Director: Ti West

Stars: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Kevin Bacon, Giancarlo Esposito, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale

The third part of Ti West's loosely connected slasher trilogy, once again starring the fearless Mia Goth, is impressively mounted but over-ambitious, unfocussed, and muddled.

It begins with a nod to 'Peeping Tom' via scratchy black and white home movie where the young Maxine dances, directed by her demanding offscreen father. 'I will not accept a life I do not deserve' she declares under his instructions.

Cut to tawdry 80s LA where satanic panic is at its height and the Parents Music Resource Centre is lobbying to label albums with Parental Advisory stickers. Maxine (Goth) is now a successful porn actress looking to break into legitimate acting via a part in horror sequel 'The Puritan II' which is being directed by Debicki's imperious, no-nonsense British director Elizabeth Bender.

Meanwhile a serial killer 'The Night Stalker' is terrorising LA and two of Maxine's colleagues are murdered. Maxine insists she can defend herself though, evidenced in a very nasty scene where she encounters a stalker in an alley. As well as being badgered by two police detectives (Monaghan and Cannavale) who think she may have some connection to her friends' murders, Maxine must contend with sleazy southern PI John Labat (Bacon) who works for an unrevealed client and is looking into Maxine's past.

The grainy photography, heavy metal video aesthetic and shifting aspect ratios effectively summon up the trashy 80s milieu, but the numerous meta touches and promiscuous referencing of everything from the aforementioned 'Peeping Tom' to Italian Giallo horror makes this feel more of a series of homages than story in its own right. Mia Goth is as entertainingly go-for-broke as ever at least, and Bacon and Debicki deliver infectiously fun, scene-chewing turns.

MaXXXine is released on 5th July

David Willoughby

Follow David Twitter @DWill_Crackfilm