FLM.RED / After the credits
A night on the farm and two different fears
A spoiler-filled discussion of Maxine, Pearl and the 2022 film crew’s fight to survive.
Open the recap & discussion — spoilers
A film crew rents a guesthouse on a remote Texas farm without clearly telling the owners that they are making an adult film. Their production turns into a night of horror.
A guesthouse on a farm
In 1979, Maxine travels with Wayne, Bobby-Lynne, Jackson, director RJ and Lorraine to a farm owned by elderly couple Howard and Pearl. Wayne hopes the film will succeed; Maxine wants to become a star. Pearl notices Maxine and invites her into the house, an encounter that feels uneasy before the danger becomes clear.
The disappearances
After Lorraine decides to participate in the production, an upset RJ tries to leave at night. Pearl kills him. As the others look for him, Howard traps Lorraine in the basement and members of the crew are killed while separated.
Maxine and Pearl
Mia Goth plays both Maxine and Pearl, making them unsettling reflections at different ages. Maxine looks toward a future as a performer while Pearl watches what she feels she has lost. The film makes room to consider Pearl’s loneliness without excusing her violence.
The one who gets away
Maxine frees Lorraine, but Howard shoots Lorraine as she runs outside. Howard subsequently dies of a heart attack. Maxine confronts Pearl and escapes in a truck, hitting her while reversing. She is the only member of the crew to survive. In the morning police find the camera, and a television broadcast reveals that Maxine is the daughter of a preacher heard throughout the film.
A dream not yet finished
The revelation about her father adds another dimension to Maxine’s desire to define her own life. Pearl is a prequel about Pearl’s youth, while MaXXXine continues Maxine’s story after the farm; X itself ends with her escape.
After watching
- How does Mia Goth playing both women affect your reading of their relationship?
- What does the final television reveal add to Maxine’s ambition?
An imperfect reflection
The film connects the women through age, desire and the wish to be seen while allowing their actions and consequences to differ.
Keep the conversation going
Who survives from the film crew?
Maxine is the sole member of the crew to escape the farm.
