Summary
The final chapter in Ti West’sXseries,MaXXXine, contains a touching dedication that references a key member of the franchise who never appeared on screen. The acclaimed slasher-horror trilogy stars Mia Goth in multiple roles, butMaXXXinefeatures an ensemble castabsolutely loaded with veteran Hollywood stars including Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Monaghan, Giancarlo Esposito, Elizabeth Debicki, and Kevin Bacon. However, the “For Kevin” dedication inMaXXXinedoes not refer to the aforementioned A-lister.
MaXXXineacts as a direct sequel toX, and stars Mia Goth once again as Maxine Minx. Set in Los Angeles in the 1980s during the Night Stalker’s reign of terror,MaXXXinefollows Maxine as she gets her first acting job in a real Hollywood horror film. The entire time, she’s being stalked by a killer and the private investigator he hired to find her (Bacon).MaXXXine’s endingreveals that the killer was in fact her father all along, a religious fanatic with a twisted vision of how to correct the country’s fall during the “Satanic Panic” of the time.
MaXXXine Review: Mia Goth Cements Her Stardom In Nearly Perfect Conclusion To A24’s Slasher Trilogy
There are complicated layers that Goth needs to bring to the surface, and she delivers a layered character who is equal parts victim and survivor.
MaXXXine Is Dedicated To Producer Kevin Turen
Turen was heavily involved in the entireXtrilogy
The “For Kevin” dedication inMaXXXineis forone of the movie’s producers, Kevin Turen. The film and TV producer was one of the key consistent contributors to theXtrilogy, alongside director Ti West and Mia Goth herself. Born in New York City in 1979, Turen studied at Columbia University before he pursued a career in Hollywood. Turen’s first job as a producer came in 2005’sWassup Rockers, and he produced a number of other projects before his most notable early success, 2012’s Golden Globe-nominated financial thrillerArbitrage.
Turen was also a long-time collaborator with famous TV and movie producer Sam Levinson, and worked directly on some of his most famous projects. Turen first worked with him as a producer on Levinson’s 2018 filmAssassination Nation, and established Little Lamb Productions with Levinson and his wife, Ashley. As a result, Turen was a producer onEuphoriaandThe Idol, two of HBO’s more popular series in the last decade. He also collaborated with them to produce the movieMalcolm & MariestarringEuphoria’s Zendaya.
Turen worked onMalcolm & Marie, which was the first Hollywood feature to be entirely written, produced, and filmed during the COVID lockdowns of 2020.
Kevin Turen Died During MaXXXine’s Post-Production
His tragic death was unexpected
Turen’s death was not the result of anything long-term, and happened suddenly and unexpectedly. Per theLA Times, the Los Angeles County medical examinerattributed Turen’s death to a cardiac eventthat occurred as the result of several underlying heart conditions. Turen actually suffered the cardiac event while driving, and his 10-year-old son Jack, who was in the car with him, pulled them to the side of the road. Turen was taken to a hospital, where he died at the age of 45.
The incident occurred on November 12th, 2023,just asMaXXXinewas in the post-production phase. That gave the film’s creators plenty of time to incorporate a touching tribute to the veteran producer, who had worked closely on all three films in Ti West’sXtrilogy.The future of theXtrilogyis not yet settled, but Kevin Turen’s influence will undoubtedly be felt by those who worked with him if the slasher-horror franchise does in fact continue.
MaXXXine
Cast
In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx lands her big break, but her rise to stardom is jeopardized by a mysterious killer targeting starlets. As the body count rises, secrets from Maxine’s past threaten to surface, intertwining her quest for fame with a deadly game of survival.
