JP Nunez
I was a huge fan of Ti West’s X. While I’m admittedly not the biggest slasher aficionado, I can enjoy them just as much as anybody else when they’re done right, and that movie was executed almost to perfection. So when I stuck around for the credits and saw a trailer for a prequel film, Pearl, I couldn’t have been happier. I was super excited to learn more about the movie’s murderous villain, and today, we got our second look at this highly anticipated project.
A24 just released a brand new trailer for Pearl, and it shows off a whole bunch of footage that wasn’t in the post-credits teaser after X. Here’s what the film is going to be about:
Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions all collide, in the stunning, technicolor-inspired origin story of X’s iconic villain.
Right off the bat, that plot synopsis reminds me of Maxine, Mia Goth’s character in X. Her philosophy was that she wouldn’t accept a life she didn’t deserve, and since she thought she deserved to be rich and famous, she wanted nothing more than to make it big.
Interestingly, Mia Goth also played Pearl in that film, and she plays the character again in this upcoming origin story. Those connections can’t be a coincidence, so I’m excited to see what thematic parallels Ti West draws between these two overly ambitious women.
When we get to the Pearl trailer itself, it looks like the execution is going to be just as good as the concept. Mia Goth is awesome as a young Pearl, the horror seems pretty brutal, and the period setting feels completely authentic. In a word, it looks like Pearl is going to make Ti West two for two this year, and I absolutely can’t wait to see this next masterpiece from one of the best horror directors in the business.
Pearl hits theaters on September 16.
