Ti West came out with one of the more surprising films in 2022 – X. The old-school slasher feature was a fun homage to classic films of the late 70’s & 80’s. However, the world of X is far from over, as the writer/director returns with one of the most ambitious horror films for quite some time now, Pearl.
A prequel to X, the film follows Pearl in 1918, where the married woman is trapped on an isolated farm as her husband is out fighting the war. She must tend to her ailing father under the watch of her mother. However, Pearl longs for the glamorous lifestyle she’s seen in movies, and her temptations and desires override the nature of her reality. Pearl is an underrated gem that exemplifies the best in genre filmmaking and showcases the true star power of Mia Goth.
Pearl Is A Compelling Character Driven Story About Hopes and Desires
It’s genuinely hard to make a prequel to any film. Origin stories of this nature tend to try and answer questions about a character’s past. The problem is, that filmmakers don’t particularly understand that the mystery of said characters is what makes them intriguing in the first place. Thankfully, Pearl doesn’t have that problem. The film knows what it is and it’s simply trying to tell a character-driven story documenting their main villain.
Surprisingly, Pearl isn’t like X. The film isn’t drenched in sex and gore until the climax kicks in. Ti West does a masterful job writing Pearl’s character. He manages to make her a multi-layered character who’s equally loving, caring, sympathetic, and psycho. That’s no easy feat, but the story of Pearl longing for a place to belong is such a relatable thing.
West wisely doesn’t just focus on the crazy of Pearl. Granted, you know from the moment the story begins the victims that will ultimately fall at the hands of the horror villain. But the simple, yet complex themes of dreams and how they cause so much turmoil within our reality give her character a grounded reality that allows the audience to understand her worldview.
The Story Is Still Predictable
Still, as previously mentioned, the story is highly predictable. It takes over an hour for the first kill to happen. Luckily, the film is compelling enough to keep you entertained, but the outcome is never truly shocking. Had Pearl not had such a commanding presence in the vein of Mia Goth, then the film could’ve easily crumbled into the boring category.
Pearl has never billed itself as a kill fest, so only people expecting popcorn thrills won’t be entertained. In terms of the kills itself, there’s nothing in particular that stands out creatively. All kills are gory, but there are a couple of them where West opts to not show the audience the actual kills themselves. It never hurts the film as Ti West’s stylist choices only make Pearl better than it has any right to be.
Ti West makes plenty of interesting choices with the camera. The most notable was the 5-minute-long monologue that Pearl delivers towards the end of the film. He never breaks from that single moment. It’s a bold storytelling choice that pays off, and the colorful setting that’s a juxtaposition to the dark reality of the world is also nice.
Mia Goth Is A Star
This is Mia Goth‘s show and she steals every scene that she’s in. That five-minute monologue I mentioned earlier is incredible. The sadness, pain, and anger that the actress can display so effortlessly is astounding. There’s never a boring moment with Pearl despite the predictability of the story.
Everyone in the supporting cast serves their purpose in the story. Tandi Wright (Pearl’s mother Ruth) is easily the best of the bunch. Her cruelness towards Pearl is well-documented and understandable. She’s also going through pain and suffering because her life has been reduced to mothering her husband. Despite her cruelty towards Pearl, you understand her hardships and do feel sympathy for her character as well.
Pearl is an excellent origin story that only makes X a better film. X already did a nice job of giving the villains dimension, but this expands Pearl’s character which never harms her in any sort of way.
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