Pearl (and X)

I watched the movie "X" this summer. What's it about? It's set in 1979. A group of young folks head off to a rented farmhouse to make a pornographic film. Somebody comes along and chops them up. It's your typical slasher film and it's well done for what it is. It's great Midnight Madness stuff; gory, bloody "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" with a touch of "Evil Dead" and a splash of "Lake Placid." "X" is a fun horror movie but I didn't think it was blog worthy. I gave it a B+. It's made the hounorable mention list for 2022. 

So when I heard that "Pearl" was a prequel to "X" and it was released in the same year, I was more than curious. I was expecting more of the same. And I got that, sort of. What I was surprised about was the film's audacity. Director Ti West has birthed a cinephile monster infused with film DNA. In other words, this is a movie made by someone who knows movies and loves film as much as I do. It's also a bloody, gory Midnight Madness movie but as arty and well crafted as any Tarantino picture (the open title freeze frame credit was gold).. "Pearl" has the taboo sexuality of "The Wicker Man" and a "Wizard of Oz" 1940s almost goofy innocence - the colour of the picture is old school vivid, like a Doris Day picture. What's "Pearl" all about? It's about young Pearl, who dreams of being a dancing star and leaving the misery of the family farm; her cruel and overbearing German mother and her wheelchair bound incapacitated father. Pearl is played by Mia Goth (she is also the star of "X" but as a different character). Let me tell you, Mia Goth has given us an Oscar worthy performance. The speech she delivers near the end of the film was a remarkable for not only it's rich emotive qualities but also for it's long duration. I said to myself, "Wow, this kid is something else." Catch "Pearl" in a theatre near you and then go catch "X" on streaming services. It's a bloody good time.