Ankle length dresses at Sunday school. Micro skirts at peep shows. On a surface level, it is difficult to find similarity between cultural Protestantism and pornography when the two seem to exist as the complete antithesis of one another, yet there is one deep rooted component that they share. MaXXXine, Ti West and Mia Goth’s final film in the X trilogy, takes great care to shine light on this similarity. 

The 1970s saw both the midst of the “Golden Age of Pornography” and a significant rise in the production of religious horror films such as The Exorcist, The Omen, and Carrie. In response, the 1980s saw a period of intense religious protesting. MaXXXine creates a thorough mise en abyme, blurring the lines between fiction and reality as church-folk protest the fake horror movie being made within the film, The Puritan II, a symbol for the uprising of religious horror. 

Maxine is a preacher's daughter turned pornstar who has landed the lead role in her first non-pornographic film. It is clear that Maxine chose the porn industry not as a dream career, but as an escape from her religious roots and as a stepping stone to reach what she truly desires: to be a star. The film’s primary focus is the murders taking place around Maxine, which are ultimately revealed to be done by her father, Ernest, in an attempt to abduct Maxine and perform an exorcism on her for his Hollywood exposé. As a televangelist and cult leader, his goal is to reign ownership over Maxine, spread his religious ideology, and expose the evils rooted in Hollywood culture by committing mass murder and trying to force her into his mold. 

Ernest’s ideal life for his daughter is showcased at the beginning of the film, which opens with Maxine dancing on a church stage during her childhood. Behind the camera, Ernest praises her and commands her to say “I will not accept a life I do not deserve”. He nitpicks the way she says the phrase, ensuring it perfectly aligns with the way he directs her. It becomes clear that Ernest and Maxine once shared a similar goal: for her to perform. However, Maxine ended up desiring total stardom while Ernest aimed for her to be the star of the church, and eventually, the star in his documentary after she grew up and disobeyed him. This symbolizes the role that women are meant to play within certain groups that practice Protestantism: they must fulfill the man’s ideal. They must be obedient and okay with not choosing lives for themselves. Ernest is only content with Maxine living a life under his terms, acting only as an extension of him and his plans for her. 

Despite the fact that Ernest is the one committing mass murder, there are consistent implications that Maxine carries a substantial level of blame for them. This is most prominently shown in the crosscutting scene of Leon’s death and Maxine reviewing her script for The Puritan II. Specifically the moment in which Maxine highlights “Veronica [Maxine’s character] swings the blade”, followed by the slicing of Leon’s neck. 

Less obvious, but also significant, are the two detectives who follow Maxine to gain information on the murders: specifically the male. Not at all subtly, he shames Maxine for her involvement in the porn industry and places heavy blame on her. The general archetype for a detective involves high-level intelligence, logical reasoning, and a genuine passion for fighting against evil. Yet this detective continuously wastes energy attempting to make Maxine feel ashamed of herself for her past rather than helping her with the issue at hand: everyone near to her is dying. This is all as if to say ‘someone is killing all of your friends, but also, you are at least a little to blame for the massacre taking place around you. Not just because they are connected to you, but also by virtue of being a pornstar.’ This detective is characterized as a commonplace man, not part of protestant culture or the Hollywood scene, and it is clear he does not respect her. 

As for the individuals involved in the film industry and their attitude toward Maxine, it is simply all more of the same. Maxine faces multiple encounters on set that act as stubborn reminders that she cannot escape from her past despite now being a lead actress, a position that one would argue demands respect. This is first displayed at the start of the film when Maxine clearly impresses the casting directors with her audition. After giving a powerful, emotional performance, she is asked to open her shirt so they can see her breasts before she even has a moment to wipe away her tears. Then, after landing the role, when she pulls up to the gates of the set and explains to the guard who she is, he gives her a smile, saying he knows exactly who she is. When an assistant brings her the film script for her to practice, he says that he loves her work. Both comments are obvious nods to her adult film career. At a point in her life where she is striving to be taken seriously as an actress, even people working for the film, working for her, see themselves in a position where they feel more than comfortable disrespecting her and ensuring she knows that they are actively sexualizing her.  

The mistreatment of women in the industry is not only experienced by Maxine. It is also seen within the character Molly Bennett, the leading actress in The Puritan, the precursor for Maxine’s debut film. She ends up as one of Ernest’s victims, being the only woman not involved in pornography that dies at his hands, showing that Ernest and his cult are not only after adult film stars, but actresses in non-pornographic films as well. Or potentially women that they see as not fulfilling their expectations in general. When the new film debuts, the cast gives a moment of silence to Molly as a token of ‘respect’, but it is made clear that this is customary and not rooted in any actual consideration for her. The silence itself is awkward, no one knows what to do with themselves, and it is cut short when a male crew member looks to the film’s director, Elizabeth Bender, as if to say, ‘can we move on now?’. Elizabeth then engages in a dialogue with Maxine explaining how Molly could have never actually made it big in this industry, dragging her down while talking Maxine up. The environment on the set demonstrates how quickly and carelessly women are recycled in Hollywood to make room for the newest ingénue.

Both protestant culture and Hollywood industries operate on the same wavelength when it comes to their core view and disrespect of women. When this religion is practiced in blind extremity, women are seen as subordinate to their male counterparts, only respected, or, in more appropriate terms, seen as acceptable, when properly fulfilling the role of wife, mother, or daughter. Not conversely, in the porn industry and many filmic industries in general, women are oftentimes seen as cogs that keep the industry running; showgirls to keep men satisfied and wallets full. If a woman fails to practice obedience, she will not survive in either environment. 

On the surface, Maxine did ultimately get what she wanted: to be a star. Her steadfast dedication and ruthlessness paid off and she will likely thrive until she is spat back out. This film is grounded enough in reality that one can assume her limelight will inevitably diminish as she ages, making way for a new amateur girl with younger features. Not even a character as strong as Maxine can rewire the system built on decades of degradation.

Ultimately, there is no true place for women to simply be themselves in Protestantism or the industry. The cultures care little about if women are a Virgin Mary or an A-List adult film star. It cares about how well they listen.

 References:

MaXXXine. Directed by Mia Goth and Ti West. A24, 2024.