Pearl

After the fairly accomplished retro slasher X, Ti West delivers a Technicolor nightmare that absolutely works in its (intentional) kitsch. Unlike the previous film, Pearl is not predictable and avoids genre tropes, and Mia Goth proves once again that she is an incredibly energetic presence in contemporary genre cinema. (28/05/2023)

She-Joker. Meticulously crafted in psychological terms, Pearl is an interesting and polished profile of an unstable asocial that crosses the same boundaries that the award-winning hit with Joaquin Phoenix did. The setting with a hillbilly family in a house in rural Texas is even more appealing to me. In fact, Ti West suggests here how idyllic the origins of other famous Texas families could have looked... The kitschy fairy-tale-like retro-stylization contrasts with the dark tones of the soundtrack, indicating the presence of a hidden evil and gradually paving the way for the outburst of that evil. The main character delights fans of the genre not only with a pitchfork and axe in hand, but also with a long one-shot confession about her own shattered mental state. Mia Goth is great. And the audiovisual flashes of Kubrick and Hitchcock... Pearl is a formalistic delight for those who are interested. (06/11/2022)

After the great X comes a steep fall that leaves bitter aftertaste. Ti West isn't my favourite director, in fact X is the only film I liked from him, so I was definitely curious about the prequel and the original villains, and the rave reviews overseas indicated it was going to be a hit, but here comes quite a disappointment. It's a bit hard to judge because Pearl definitely has its qualities, but from a horror perspective it's a big bummer. X gave a flashback to the hixploitation films of a bygone era, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in particular came to mind for everyone, it had juicy gore, creepy bad guys and soft porn in the first half. Pearl unfortunately has none of that and goes in a different direction, which will no doubt disappoint most viewers. Let's summarize the pros first. The setting in the wartime period of 1918 is nice, a very unusual time for a horror film, so welcome. Mia Goth gives the performance of a lifetime, she's good, psychologically disturbed, believable and able to command attention. The dialogue is also engaging and the cinematography isn't bad either, but that's it unfortunately. If this was a drama, it would be a decent film that is well made and acted, but horror fans will get nothing here. No hint of atmosphere, no gore?!! Okay, that one scene at the end it’s not enough. It's neither creepy nor dark, in fact ‘horror’ seems to me to be a misnomer. It's a psychological study of a disturbed girl in an unconventional period and if you accept that you might be OK, but for my taste it was a heavy slow burn drama and I certainly not what I was expecting. The five-minute monologue and the family dinner during the storm (quite possibly the best scene of the film) was interesting. 5/10. (21/10/2022)

A treat, but be prepared for it to be a completely different film than X. While the first film in the series referenced dirty exploitation classics, this one is more of a beautifully colourful naive drama, with nasty perversion and depravity bubbling under the surface. Mia Goth in the lead role is great, pulling it off with aplomb, the clear highlight of the film being her lengthy monologue shortly before the end. For me, compared to X, weaker as horror, but better as a film. (21/10/2022)

Some people say that a film is as good as its villain, and, Pearl is a perfect example. Mia Goth is amazing, on a small space she can play a naive girl, a broken woman, a demon-ridden bitch and a total psychopath, she has all of that in her acting register. Her almost ten-minute confession at the end, filmed in one take, blew my mind. Moreover, it's all supported by a script that flows naturally, has a logical development and almost reaches the level of Phoenix's Joker in terms of psychology. And the visual games with the camera, the opening with classical music in the style of good old Hollywood! I'm just shocked that after the botched X, Ti West was able to create something like this. This is a little horror treat, made with love and art, aimed at film connoisseurs. (26/06/2023)