsessed with being famous. When not snorting cocaine and stripping for peep shows, Maxine has made a name for herself in adult movies.

West pours a lot of energy into portraying Hollywood as an unforgiving grimy cesspool. But in his excitement to depict exploitation, you get the sense that he’s doing the same thing to his own characters. Too many times his retro obsessions and style choices take precedent over everything else including a cohesive story, meaningful depth, or thematic conviction. What we do get feels muted and shallow while constantly taking a backseat to an endless parade of 80’s nods and Hollywood references. Even the sleaze he soaks his screen in feels fabricated by a filmmaker rather than of a specific time and place.

Maxine finally gets her big break after she wins a part in her first “real movie”. It’s a horror sequel titled “The Puritan II” that’s directed by the imposing, no-nonsense Elizabeth Bender (Debicki). But just as her twisted dream seems to be coming true, Maxine finds herself hounded by a slimy private investigator (an amusing yet exaggerated Bacon) working for a client who threatens to expose the violent deeds of her past.

Making matters worse, Maxine’s red light district friends begin turning up dead which draws the attention of two dogged Los Angeles police detectives (Cannavale and Monaghan). Are her friends victims of the notorious Night Stalker or is there a copycat killer? Perhaps it’s something more personal? Either way it threatens the unstable Maxine’s newfound success which she is determined to protect at all costs.

As you can tell there’s a lot going on in “MaXXXine”. Without question there are pieces here for a really good movie. But they remain just that – pieces. West isn’t able to corral his MANY interests and influences into anything substantive. Too much of the film comes across as surface-level self-indulgence. Many of its problems are encapsulated in the movie’s ludicrous ending that doesn’t land well regardless of how you view it.

There’s no doubt that Ti West is talented behind the camera and it’s hard not to be impressed by his visual style and intense attention to detail. In “MaXXXine”, he shows off those talents mostly in how he uses genre as his sandbox. But at the same time, he gets so absorbed with his presentation that he forgets some of the essentials that every movie needs – namely a good story and interesting characters. Similar to “X”, West’s preoccupations with other things leaves his movie feeling shallow and shortchanged. Oh well, at least we’ll always have “Pearl”. “MaXXXine” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 2 STARS