After an early screening prior to the official release date of “Maxxxine,” director Ti West spoke during a Q&A session at the Alamo Drafthouse theater in downtown LA. One of the questions he was asked was about the potential significance of the Betty Davis quote, “Until you’re known in my profession as a monster, you’re not a star,” which opens the film, and then book-ending the film with the song “Betty Davis Eyes” by artist Kim Carnes. After thinking about it for a moment, West said that the bookends of the film embody, quote, “a strange feeling of the movie business, what it takes to achieve something that is so unlikely to achieve,” though he also reiterated later that the ending “can be interpreted in many ways,” visibly uncomfortable about being pressed to give a definitive answer.
This reiterates the main theme of the film, as well as the horror trilogy as a whole, which concerns the intense obsession with fame and the issues that arise both personally and mentally in the pursuit of it. Essentially, while it takes a lot to achieve the impossible, it can also cause one to lose themselves in the attempt to achieve it. For instance, Pearl became a monster of jealousy and envy, while Maxine very nearly finds herself becoming callous to the potential suffering of others, as well as the violent way she deposes of obstacles like Kevin Bacon’s sleazy PI or a potential rapist dressed like Buster Keaton.
