There is something wickedly wonderful about the pairing of Mia Goth and Ti West. The two have created a mutually beneficial working relationship, with Goth- the greatest underappreciated actresses of her generation- getting weighty leading roles and West having a willing muse to add sizzle and spectacle to his most recent projects. Simply put, Goth’s stellar performances have been the extra spice that has made West’s X– (soon-to-be) trilogy something for horror fans to relish.

I was fortunate to see Pearl in an Imax theater during the Toronto International Film Festival. I am a huge fan of X and Goth’s dual role as elderly serial killer and ambitious final girl made me a huge fan of hers. 

As for West, he had me at The House of the Devil. 

Before the showing, the TIFF audience was given a little backstory about how Pearl came to be. Pearl was shot in New Zealand immediately after the filming of X wrapped. Being shot during the pandemic, Goth and West realized that the quarantine period afterwards was going to be long enough that someone could probably shoot another movie if they really wanted to. So they decided to use that time to literally shoot a film, repurposing X‘s Powder Keg Ranch as the location. 

In an impossibly short amount of time, Goth and West co-wrote an original script focused on telling Pearl’s backstory, got the go ahead from A24 Studios, and started production. And so Pearl, a prequel to Ti West’s highly acclaimed X, was shot quickly and in relative secrecy, its big reveal coming from a trailer attached to the end of X’s credits during the Sundance premiere. It’s an impressive feat and considering its rushed origins, Pearl has no business looking as polished or being as imaginative as it is.

Set in 1918, roughly sixty years before X, Pearl follows X’s infamous serial killer at a time when she was roughly the same age as Maxine from X.

In the prologue, we see a young Pearl pining about being in the movies before violently slaughtering a chicken and feeding it to an alligator. From the get-go, she is shown to be a dangerously mix of wide-eyed innocence and amoral rage. She is the kind of girl who dreams too big for the farm, but is a potential threat to the greater world.

As we learn more about Pearl’s world, we come to better understand the forces alienating her. Her mother (Tandi Wright) and father (Matthew Sunderland) have German origins and this has made them a target of discrimination within the community. Her father is also now invalid, presumably a victim of the Spanish Flu. (Pandemic references are littered throughout the film.) And her overbearing mother looks at her in disappointment, reprimanding her for thoughts that go beyond duty towards her family. Oh…and Pearl’s married, not that it matters. Her husband left to go off and fight in the war but has recently stopped sending letters.

The truth is that Pearl actually doesn’t have that much in common with X outside of a shared character. Sure, there are nods to the film that preceded it. The alligator, the pitch fork, images of porn and the basement are all there to remind us that the two films share a cinematic universe; but in terms of tone, Pearl is an entirely different creature. Gone is the homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and 70s grindhouse film, now replaced by the bright palette of a Technicolor fantasy. This is what The Wizard of Oz might have been had Dorthey never left Kansas, if Kansas was colourized and if Dorthey had a taste for blood. Hell, there’s even a scarecrow! (I wonder if West synced it up to Dark Side of the Moon?)

But where Pearl really shines is in its homages to the classic psychological horrors of the 1960s. Many have commented on the fact that Pearl’s contradictory blend of innocence and murderous madness has roots in Norman Bates from Psycho, though I see shades of Carol Ledoux from Repulsion as well. And in the film’s second most powerful scene, Goth delivers an incredible monologue shot as a single take close-up on her face. It is all so very Ingmar Bergman. Persona anyone?

That Mia Goth has the confidence to deliver such a layered monologue for over six minutes speaks volumes of her ability as an actress. After that, it is hard to think that she has anything left to deliver as an encore…oh, wait, there is that incredible close-up of her “smiling” as the end credits roll. (Now officially my favourite end credits gimmick and the most powerful scene in the entire movie. I say this with confidence after having heard the gasps in the audience. I got actually chills watching.) It doesn’t even matter who wins best actress in 2022, in my mind Goth will still have delivered a better performance. And honestly, it’s hard not to consider the entire X-trilogy as one giant resume for Goth. Already a darling of the horror scene, she is clearly heading towards big things, or at least more of the same things in a big way.

If you are worried that Pearl’s origins might make it a bit hodge-podge, don’t be. The period props, the supporting cast and the soundtrack all are top-notch. And kudos to whoever designed that super creepy scarecrow!  Pearl‘s cast is somewhat pared down, but that only works to the story’s benefit. This is, after all, a story about a girl trying to escape a life she feels is too small for her. David Corenswet, Tandu Wright and Emma Jenkins-Purro all give performances that play well off of Goth’s increasingly unhinged anti-heroine. And the soundtrack harkens back to a simpler, more whimsical Hollywood, except when it seamlessly transitions into the familiar held-note horror gloom. And wow, do the colours in this film pop. I dare say that the cinematography may actually be better in Pearl than in X, though its a tough comparison since both intend to achieve very different goals. 

Admittedly, Pearl is not as tight or ambitious in story as its predecessor, even if, miraculously, it gets an even better performance out of Mia Goth. But then again, Pearl is the extension that was brought into existence because of a love of filmmaking and a commitment to a character. Pearl makes X better and vice-versa, even though both films stand on their own. 

Ti West has now delivered two of his best films in a remarkable short period of time. If MaXXXine is a success, West could deliver us one of the strongest horror trilogies in recent memory.

And with Goth still involved, I wouldn’t bet against him.