1918, Texas. A young woman named Pearl (Mia Goth) feels trapped on the isolated farm that she lives on with her scolding mother (Tandi Wright) and invalid father (Matthew Sunderland). 

Pearl’s husband is at war overseas. The Spanish Flu Pandemic has resulted in people isolating and wearing masks for fear of catching the germ. Whilst Pearl’s parents are of German origin forcing them to be careful about how much they interact with the outside world due to the war. Add to this Pearl’s fascination with hurting small animals, her mother’s attempts to keep her on the farm and Pearl’s dreams of being a chorus line dancer and something has to give. 

Pearl is a prequel companion piece to writer/director Ti West’s X that was co-written with its star Mia Goth. And there are many themes and elements shared with X that make it far more interesting and compelling if you have seen that film before this one. Firstly it is set on the same farm as X and features the same alligators and river that featured heavily in that film. Secondly, it features a lead character played by the same actress that is obsessed with becoming a star. Whilst in X it was via pornographic movies, here it is via becoming a dancer in a chorus line. Although Pearl is also introduced to pornography via a local projectionist (David Corenswet). Thirdly, it has a look and feel that is unique and fits its theme. X had a grindhouse low budget film in line with its amateur filmmaker protagonists. Here West appears to have gone for a twisted version of The Wizard of Oz complete with title cards to fit. Pearl is a twisted version of Dorothy, a young farm girl desperate to see the wider world. But far more twisted in her soul. 

The result is quite fascinating although not as immediately as interesting as X. Pearl in comparison is a slow build and relies a lot more on an eerie sense of unease. Mia Goth is excellent though and is proving herself to be the new scream Queen of the 21st century. There are a few scenes in the film where she really takes a risk with her performance and seems to nail the creepy unease that sums up the film. Look out for her character snapping in the barn, delivering a heartfelt monologue to her absent husband and the creepiest credits scene that features no actual action. 

Be warned though, this is a mannered film that definitely will work better having seen X. Read my review of that film here – X

West and Goth have a third film planned for this series called MaXXXine which follows Goth’s character from X. So it will be interesting to see how the two round off the trilogy.