Pearl

Pearl (subtitled An X-traordinary Origin Story) is a 2022 American slasher film directed by Ti West, co-written by West and Mia Goth, who reprises her role as the title character, and featuring David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland and Emma Jenkins-Purro in supporting roles. A prequel to X (2022) and the second installment in the X film series, it serves as an origin story for the title villain, whose fervent aspiration to become a movie star led her to committing violent acts on her family's Texas homestead in 1918. West began co-writing a prequel script stemming from his collaboration with Goth while filming X. Motivated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema, filming started in New Zealand immediately after the first film, using X sets and the Avatar: The Way of Water crew and taking pandemic safety precautions. Pearl drew inspiration from the works of Douglas Sirk, Technicolor films like The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Mary Poppins (1964), and Disney films. It had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2022, and was released in theaters in the United States on September 16, 2022, by A24. The film grossed over $10 million and received generally positive reviews from critics, with Goth's performance receiving wide praise. A direct sequel to X, titled MaXXXine, is scheduled to be released in 2024. Plot In 1918, during the influenza pandemic, Pearl is a young woman living with her German immigrant parents on their Texas homestead while her husband, Howard, serves in World War I. Pearl's father is infirm and paralyzed, and her domineering mother, Ruth, insists that she help care for both him and the farm. Pearl, longing for a more exciting life, is captivated by the films she sees at the local cinema and aspires to become a chorus girl, which Ruth disapproves of. However, Pearl also shows signs of psychopathy; she kills farm animals and physically abuses her father.