- Title: Pearl
- IMDb: link
Made after, but set chronologically before, 2022’s X, Pearl acts as a prequel to the first film of the X Series with Mia Goth reprising her role as Pearl introduced as a not-quite-right young woman living on her parents Texas farm in 1918 while her husband fights abroad in WWI. The same location is used for the house as in the first film with it getting quite the makeover as well a concerted effort writer/director Ti West and cinematographer Eliot Rockett to exaggerate the look and vibrant color scheme of the film with brighter and bolder colors taking inspiration from Technicolor films of the past such as The Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins.
Even for those who may not have seen X, West lets the audience know that something isn’t right with Pearl giving us some odd, yet playful, banter with a scarecrow in a cornfield that quickly gets creepy. With her head in the clouds, Pearl dreams of leaving the farm against the wishes of her German immigrant parents.
It doesn’t take much to push the stifled Pearl over the edge, tired of dealing with her controlling mother (Tandi Wright) and invalid father (Matthew Sunderland) who become the first of her victims once the spree commences. Others falling to Pearl include the projectionist (David Corenswet) from the local cinema and her friend friend Misty (Emma Jenkins-Purro) who makes the bad choice of pushing Pearl to tell her what’s wrong offering a moral to all of us never to ask that question if you don’t what to hear the answer. We also get Howard’s (Alistair Sewell) shocked return from the war in the film’s epilogue letting us in on how he learned about his wife’s odd proclivities and how long he’s been covering for her.
Wanting to explore something different than in X, West set out to create, as he described it, “a demented Disney movie.” The result is a brighter, and funnier, film than X which leans heavily into its quirky nature while still leaving plenty of bloody fun for the final act, although I think it lacks the chills and atmosphere of the previous film. Given the choice, I prefer X, but would still recommend either to the right audience.
Watch the trailer
