Time: 102 Minutes
Cast:
Mia Goth as Pearl
David Corenswet as the projectionist
Tandi Wright as Ruth
Matthew Sunderland as Pearl’s father
Emma Jenkins-Purro as Mitsy
Alistair Sewell as Howard
Director: Ti West

Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Hoping for a more glamorous life, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations and repressions all collide to horrific effect.

I had been interested in watching Pearl ever since I first heard about it. Earlier this year, Ti West made X, which I found to be a really good horror movie. Directly after making that movie, West filmed a prequel focussing on X’s main villain Pearl played by Mia Goth (in one of her two roles in that film), and got Goth to reprise that role. I was interested for that reason alone, and I thought it succeeded in what it set out to do.

Pearl is a very different movie to X, from the approach to the story, to the horror itself. Its less seedy and sleazy exploitation and goes more for the Golden Age of Hollywood (and is set in the 1910s). However, it retains its dark humour and leans into some of the over the top camp elements. I think Pearl is a perfect companion piece to X and enriches that original movie now. As a prequel, it does improve X as we get the full backstory behind the main villain. There are some references and callbacks, and the farm that Pearl lives at is the main setting for X. However, this movie can be seen on its own without having seen X. Pearl is essentially a character study about a girl with a personality disorder, we see the tragedy of her character and what led her to how she is in X. It gives her depth and humanises the character. The story is intimate, and the plot is slower, with fewer explosive payoffs. Its not really heavy on the horror, most of the horror comes from the main character. So if you’re looking for kills and thrills, you’ll be a little disappointed. The movie did drag at some points, part of that is that you can tell how things are going to end (even if you haven’t seen X), and you are just waiting for it. Still, I liked how the movie played out, and it concludes with one of the most memorable end credits scroll scenes I’ve seen.

Pearl is Mia Goth’s show, she’s fantastic and the main reason to watch this movie. From the beginning, you can quickly tell that this character has some issues, but you’re hoping that things go right for her even though you know that it won’t. Goth’s performance helps with that, showing all the different sides to the character. She showcases an outstanding emotional range and conveys everything brilliantly. Probably one of the best performances of the year so far. The rest of the cast are good too, but again its Goth’s movie.

Ti West returns from X to direct Pearl and his work is great here. Stylistically, the two movies are very different. It swaps out the 70s sleaze, instead recapturing the magic of classic Hollywood with vibrant technicolour for the production design, costumes and cinematography, almost like it’s the Wizard of Oz. Tyler Bates also returns to compose this movie after X and again the music is very different, generally going for a classic old Hollywood feel while serving the more horror moments very well.

Pearl is a really good horror character study, its visually stunning and vibrant, it works well as a prequel to X, and it is led by an incredible lead performance from Mia Goth. While I think X is more rewatchable, Pearl might be the better movie overall. I’m looking forward to Goth and Ti West’s next X collaboration with MaXXXine.