We recently sat down with Maxxxine director Ti West and stars Lily Collins, Halsey, and Elizabeth Debicki late at night at The Bates Motel to discuss our favorite contemporary horror movie heroine, Maxine Minx. The third installment in West’s X trilogy goes heavy on the giallo and neo-noir vibes.
While there was no specific inspiration, West says the general vibe was drawn from movies that are “Los Angeles-based, movies about Hollywood, giallo”, and “gritty Hollywood movies” like Angel and Vice Squad. West also incorporates nods to “craft-forward” directors like Hitchcock and De Palma.
Aside from creating an actual time in history, West was interested in “recreating people’s memory from media of the time,” achieved by piecing together an amalgamation of influences to create the overall Maxxxine vibe. Each installment in the trilogy represents “different eras in filmmaking,” making it a unique offering in the world of horror trilogies.
Maxine Minx is one hell of a horror movie heroine, and there are some major lessons we can learn from her. She has become our homicidal-when-necessary-self-help-guru. For Lily Collins, the biggest takeaway is, “It’s ok to be unapologetically yourself.” Maxine doesn’t dilute her natural star power, and according to Collins, “in a world where it’s easier to be mean to ourselves, Maxine reminds us it’s ok to encourage ourselves.” Now, that’s something we can definitely get behind.
For Halsey, Maxine serves as a beautiful reminder: “Never ever doubt myself when it comes to ‘can I kick that man’s ass or not.” Our money is on Halsey, no question. Aside from being a champion for self-love and self-defense, Maxine is also a character who just absolutely never quits. Murder attempts be damned. Elizabeth Debicki has a special fondness for Maxine’s “well of profound resilience. She’ll fix it. She’ll survive it.”
The music in Maxxxine obviously plays a huge part in sending us deep into the ’80s and building out Maxine’s world. The soundtrack is full of bangers, but we were curious what songs the cast would add. So we asked them to choose a Final Girl Kill Song, with the caveat that it needed to be from the ’80s or at least already in existence at the time.
Lily Collins went with The Breakfast Club anthem “Don’t You Forget About Me,” explaining “It’s the one thing she doesn’t want anyone to do- ‘I just want to live forever. Don’t forget about me.'” Wildly fitting.
Halsey picked “Gimme Gimme Gimme” by ABBA, which makes for beautiful imagery of Halsey kicking some ass and doling out sweet ball-busting vengeance while our favorite Swedish pop powerhouses blare in the background. Elizabeth goes with “something really funky for a strong contrast.”
With a stacked cast and notable cameos, we’re a little biased in calling out our favorite Maxxxine cameo. West featured an inanimate object near and dear to our dark hearts — FANGORIA #45. Our June 1985 issue makes an appearance, and as attentive as West is to details, it’s no surprise he made sure the issue featured was the issue that would have been out at the time. While he owns an actual copy of the issue, it’s not the one used on screen (that’s safe at home in his personal collection).
If you want to check out the guts of that issue, you can read it for free in our archives. The Maxxxine newsstand cover sold out in record time and will look great framed next to West’s X cover on issue #15. (Don’t worry, you can still get it in your local brick and mortars this summer!)
Watch our full interview with Maxxxine director Ti West and cast Lily Collins, Halsey, and Elizabeth Debicki at The Bates Motel below.
The Maxxxine release date is almost here! In theaters July 5, and you can catch Maxine Minx on the cover of FANGORIA #24 on newsstands at your local comic shop and Barnes and Noble stores in July. For more, ride along with us on the official Maxxxine: Hollywood Is A Killer tour.
