Chad

Toddarino

When this popped up on the challenge, I saw it as an opportunity to revisit a movie I really didn’t care for the first time.
It appears my opinion didn’t change much. I think it’s far inferior to X which really isn’t all that great, but at least it’s enjoyable. Pearl is still a slog.

clckworang

I'm actually just the opposite. I really like Pearl. X has grown on me. I was fairly underwhelmed the first time I saw it, but Pearl really clicked with me. I love the filmmaking style as West goes more technicolor Hollywood. The pandemic references were a nice touch, but Goth is really the show here. She gives a great performance that really climaxes at the end. Most awkward closing credits ever - but I love it!

jacob_b

Ya I'm in the same boat. Just watched both as my first time views after not getting around to it last year. X was just there. A basic horror movie that didn't really scary or change things as much as the hype gave it. I'm guessing it's praised more so for the people in the movie moreso the movie itself. Pearl took a while to get there but that dining room scene with Pearl and her husband's sister made the movie. Perfect monologue and brought about a lot of dread. Knowing what we know about Howard, I'm sad we didn't see the transformation between the two movies.

Spiderbite

Glad I am not the only one. I thought X was just okay, but this movie would put an insomniac to sleep. I kept expecting something to happen and when something finally did, nothing really came of it. The movie just drifted very slowly to the next scene where nothing would happen again. And again. And again.

I will say it is well shot but this just seemed like an indulgence that was unnecessary and added nothing of interest to the X backstory. Did Ti West want to fuck Mia Goth? Because that seems like the only reason for this vehicle.

I paired this with It Follows tonight and got screwed twice. At least this movie wasn't nearly annoying as It Follows. Pearl's only crime is that for a horror movie, it was a dull drama with no direction and really no reason for exisiting.

No thanks. My rating: *1/2 out of *****

jacob_b

Seeing as how she is married and just had a kid with Shia LaBeouf, doubt that is the reason lol

Spiderbite

I am speaking for Ti and not for her.
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jacob_b

He's got Alison Wonderland, would be a downgrade lol. But ya, it's Hollywood and everything so who knows.

numbercrunch

Pearl, the prequel to X, is a character study/exploration into how a psychopath killer is molded by her environment. Its a tremendous performance by Mia Goth, but I don't think its a masterpiece. Its just a good film, not a great film.
6/10

mallratcal

I really didn't like X but I thought this was pretty good. Mia Goth was great in it.

If this wasn't a subsect pick I don't think I ever would have watched Pearl, just because of X.

jholmes

This is my first viewing of PEARL. I really liked X -- saw it when it first came out.
So Pearl is supposedly the story of the crazy old horny lady in the house? The era would fit. It took a long time for the horror to come in, but when it did, this packed a wallop. Mia Goth and the director did a great job of making you feel both sympathetic for Pearl and horrified by her. When the credits roll and she holds that ghastly smile -- awesome.
It's more of a weird character study than a plotty story. But I enjoyed the cinematography, the uber bright colors, and Mia Goth's performance. I'm glad I finally watched it because I've had the blu ray for a while. I give it 3/5 stars.

Undeadcow

Its curious that Pearl would kill her parents seemingly to free herself from responsibility to them then stage them at the dinner table as if they were never even dead. I feel like thats a key to understanding Pearl but feels just out of reach.

I was also underwelmed by X (distracting makeup, odd comedy tone) so I found myself enjoying Pearl a lot more than I expected. Innkeepers and House of the Devil are top tier horror films but strangely Ti West has been more of a sleeper in recent years. The neon 'candy cinema' visuals of Pearl were great and each scene existed for visual story telling. There's something so far out about the visual style it feels like a facade, something off that can't be trusted. The strained sense of misbalanced fantasy and reality makes the film feel richer (the projection of a movie, the pining for stardom, even the intermingling with a scarecrow, etc). "Its not about what I want anymore... its about making the best of what I have..." - is a brilliant twist on the idea of fantasy, its not even about stretching beyond the present so much as candy coloring it - of not seeing the maggots on the pig. The irony of us knowing she never gets off the farm is nice and despite being a prequel Pearl never feels too indebted to X. It almost feels like they could revisit X more from Pearl's fantastic perspective and it would be a totally different film. Mia Goth shines in some emotionally intense segments and Tandi Wright (the mom) does well too. Kudos to them for making a prequel so different from X; I'm even more curious in Maxxxine now.

What a perfect ending shot.

Maybe I need to revisit X again but I thought they implied the old woman was originally a missing youth (the news flashes).

Shack

Really not sure what to make of this one. The bright colors were interesting, but in the end, like others, I felt I was waiting for something to happen to tie it all together.. I think I felt the same uncertainty about X, but of course that's a totally different kind of thing. Agreed that the last shot was amazingly creepy. But I'm not sure I would have watched had it not been a subset pick (so...thanks...?).

clckworang

I thought it was about Maxine.

Obi-Wanma

Watched this yesterday afternoon. I own the Blu, but it was my first time revisiting it since seeing it at the theater. My wife watched most of it with me, her first time seeing it. I think she came in just after the Scarecrow scene, and stayed for the rest of the film, so it certainly got her attention as someone who doesn't watch a ton of new films. Mia Goth is just so incredible here, it really is her vehicle, and she owns it. The monologue to the sister-in-law is so powerful and frighting and impossible to look away from. Pretty amazing for a film that was basically thrown together because Ti West and Mia Goth were stuck in New Zealand during the pandemic and still had access to the set for X. Can't wait to see what they do with Maxxxine,

jacob_b

Curious if your wife would had stayed if she walked in DURING the Scarecrow scene. The monologue scene is the true highlight in the film. Didn't know they were together during the pandemic like that. That sucks to be in another country away from the family during that time.