Pearl

Pearl

Credits
Title:	Pearl
Directed by:	Ti West
Written by:	Ti West; Mia Goth
Produced by:	Ashley Levinson; Sam Levinson; Dennis Cummings; Karina Manashil; Mia Goth; Peter Phok; Kevin Turen; Kid Cudi; Jacob Jaffke; Harrison Kreiss
Music by:	Tyler Bates; Tim Williams
Cinematography:	Eliot Rockett
Edited by:	Ti West
Production
Production:	A24 Bron Creative Little Lamb
Distributors:	A24
Released:	September 16th, 2022
Rating:	R
Running time:	102 min.
Country:	USA
Language:	English
Navigation
Previous:	X
Next:	MaXXXine

Pearl is an American feature film of the slasher subgenre of horror. It was written and directed by Ti West and co-written by Mia Goth, who also plays the female lead, Pearl. It was produced by A24, Bron Creative, and Little Lamb. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 3rd, 2022. It was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13th, 2022. It opened theatrically in the United States on September 16th, 2022. The movie serves as a prequel to X, which was released earlier in the year.

Cast[]

Actor

Role

Margaret

Woman

Pianist

Director

Ticket taker

Notes & Trivia[]

This film is alternatively known as Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story.
The tagline to this film is "Every killer has a story to tell".
The film was shot entirely in New Zealand.
Pearl was released on Blu-ray with DVD and digital download by Lionsgate Films on November 15th, 2022.
While working on X director Ti West and actress Mia Goth collaborated to flesh out a back-story for the film's antagonist, Pearl. Realizing that there was enough of an engaging story there, West decided to film a prequel back-to-back with X, using many of the same sets and props. A24 greenlit the project before filming even began on X.
Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, served as a producer on this film. He was also a producer and actor in X, playing the role of Jackson.
On the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), Pearl has a weighted average score of 7.0 out of 10 based on more than 42,000 user ratings. 3,582 voters rated it as a 10, comprising 8.5% of the voting total, while 1,023 voters rated at a 1, comprising 2.4% of the voting total.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a Tomatometer score of 91% (certified fresh) based on 159 critic reviews. It has 145 positive reviews and 14 negative reviews. It has an audience score of 82% based on more than five-hundred verified ratings, averaging 4.1 out of 5.
On Metacritic, the film has a Metascore of 73 out of 100 based on thirty-one critic reviews with twenty-three positive reviews, seven mixed, and one negative review. It has a user score of 6.8 based on seventy-nine ratings with fifty-two positive reviews, sixteen mixed, and eleven negative reviews.
On Letterboxd, Pearl has a weighted average of 3.93 out of 5 based on 300,132 ratings.
This film draws many parallels with the 1939 musical fantasy classic The Wizard of Oz.
In addition to being the star of the film, Mia Goth is also a producer and serves as co-screenwriter along with Ti West. This is her first work in the industry in both of these capacities.
The setting for this film is Fordell, Texas in November, 1918. A letter written by Howard Douglas is dated September 9th, but a newspaper clipping seen later in the film is dated November 5th.
The pornographic movie that the Projectionist shows to Pearl is called A Free Ride. It was likely filmed in 1915 and is believed to be the oldest surviving pornographic film made in the United States. The director of the film is credited as "A. Wise Guy".
All of Pearl's farm animals, as well as the alligator, are named after famous Silver Screen stars. The alligator is named Theda after actress Theda Bara, considered to be one of America's earliest sex symbols. The cow's name is Charlie, possibly named for Vaudevillian Charlie Chaplin.
Mia Goth's monologue sequence with Emma Jenkins-Purro runs at seven minutes and fifty-seven seconds.
Mia Goth's sustained lunatic smile during the closing credits runs for one minute and fifty-one seconds.

Explicit Content[]

Female frontal nudity: The groin area of a woman is shown in the black and white pornographic stag film that the Projectionist shows to Pearl.
Female rear nudity: The buttocks area of a woman is shown in the black and white pornographic stag film that the Projectionist shows to Pearl.
Gore

Dead animals: A goose is stabbed with a pitchfork off-screen, but its dead body is shown later as Pearl feeds it to an alligator. There is also a roasted pig that is left on Pearl's doorstep to rot.
Decapitation: Pearl decapitates Mitsi with an axe.
Disfigurement: Ruth's burned body is shown several times in the film.
Dismemberment: Pearl dismembers Mitsi's arms and legs with an axe.
Exploding bodies: Pearl fantasizes about her husband Howard exploding while she crushes an alligator egg.
Immolation: Ruth is pressed up against the fireplace and her dress catches on fire, lighting her up like a Roman candle.
Stabbings: Pearl stabs the Projectionist through the chest with a pitchfork. It also ends up going through his mouth.

Masturbation: Pearl straddles a prone scarecrow in a field and thrusts her body until she climaxes.
Profanity: Very mild profanity; mostly relegated to simple crassness.
Suffocation: Pearl suffocates her father with a pillow off-screen.

Call-Backs[]

There are numerous call-backs between this film and the previous installment, X, which takes place over sixty years after the events of this film.

The opening shot of the film begins with the interior of the barn serving as a frame for the shot, as if it were filmed in a different aspect ration, and then extends outward to the exterior of the farm and surrounding land in full widescreen. This technique was also used to open the beginning of X.
Both films feature an alligator in a pond. Whether the alligator from this film is the same one from X, or if it is one of her offspring is unknown.
The Projectionist shows Pearl a black and white pornographic stag film. The cast from X are shooting an adult film.
A man on the street is seen wearing a sandwich board that reads "I will not accept a life I do not deserve". This mantra is openly spoken by Maxine multiple times in X.
Another interpretation of the above phrase is demonstrated through the character of Ruth, who believes that the only life we deserve is the one that we work to achieve, and we should accept that.
At the dance audition, Pearl steps up to her mark on the stage, which consists of two strips of tape crisscrossed to form the letter "X".
When the stage director at the dance audition tells Pearl that she didn't make the cut, he tells her that he is looking for someone younger, and blonde. An All-American girl who has the "X-Factor". In X, Wayne tells Maxine and Lorraine about having the "X-Factor" quality required to perform in adult films.
The character of Mitsi is reminiscent of Bobby-Lynne from X. She is the exact type of blonde All-American girl that the stage director described. After she is killed, Pearl feeds her remains to the alligator. In X, Pearl pushes Bobby-Lynne into the pond where she is eaten by the alligator. Afterward, she tells Howard "You know I don't like blondes".
Pearl has several dolls positioned on shelves in her home. These dolls can also be seen in the farmhouse in X.
An axe and a pitchfork are both used as murder weapons in this film. They are also both used as murder weapons in X.
The Projectionist refers to himself as a "Bohemian". In X, Howard makes a comment to Wayne about his distaste for Bohemians. Perhaps in the intervening years, Howard learned about his wife's dalliance with the Projectionist, which could explain this mild prejudice.
One of the girls who scrubs out of the dance audition is named Dorothy Collins, a possible allusion to Dorothy Gale, the main character from The Wizard of Oz.

Body Count[]

There are four human victims in this movie, and one animal victim. Of the five deaths, four of them are deliberate and one is accidental. Of the four human victims, two are female and two are male.

The Victims

The Goose - Pitchforked by Pearl off-screen and fed to Theda the alligator.
Ruth - Burned to death when her dress catches on fire while struggling with Pearl.
The Projectionist - Stabbed to death by Pearl with a pitchfork inside of his car. Remains fed to Theda.
Pearl's father - Smothered to death with a pillow by Pearl.
Mitsi - Whacked multiple times in the back with an axe, then dismembered. Remains fed to the gator. Theda ate well on this day.

Honorable Mentions

Howard - Pearl fantasizes about Howard exploding.
Pearl's child - Revealed to have died as a result of miscarriage prior to the events of this film.
The Pig - Killed and roasted off-screen as part of a meal offering. Progressively rots throughout the course of the film.

Recommendations[]

External Links[]

References[]

Film Series
Do not accept a film trilogy that you do not deserve.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the X films category.

Films

X • Pearl • MaXXXine

Characters

Maxine Minx • Pearl Douglas • Howard Douglas • Bobby-Lynne Parker • Lorraine Day • R.J. Nichols • Jackson Hole • Wayne Gilroy • Mitsy • Ernest Miller • Ruth