Summary
Thehorrorgenre is full of franchises, fromHalloween’sendless reboots toScream’sincreasingly meta sequels, but it’s rare to see a new one crop up in this day and age. Besidesthe ongoingTerrifierseries, not too many horror films get sequels these days, especially ones that explore the larger world of its characters. One major exception in recent years is the trilogy that’scome to be known as theXseries, directed by Ti West andstarring Mia Goth. Beginning with 2022’sX,the saga wrapped up (for now) withthe third film,Maxxxine,last year, though West has floated the possibility of a fourth film.
While the whole series has been met with considerable acclaim both from horror fans and mainstream critics, one film stands out as being something of a favorite among genre aficionados:Pearl,the middle installment which was released the same year asXand acts as a prequel to that film. Despite its quick production process,Pearlstands out as the most distinct and effective of the three films so far. Any horror fans that haven’t seen it yet (or want to take a return trip to its turn-of-the-century American gothic) should catch it on Netflix before it leaves the platform on February 15th.
Pearl’sHasty Production
Work onPearl’sscript began during the production ofXin New Zealand, a collaboration between West and Goth, who wanted to explore one of herXroles further. They wrote the script quickly, and filming started immediately afterXwrapped, using the same sets as well as some of the crew fromAvatar: The Way of Water,which was on a break while filming in the country.Xwas released in March of 2022, andPearlfollowed it just six months later, in September. The quick turnaround was inspired in part by the ongoing impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on the film industry, taking advantage of New Zealand’s Covid safety precautions and island isolation.
While it may have been made quickly,Pearlis far from just a cash-in. It’s a distinctly different film fromX,drawing from a completely different era of film history to tell a story that exists in the same world, but manages to stand on its own. WhereXdraws from 70s grindhouse and exploitation fare for its style,Pearlpulls from influences outside the horror genre, mostly early 20th Century melodramas like the works of Douglas Sirk, and big Technicolor musicals likeMary PoppinsandThe Wizard of Oz.The latter proves particularly influential, with Goth’s Pearl as its demented Dorothy figure. This gives it a very different feel thanX;rather than that film’s gritty, dusty atmosphere, it’s a lush and vibrant period piece.
WhyPearlis the Best of the Trilogy
Goth plays two roles in theXtrilogy. Her main role is Maxine, first introduced as a budding adult film star inXand later returned to as an established performer trying to make the jump to more “legitimate” films inMaxxxine.Goth also plays the titular Pearl, who audiences first meet inXas a frightening elderly woman who begins preying on the young film crew shooting a clandestine adult film on her property.Pearljumps back to the turn of the 20th Century to show Pearl as a young woman, pushing against her small-town life and dreaming of being a Hollywood star.
Pearl’s husband is away fighting in World War I, leaving her with her deeply religious German mother and infirm father. Her mother keeps her on a tight leash, and it’s not hard to see why: Pearl is a troubled person even before she starts murdering people. When she hears about an audition for a traveling dance troupe, she sees it as her ticket off the farm and on to fame and fortune. But it’s after being rejected that things really go off the rails.
Pearlsucceeds to a greater degree thanXorMaxxxinebecause it feels like something that isn’t seen in the horror world very often.Xis technically impressive for its ability to replicate the look and feel oflow-budget 70s films, andMaxxxinenails its 80s thriller vibe, but those decades' influence on contemporary horror is well-documented, with plenty of recent films working hard to ape their aesthetics.Pearlis playing in a much different realm, and there just aren’t very many other horror films from recent years that draw from the same well of early Hollywood history for inspiration. It’s one of the few horror films that unfoldsalmost entirely in broad daylight, made all the more disturbing for not hiding in the shadows.
It might not be all that conventionally scary, butPearlalso succeeds as a portrait of a uniquely disturbed character. Goth’s performance proved that she’s one of the very best actors in horror today, with many fans pointing to her final, pained grin, which she holds through the film’s entire credits, as one of the most memorable images in a recent horror film.Pearlproves that not every movie needs a years-long gestation to be worth watching; sometimes restrictions can enhance creativity. Its exit from Netflix on February 15th is going to make the streamer’s horror library a lot less colorful.
