Horror trilogies tend to be disappointing. You get amped up on the first film which absolutely kills it—well, someone’s usually getting killed, anyway—and then the second film falls flat. Very flat. But you’re committed, so you watch the third one hoping it redeems the second. And it usually does not.
The X Trilogy—X, Pearl, and MaXXXine—is not like this. While MaXXXine serves up Maxxxine Minx as the sum and progression of her experiences in X, the flashback in Pearl really drives home one of the main themes across all three films. Beyond this, there are common elements that weave through all the three, tightly connecting each with the others. This is common enough where trilogies are concerned, but here we have a wonderful diversion from the norm in that the films do not have to be seen alongside one another to enjoy them.
You can watch any single one and enjoy the film on its own. Pearl is disturbing all on its own, but adds context to X. X is fucked up all on its own, but adds context to MaXXXine. Watch all three and get a bird’s eye view of how fucked these characters all are.
You can watch any single one and enjoy the film on its own. Pearl is disturbing all on its own, but adds context to X. X is fucked up all on its own, but adds context to MaXXXine. Watch all three and get a bird’s eye view of how fucked these characters all are.
Now, as the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, we recommend watching them all together, which can be done in one of two ways:
Release Order, where you’ll just watch them in the order they were released, which provides some thoughtful consideration after viewing. X sets the stage (ha! puns) and delivers a brutal punch to get the whole thing going; Pearl takes us back in time to understand why Pearl is so goddamned fucked up; and then we're back to the future, following up with Maxine Minx as she makes her way in Hollywood, in MaXXXine; or
Chronologically: Pearl, X, MaXXXine--where you’ll watch them in the order events occur across the films.
We’ll go into a little detail in either case further down, but you cannot go wrong any way you watch them. Just save MaXXXine for last. However you choose to enjoy these films, remember that in the end, it's all showbiz, baby! You can find the list on Letterboxd here:
