By Seth Lukas Hynes
Pearl
Starring Mia Goth, David Corenswet and Tandi Wright
Rated MA15+
4.5/5
A prequel to X, which was one of the best films of 2022, Pearl is an enthralling slasher character study full of love for classic cinema.
In 1918 Texas, Pearl (Mia Goth) lives on a farm with her overbearing mother and paralysed father. Pearl dreams of stardom, but family life and her own dark impulses stand in her way.
Pearl is a taut, darkly funny portrait of loyalty, ambition and rebellion taken to macabre extremes.
Pearl herself resembles a deranged Dorothy from The Wizard Of Oz. Goth’s versatile performance – brutally intense in some moments, subtle and vulnerable in others – garners our sympathy even as Pearl’s death-count ramps up, and in hindsight, it’s a travesty that Goth (who co-wrote the film) wasn’t nominated for Best Actress at this year’s Oscars.
Pearl’s themes and cinematography evoke Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and this prequel engages with elements from X in clever ways; these include enjoying our youth, the overlap between erotica and cinema, and the ominous alligator in the nearby lake. Just as the old Pearl in X lashes out at reminders of her lost youth, the young Pearl reacts with fear and rage to anything that might keep her on her despised farm, and director Ti West weaves Pearl’s violent rebellion and show-business aspirations with graphic precision.
I prefer Pearl to Infinity Pool (which also stars Goth) because it’s more constructive, setting the stage for the events of X, and because Pearl has more twisted agency than James in Infinity Pool, who ends up a drug-addled stooge.
A superb spin-off and an outstanding horror character piece in its own right, Pearl is out on DVD and Blu-Ray and available to rent or buy on iTunes.
– Seth Lukas Hynes
