The serial killer’s story should be added to Ti West’s film in an unusual way.
After a long wait, the first trailer for MaXXXine was released by A24. The arrival point of a praised horror trilogy, guided by the slasher, the film should present a third perspective from Ti West on this macabre – and powerful – universe starring Mia Goth.
The plot is directed towards Hollywood in the 1980s, with events after X – The Mark of Death. After going through a bloodbath shooting an erotic film, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks Hollywood stars, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.
“Film of the millennium”: Maxxxine trailer mixes real serial killer with Hitchcock classic – and there’s even room for Emily in Paris!
Among the various references presented in the preview, in addition to the appearance of the Bates Motel from Psycho, there is a strong presence of a registered serial killer: Night Stalker. Although many did not know the criminal beforehand, it was soon discovered that he was not only a real figure, but that his worst acts took place precisely at the time the film takes place, between 1984 and 1985.
After all, who was Night Stalker?
Netflix
Richard Ramirez was an American criminal known for carrying out robberies, kidnappings, rapes and serial murders in the Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco region. Named by the media as The Walk-In Killer and Valley Intruder before receiving the nickname Night Stalker, he became known for the use of satanic images on the bodies of his victims – in a certain part of the video, it is possible to see a corpse with a pentagram scrawled on the face, for example…
Born in El Paso, Texas, Richard came from a family of Mexican immigrants. Described as a lonely child, he learned to shoot and use knives from his cousin Mike, an ex-military man. After his wife was killed by an army veteran, he became addicted to drugs and began committing petty thefts to support his habit.
MaXXXine: Mia Goth describes the film as “the greatest cinematic experience” in the horror trilogy
Later, when he was living off drugs, he began to prey on victims in the Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco region. Night Stalker was responsible for the deaths of 13 people in a short period of time. In August 1985, he was finally captured by the police. After being sentenced to the death penalty, the criminal died in line for execution in June 2013.
In 2021, Netflix released a documentary based on the killer’s story. Titled Night Stalker: Torture and Terror, the series of four episodes of approximately 48 minutes each shows how “the glamor of 1985 Los Angeles was home to a tireless serial killer and two police officers who didn’t sleep a wink until they captured him.” His story is also investigated in the podcast “Crime under the Spotlight”, in episode 48, Richard Ramirez – The story of the capture of the night stalker.
MaXXXine hits North American theaters in July. There is still no forecast for its debut in Brazil.