Pearl
Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story

Pearl feels like exactly what it is: a character biography/backstory expanded into a feature film. I was unaware when I saw it that it was a prequel to Ti West's earlier film X, released this same year, but one need not be familiar with X to enjoy Pearl. Co-written by star Mia Goth, West's film takes place in 1918 and tells the story of a young woman in rural Texas living with her German immigrant farmer parents. The passionate Pearl is trapped in her isolated homestead, waiting for her husband to return from serving in WWI, tending to her ailing father, and lorded over by her tyrannically devout mother. Her only escape is seeing movies at the local cinema and engaging in lustful thoughts in the cornfields. Pearl's attempts at repressing her desires and ambitions slowly drive her to a psychotic break.

West's usual slow-burn approach to horror is far more effective here than in X because this picture is more of a character study with slasher elements than a slasher movie with intellectual pretensions. Pearl is a cheerful descent into madness with period trappings and a lush, quasi-Technicolor visual style unlike what we expect when we go to a slasher picture. Goth's performance is far more captivating here than either of the roles she plays in X.  Origin stories are usually unsatisfying, so perhaps it takes a movie that isn't entirely successful on its own to generate a good one.

Pearl was created in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When film production on X shut down for a spell, West figured he and Goth could go right into shooting this follow-up to the movie they'd just wrapped, since it would require a minimal cast and crew. So, technically, this is a COVID project, but not one that features masks and social distancing. The isolation depicted in this film is of a totally different era, but the movie still explores the dangers of being cooped up in the house with no one but your family to interact with—especially bad if you happen to be a sociopath!