I really enjoyed the movie X from studio A24 and what we have here with Pearl is a prequel to that. Did X really need a prequel? I am sure that is a question many of us were wondering, but I have to say that I think this pulls it off very well. It serves as a good companion movie to X and gives you a better idea of why Pear was the way she was in X.
How to Download Pearl
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and check the current availability.
The Movie Review
Directed by Ti West who also directed X, Pear is a real thrill ride of a movie that is about this young woman called Pearl (the old lady from X) and her descent into being a real psychopath. Mia Goth stars as Pearl and her performance here is awesome, she really does feel like an old-timey movie star here and I am sure she had a ton of fun bringing Pearl to life in this way.
The movie takes place in 1918 and Pearl along with her German immigrant parents are just trying to get by and live their life on their farm. Pearl’s husband, Howard is fighting in World War I, and Pearl is left living here with her disabled father and her very harsh mother called Ruth. Ruth says that Pearl must look after her father and tend to the farm, those are her duties.
Pearl wants more from life and hates living on this farm and the boring life that she has. One night at the local cinema, she befriends the projectionist and the two of them have a real spark between them. She is mesmerized by these chorus dancers and dreams that she could be one of them. She is also heavily fantasizing about being with this projectionist too.
Once Pearl gets word of a tryout to become a dancer that gets to travel all over the world, she decides to go for it. Her mother is mad as hell about this and this is ultimately the catalyst for Pearl becoming what she is in X. She basically goes nuts and starts just slaying people that are in the way of what she wants. In many ways, this is a very predictable movie if I am being honest with you.
While this is most certainly described as a horror/slasher-style movie, I also do think that Pearl has a kind of “be thankful for what you have” message about it too which is quite interesting. It does not have the same kind of shock value nor it leaves you with your mouth open in shock like X does, but I do feel that Mia Goth’s performance is so captivating you still get fully sucked in by the story that is being told.
Is Pearl as good as X? I would have to say that no it is not and that I did much prefer X if I am being honest. However, if you have seen X, Pearl is 100 percent worth a watch and I am sure you will enjoy it. I would not recommend coming into this before you have seen X as it may not have that same amount of “magic” of appeal to you.
