Review: X Trilogy Three Films by Ti West

3-Disc Collector’s Edition Box Set of Ti West’s X Trilogy: X, Pearl, and MaXXXine.

X: A group of young actors shooting an adult film in rural Texas find themselves running for their lives when caught in the act by their elderly hosts.

PEARL: Trapped on an isolated farm and lusting for the life she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s temptations prevail in the origin story of X’s iconic villain.

MAXXXINE: An aspiring movie star (Mia Goth) finally gets her big break. But as a killer stalks starlets, a bloody trail threatens to reveal her sinister past.

What We Thought:

X, Pearl and MaXXXine have all been available individually before, but A24 has put out this pretty sweet Collector’s Edition X Trilogy: X, Pearl, MaXXXine Three Films by Ti West. The case is really nice and it comes with a 64 page booklet, poster and more. Overall I am a fan of Ti’s Trilogy, but I do think it started with the strongest film and ended with the weakest.

If you aren’t familiar with the films themselves, X is a throwback to 1970s/80s horror that has a Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe. It’s about a group of filmmakers wanting to make an adult film who find themselves on a farm. The farmers don’t know they are there to shoot an adult film, but they think they can get it done before they find out. It opens slowly (the only real negative of the film), but after the buildup it goes off the rails. I love that it doesn’t go in the direction you think it will (like most Ti West films) and the cast is solid. It’s based in the 1970s and very much looks the part with great 70s styling and wardrobe and an even better soundtrack. It started the trilogy and I think it’s the best of the three.

Pearl came out second and has the best performance of the trilogy and is a prequel to X. Mia Goth is genuinely fantastic in it. She played a double role in X as one of the filmmakers and as Pearl, the wife of the farmer. In Pearl, she returns to play Pearl, but this time the film takes place decades before X so she plays the younger version of the character. She is amazing and has a monologue that is as good as anything of the past ten years. Like X it opens slowly before it goes off the rails. Goth’s performance drives the film though despite the slow burn. She captures your attention throughout. If X was an homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Pearl is West’s demented Wizard of Oz.

Then there’s MaXXXine, a sequel to X that takes place in the 80s with Goth’s X character returning. I was highly looking forward to this when it came out. I thought X was the better movie, but loved Goth’s standalone performance in Pearl so I thought MaXXXine was going to be the perfect combo of both. Plus it was set in 1980s LA during the Satanic Panic timeline when movies, music and TV were heavily criticized and monitored. So much of it seemed right up my alley, but I think it’s the weakest of the three films. Goth is good again, but the surprise twist didn’t work for me. I don’t think the movie needed a reveal and on top of it, it’s not a very good one. Like X, the backdrop, costuming and music are great, but it’s not the trilogy closeout I expected.

That being said this new Collector’s Edition X Trilogy: X, Pearl, MaXXXine Three Films by Ti West is something special. These are films I will revisit through the years and if you are a fan of the films it’s worth the pickup to have all three together with the special packaging and add-ons. For fans of the Ti West trilogy it’s definitely recommended.