Hello horror fans! October may be over but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of great horror films and shows to watch. I recently watched the prequel to Ti West’s excellent slasher X. While Pearl is a prequel to X, you can watch these in either order. Do be forewarned there will be some mild spoilers for both Pearl and X below. You’ve been warned so if that sort of thing bothers you, go out back, make sure your pet gator is fed, then go on back to the barn, plug in the old cable television and watch the movies before you head back here for the review.

Mia Goth Delivers again

One of the best parts of X was easily Mia Goth in her performance as Maxxxine. In Pearl she gets the title role and delivers an excellent performance, able to balance a naive innocence with a burgeoning madness.

Pearl tells the story of a young woman who is stuck on a rural farm, waiting for her young husband to come home from the war in 1918. She’s under the strict supervision of her parents but she yearns for more. Pearl wants to dance and see the world. But with the way things are for women at the time, she’s not likely to get her chance.

To add to her struggles, the influenza pandemic is raging at the time, and her mother is more than a little paranoid about contracting the disease. At the time, it was certainly a valid concern, but the way Pearl’s mother acts is on the more extreme end of things.

Pearl meets a young man who is a bit on the wild side and she finds out about a chance to dance for a show that is going on the road. The man and the opportunity give Pearl the chance to live a little on the edge and find out more about what the world is about. Yet, it’s no surprise things will not end well here.

Things get Dangerous

Pearl, on top of her hopes and dreams, has some clearly violent tendencies. She seems to take great pleasure in killing small animals and feeding them to the alligator that lives near her farm. There are times she flies off the handle with no warning and again, Mia Goth does a fantastic job of giving the character enough edge without making it unbelievable.

She has a supportive sister in law and a domineering mother. Her father is wheel chair bound but Pearl seems to like him the most out of the people in her family. Things come to a head when Pearl goes to try out for the dance show against her mother’s wishes.

I won’t spoil what comes next since what happens is pretty extreme but this is a horror film so you can probably guess it’s something rather horrible.

In Conclusion

Overall, the film is a bit quieter than X but I’d say it’s more unsettling. The tone plays more of a part here and leaves the audience just enough off balance to make it worth watching. Even if you have seen X and have a pretty good idea what’s up with Pearl, you’ll still find some stand out performances and an unforgettable ending. If you haven’t given this a watch and you like a good slasher or an unsettling horror period piece, this is definitely worth checking out.

Horrifically yours,

Slick Dungeon