All 3 Movies in Ti West’s ‘X’ Trilogy, Ranked by Scariness
Although the last decade has not exactly been a poor one for horror, it’s been quite some time since genre buffs have enjoyed a genuinely exciting new slasher adventure. Franchises like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street have been out of theaters for over a decade, and the most recent iterations of the Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre sagas were very disappointing, and did nothing to win over new fans. Nonetheless, Ti West created a new slasher icon thanks to the creation of the X trilogy, which starred Mia Goth. While those that had seen High Life or Suspiria may have been aware of what Goth could do within the horror genre, her performances as Maxine Mix and Pearl have become some of the most iconic within the last decade. A24 may have once been known as a studio that only developed independent films, but West’s trilogy proved to be a surprisingly successful franchise.
The X trilogy occupied a unique space in the horror genre, as it was both incredibly proud of its influences and refused to play into the “tongue-in-cheek” style of comedy that had infected other franchises like Scream and Happy Death Day. While each installment in the trilogy has its share of surprisingly humorous moments, even if the jokes are quite dark, they haven’t failed to be genuinely scary; in fact, it’s relatively rare to see a widely released horror film that is able to depict this much brutality. Although each entry in the series has its merits, it’s fairly easy to identify which will stand the test of time as true horror classics. Here is every movie in Ti West’s X trilogy, ranked by scariness.
3
‘MaXXXine’ (2024)
Starring Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, and Kevin Bacon
MaXXXine is easily the weakest installment in West’s trilogy because it lacks the narrative coherence that the previous two films had. While X and Pearl had very specific character arcs, MaXXXine sees its titular character trying to make it into Hollywood, all whilst dealing with the threat of a particularly ruthless serial killer. Although it’s nice to see how deeply indebted West was to the work of Brian De Palma, MaXXXine spends so much time homaging other great films that it barely has time to develop an identity of itself. By this point in the story, Maxxine herself has become such a force to be reckoned with that it seems unlikely that she will ever be in serious danger; although it’s fun to see beloved character actors like Michelle Monaghan, Kevin Bacon, and Elizabeth Debicki show up for brief roles, they ultimately serve as red herrings that don’t progress the intensity any further.
MaXXXine really falls apart in its final act, as the film commits to a storyline surrounding conspiracy theories and the rise of morally righteous religious paranoia within the Ronald Reagan era that simply doesn’t connect; although it is admirable that West wanted to take a more ambitious slant by unpacking aspects of Maxxine’s backstory, the reveals are so haphazard that it’s hard to become emotionally invested. The graphic kills are so frequent that they gradually begin to lose impact, as it becomes more than apparent that the violence is mostly being played for laughs. As impressive that it is that West was interested in making a film that explored the seedy underbelly of 1980s Hollywood and drew in aspects of real crime history, MaXXXine is really only entertaining as a fun satire, as it does not contain even a small portion of the intensity contained within its two direct predecessors.
2
‘X’ (2022)
Starring Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, and Brittany Snow
X is by far the most traditional horror film in West’s trilogy, as it is particularly indebted to the gritty authenticity that Tobe Hooper introduced to the genre with his work on the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre back in 1974. Nonetheless, X was able to have a new perspective on the common archetypes within horror media with a shocking ending that explored female autonomy and body image. X explored the generational impact of horror, which was perfectly embodied by the dual roles that Goth pulled off with such perfection; although she was able to articulate the freedom granted to a young woman with the world ahead of her, she also captured the anxiety of an older, bitter wife who is desperate to recapture the aura of youth that she has now found to be unattainable. As over-the-top and shocking as many of the death sequences can be, X latches on to real issues about self-perception and anxiety that are surprisingly resonant. Although the film examines how stereotypes about “final girls” were created in an older generation of horror cinema during the New Hollywood era, X touches on the double standard of female empowerment that holds as much significance today as it does during the time in which the story actually takes place.
X is a film that is surprisingly ruthless, as West takes the time to develop empathy for each of the supporting characters before they are killed off in increasingly brutal fashion. Although it may have been easy to predict that some of the cast would be dispatched fairly early on in the story, the creativity with which West utilizes the various tools and attributes in his environment to come up with creative body horror is quite effective. Instead of using the type of cheap jump scares that have become far too common within PG-13 Blumhouse horror films, West revels within the excess of the violence, showing the impact that it has on each character’s emotions. Although X provides everything that horror fans could want from a fun slasher film, it does lose some momentum towards its ending; the optimistic conclusion, while important for the continuation of the trilogy, doesn’t land quite as nasty of a punch as it could have if the film was a complete standalone.
1
‘Pearl’ (2022)
Starring Mia Goth, David Corenswet, and Tandi Wright
Pearl is one of the most unique horror films in recent years, and also one of the best prequels ever made. By going back in time to show how Maxxine became the horrific serial killer that would prey upon young people in X, West was able to craft a riveting character study about the ways in which women are trapped by the infrastructure of society. Although Goth is able to create a character that is surprisingly empathetic, as she deals with a fairly intense living situation with her family, it does not take long for Maxxine to become completely terrifying. Even if some of her victims are guilty of egregious acts of evil, there is no universe in which Maxxine could be described as an “anti-hero;” she’s a straight-up villain, and the film’s depiction of the purity of evil makes it more ambitious than most other origin stories. While prequels like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning or Psycho IV: The Beginning only made their central antagonists less scary, Pearl was able to develop more insight on the torented worldview that its character held, and how her traumatic circumstances inspired her to enact such violence upon the world. While it’s still wildly entertaining as a horror throwback, Pearl has a sense of tragedy to it that makes it the most emotionally impactful entry in West’s entire filmography.
Pearl is able to subvert more wholesome imagery and use it to create horror, as the film succeeds in showing the dark side of the dawn of filmmaking and the origins of Hollywood. Although the rise of cinema as a populist medium designed for mass consumption within the 1920s is considered to be one of the most significant technical leaps forward in human history, it was built on the back of an industry that often exploited its workers and denied them the opportunity to live out their “Hollywood dream;” many of the unusual stars cast as wild characters in the ‘20s were forgotten entirely by the 1930s, as Hollywood began moving towards more traditional movie stars and concocting sound productions. Pearl archives its goal of representing this lost generation of artistry, but it’s also a totally unique slasher film that uses the advents of the era to feature the type of kills that are rarely seen in modern cinema; even though viewers that saw X already knew where the story was going, it is still quite emotional to see Pearl gradually dehumanize herself as she commits herself to creating carnage. Visually, Pearl is the most aesthetically developed installment in the trilogy, as West challenged himself to filter the film through the lens of the past. However, the real reason that Pearl is the best and scariest installment in the trilogy is the incredible performance by Goth; her hypnotic, obsessive demeanor as she embodies the persona of a powerful avenger was not only worthy of an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, but one of the most singular original characters to enter the horror sphere in quite some time.
