#pearl review

[hannahwatcheshorror]

PEARL (2022)

A character study about a young woman finding her way through some complicated feeling no one else seems to have. Throughout the film you can see Pearl struggle with her humanity and it is rather fascinating. You get to see how things got set up for the previous movie in the series, “X,” or you can just enjoy this as a stand alone film. The pacing is very good, it wastes no time getting things going or keeping them there. Not a perfect film but a weird one that I think fits nicely into the Horror genre.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Hello Herman” vibes right out the gate, “you’re a superstar, yes you are, yes you are,” but also killing small animals is surely a sign of what's to come in Pearl’s future, I mean, honey… (At least Maxine was just a coke fiend before she met you.) I like that she feeds Theda the alligator but it debunks my “she's a witch” theory from “X” and also I wish she didn’t feed the gator with a pitch fork, what if she stabbed the poor thing and it couldn’t death roll a certain hot blonde in the future?

Pearl exhibits some strange behavior from the beginning of the film, it’s hard to tell if it’s mental illness, a reaction to the stressors of life, or if she might just be a little evil. She doesn’t have the easiest life with her husband at war, her strict mother, her disabled father, and her dashed dreams of dancing for an audience, but she isn’t entirely without. When the man working at the cinema encourages her to live her youth, you feel that she is entitled to spreading her wings a bit, but then we get a harsh reality check at dinner when Mama informs us how tight money is.

The only thing tighter than the money was how tight the women in that house were wound up because it came to physical blows very quickly. The worst part is they both had reasonable points but things heated up so quickly. Speaking of heating up quickly, Mama. Pearl accidentally (on purpose) pushed Mama into the fire and her dress caught up and burned her badly. Papa watched the whole thing (remember, disabled). Mama was sent to the punishment basement to die while father got his favorite pillow. Pearl goes to the cinema worker to run away but he takes her home first and gets spooked and tries to leave so she freaks out and kills him, classic Pearl! Here we get to see her iconic pitchfork before it was iconic.

When the church dance audition rolls around, Pearl really hams it up… Which the Church folk don’t want, they want someone cute and blonde like Pearl's sis-in-law. Pearl gets all her anger and sadness off her chest to her Sissy-in-law before taking a lot of Sissy’s chest and back and everywhere off with an ax. Finally, her husband returns to the gruesome stage Pearl has set with her parents at the table, complete with a roast pig in the middle, rotten, maggoty, and molding. He is horrified at his wife, his Pearl, and all she can do is smile and cry. The unease you feel as Mia Goth grits her teeth at the camera while tears roll down her cheeks, the tendons in her neck splaying out, as the screen slowly closes around her in a black circle, evokes just the final feeling we needed. I felt such sympathy for both characters in that moment though after I remembered what they both got up to in “X” I felt much less bad for them. This movie posed the idea that misery breeds misery. The old “If I can’t be happy, no one can be.” Which is a sickening mindset to have but could explain a lot about the events in “X.”

[agentnico]

Pearl (2022) Review

Plot: Trapped on an isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the watch of her mother. Lusting for the glamorous life she's seen in movies, Pearl's temptations and repressions collide.

Earlier this year A24 released a horror flick called X which was a slasher in style of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and honestly it’s still one of my favourite movies of this year. A creepy old horny lady slicing a chap’s throat and then dancing over his dead body to the tune of Don’t Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult - what’s not to love? So yep, if you’re looking for a fun weird horror movie, X should do the trick. As for Pearl, director Ti West filmed a prequel to X only weeks after completing filming on the original film, hence we now got Pearl releasing in the same year as it’s predecessor. And now a third film has already been announced and being fast-tracked to film. Heck, at this rate Ti West will build up his X cinematic world faster than the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Not that I’m complaining, as Ti West seems to have really found a way of reigniting the horror slasher genre in a way that is familiar yet feels fresh.

Pearl serves as a prequel to X, and revolves around the younger years of the aforementioned creepy old horny lady who sliced and danced her way through X. And immediately what stands out here is Mia Goth’s performance as the titular character. Her tragicomic performance of Pearl wanting to capture her dreams of being famous and being appreciated for her supposed talents, yet in doing so literally killing her way to success, it’s very interesting to watch. For Pearl is, let’s face it, batshit crazy. Absolutely nuts. Definitely one flew over the cuckoo’s nest. But also through mannerisms and all the weird things she does, Mia Goth manages to make the character strangely comical yet also frightening and creepy due to the lengths she is willing to go. Especially there are two scenes, one a monologue and the other a lingering shot during the end credits that really signify how much Goth has thrown herself into this role, so much so that it makes me wonder if Mia Goth is actually sane or not in real life. Then again I am not planning on meeting her personally so I think I am safe. 

The film itself is also filmed in that over-saturated Technicolor glossy Disney fairy-tale style, and in some ways reminding me of The Wizard of Oz in like Dorothy, Pearl is being all lovely and nice and nothing could possibly go wro....oh wait, she violently killed a goose and fed it to her pet crocodile. Oh. Oh okay then. But Ti West definitely is having fun playing up to the irony of the fairytale dream in contrast to the psychotic nature of the central character. However when it comes to the story itself, the movie is a bit lacklustre. Don’t get me wrong, the elements of the plot are played out well, like the dysfunctional relationship between Pearl and her angry mother (the latter by the way would have been an amazing Health Secretary during the COVID pandemic, just saying) or Pearl building up towards an audition that she hopes will change her life forever. However none of these narrative are that game-changing or even memorable. The movie for the most part rests solely on Mia Goth’s terrific performance, and to be honest that’s not a bad thing, for Goth as I mentioned is fantastic and eerie in the role. 

Overall as a companion piece to this year’s X this movie is very enjoyable and provides enough slasher gore and twisted macabre to make for a fun watch, though I would still say X definitely shines more as the superior horror flick. As for Mia Goth, if she were to get nominated for an Oscar, I wouldn’t be too surprised.

Overall score: 7/10

[wroteonedad]

Pearl (2022)

I go onto my Letterboxd and I type in my silly little review about the horny grandma in X (2022), within minutes of posting the review I have one of my friends messaging me, insisting that I watch Pearl straight away. I couldn't bare to put myself through a movie double bill, but if I watch X again, I know I'll have to watch the two movies back to back.

Pearl is perhaps a movie that didn't really need to happen, but I am so glad it did. After watching this film, I think I understand why Pearl was the way she was in X (2022). The way in which the film is laid out is brilliant. X being chronologically the sequel to Pearl is about a 70s porno. The way in which the film is edited and shot very much suggests mid 70s. Pearl does exactly the same thing. As it's the first story in the trilogy, the film opens and closes exactly how an Audrey Hepburn movie would. The music, many of the credits at the beginning, the overbearing smile at the end; it all resembles that show girl aesthetic that women were dying to have during the War.

The storyline is also weirdly wonderful. Pearl is left with her German family working at their farm, waiting for the return of her husband Howard who is fighting in the war and dealing with life changes from both the war and the Spanish Influenza; the area is in lockdown and Pearl is left wearing a face mask every time she goes into town to run her errands. Her strict mother, the lockdown and her need to break free, to become her own woman gets the better of her and she starts to end up going a bit crazy. Her mother essentially becomes cruel towards Pearl, not allowing her to speak to people in town in fear of someone coming after them for their German heritage. Her father has had a stroke and is left needing 24 hour care.

Lusting for men, doing anything out of her power to ensure she's the star at the dance and ultimately killing the people who were looking out for her the most out of spite and jealousy, this movie makes for a remarkable modern horror. I am so for these forms of non conventional horror movies because there is nothing more boring than when you spend the whole film waiting for the jumpscare to happen and nobody to have any character development through the whole picture.

Pearl wants to be seen by everyone all the time. She wants to be the ladies in the dance films, and when everything becomes too overwhelming for her, she turns to the animals at the farm. Sometimes it's dancing on top of hay and performing with a pitchfork, other times its to impale them, to feed them to her best friend, an alligator which seemingly seems to reside pretty much at the end of the farm land. The story of Pearl follows how she went from lockdown insane to becoming a serial killer.

The way in which Pearl failed to achieve any of her dreams makes sense why the way she is the way she is in X (2022). Everything she does, everybody she kills seems to foreshadow exactly the way in which the story will pan out over 50 years later.

The colouring and setting of this film is very different to X. The outdoor shots of the farm and towards the town are bright, rich in colour. Like something out of a book, something like what you saw in the original Wizard of Oz movie. Inside on the other hand is dark and dingy, possibly reflecting how Pearl felt trapped, as if it was her parents who were holding her back from everything that she wanted to accomplish. Despite the grittiness of the movie and the relationships she both begins and ends, the actual death scenes themselves very much resemble something out of a dark comedy. I think it is perfect, I think that Mia Goth is the perfect person to be playing a character like Pearl and for that I cannot wait to see how the third movie will pan out in the X universe.

Pearl is currently not available on any streaming services. Legal ones anyway.

[horrorlamb]

Pearl (2022)

Pearl was written by Ti West and Mia Goth during a mandated COVID quarantine before they filmed X. This review will be a little different from the norm. Because life is currently kicking my ass, and I don’t have a huge amount of spare time. If you like this style of review let me know. If you hate it, also let me know. This movie shows how Pearl became the vicious killer that we see in in X. Mia…

[pricelesscinemas]

[maxinefuckingminx]

Pearl (2022) + Letterboxd Reviews

[infizero-draws]

QUICK haters are asleep, post MOUNDERS YAOI

[askmovieslate]

You know how adventure movies go back and forth in their level of quality and execution and what not? It feels like during the early 2000's, adventure movies really hit a great stride and were nothing but great, and at worst they were just OK.

Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Atlantis, Stardust, National Treasure, A Knight's Tale, there were just so many and such good ones.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl is definitely up there, and while it's not perfect it sure is memorable and fun. And there's no denying the influence of Sam Raimi in its tone and goofiness.

Also, hot take, Johnny Depp should've gotten that Oscar. The Academy are a bunch of cowards.

[thecomicsnexus]

Turtles vs. The East River Three: The Pearl Heist - Tales of the TMNT

Join me as we dive into the tale of the East River Three and their quest for the Pearl! In this video, we explore how different views of 'home' can lead to unexpected betrayals, all set against the backdrop of a stormy New York.

[fictionadventurer]

The worst part about reading in a genre where you have low expectations (in this case, Christian historical fiction) is that when a book impresses you, you have no idea if it's actually good or if you're just overly impressed because it was a fraction of a degree better than the usual garbage.

[percyjacksonfan3]

Okay I said I'd wait until the season was done before forming final opinions and I WILL but-

- what the fuck was that

[strawbrryscone]

queens of fall🍁☕️🪓

[goldensunset]

everyone told me she was terrifying but they didn’t tell me she was so cool and nice

[r1k11]

Alright first thoughts on MaXXXine

Loved the music, loved the visuals, loved Mia Goth. A Psycho reference is always welcome

The whole setting/cinematography/makeup and everything is so much 80s, just like with X they did an amazing job on the aesthetic

It was a bit slow sometimes but it didn't really bother me. The mystery gave me some Italian giallo vibes but I think it could've been better. And the third act.. wtf? I think this is my biggest problem with the film. I still have questions about - spoiler - Maxine's father and his motives because the movie didn't care enough about its characters. I just kinda lost the plot in that whole sequence...

There's a lack of action/gore and the film focuses more on the aspect of fame and how terrifying it can be, so that's fine ig

It's the weakest of the trilogy. If I had to rank it it'd be Pearl > X > Maxxxine but I think it's still a good conclusion on Maxine's story

I overall really like Ti West's trilogy because it feels kinda like a modern classic to me but I think it deserved a better finale honestly based on its predecessors

[count-horror-xx]

ITS HERE ITS HERE ITS FUCKING HERE OMG

YAAAAASSSSSSS

[thethirdbill]

“Ranking” is a stretch, since they’re all above simply “good” but I did share my thoughts on every Steven Universe song to celebrate 5 years since listening to them for the first time!