The screams queens of Maxxxine talk crafting a killer finale to an epic horror trilogy

An epic horror trilogy is coming to a head, and it's a killer of a good time.

After nearly a two-year wait, A24's Maxxxine is finally playing in theaters and giving viewers a look at the life of our titular scream queen (played by Mia Goth) following the events of X and Pearl.

It's the mid-80s now, and amidst the backdrop of Los Angeles being on high alert because of the Night Stalker serial killer, Maxine Minx is trying to make it in the entertainment industry and be the star that she always knows she was destined to be — even if a murderous force is trying to get in her way.

Out got the chance to talk to the cast, including stars Halsey, Lily Collins, Elizabeth Debicki, and writer-director Ti West!

"It was interesting because we made the other two movies and nobody knew we made them and then they had come out. So because there was that gap, this was the first movie that people were actually expecting me to show up with," West told Out when asked about how it felt to be back and bringing the final chapter of Maxine's story to audiences. "There was a little more pressure, I think, on me, and I don't know how Mia felt about it. I think we just avoided talking about it, but there was certainly pressure to deliver and to bring her back in a way that's an evolution of how she was before. And so when I was writing the script, I didn't have that stress on the other movies, so I think I stayed up very late at night really working it and credit to Mia because Mia delivered in being able to evolve in her performance and to do something different. I think it'll be very fun for people to see that."

"My inner teenager came out," queer icon and singer-songwriter Halsey told Out when asked about putting her acting hat on to join Maxxxine's stacked cast. "I was with all these really cool kids and I just wanted to do a great job and I wanted everyone to be happy that I was there. This is going to sound so brown nosy, but I just really wanted to do a great job for Ti. He just mentioned the pressure of doing the third film... if I was the thing that went wrong, I would never forgive myself. I know the pressure of having to follow your thing up with another creation and having expectations on it. So yeah, mostly I just really wanted to do a great job for him. I think he really deserved it. And also I just wanted to die on screen in a really epic way, and I got to do that. And it was a lifelong dream of mine."

"I've never thought about directing something," The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki, who plays a professional AF, no-nonsense filmmaker in Maxxxine, said about the possibility of her some day putting her directing goggles on for a project of her own. "I have sort of total respect for directors and writers, and I don't think I can do that. Maybe one day I will. I don't know. I'll say this, I love actors so much and I love watching actors work. That's sort of what I love. It was such a joy to play this character. I just got to watch Mia do really fabulous work. The audition scene was a meal for me. I was like, let's do it. I just wanted to see that come alive. And so I don't know, perhaps one day. Nothing's happened yet."

And because the city of Los Angeles and the entertainment industry plays such a big role in the film, we thought it would be fun to ask the Maxxxine cast what their LA recommendations are for folks coming to visit.

"I grew up here from a very young age, so I have a slightly maybe different view of it," Lily Collins answered. "Although I have been mostly international, so coming back into town, I just love getting in a car and driving. I genuinely love driving down Hollywood Boulevard or driving to the beach or driving by my old schools. There's a nostalgia there for me that maybe tourists would not be so interested in. But I think LA is such a driving city, you're not really walking around experiencing it. I would say to get a car and just drive down the coast and experience the mountains, the ocean, all of what LA has to offer."

Maxxxine is now playing in theaters.