Tending to her ailing father, under the watch of her overbearing mother, Pearl hopes to change her life and fulfil her dreams, but her repression clashes with her ambition with horrific consequences.
Ti West’s cleverly realised tale oozes cinema, capturing the best of horror; but refreshingly fresh as he’s done in previous works. It’s not just Tobe Hooper’s alligator, farmhouses and slasher setups, there’s also echoes of a Lizzie Borden story too.
Both prequel and origin story to Ti West’s excellent X, Perl can also be viewed as a stand-alone film. With vibes of Psycho and the vivid colour of Wizard of Oz, Mia Goth controls every scene with an outstanding performance as damaged, chorus girl wannabe Pearl. Set on 1918 both West and Goth’s script reflects truths of a bygone era (without following paint by numbers expectation if you’d seen X). The cinematography, effects and score complement the dreams, delusions and murders as Pearl longs to escape her secluded farm and caring chores.
The locations and sets give it an edge of quality, it feels like an expensive period piece at times especially when Pearl visits the town. Amongst the farms animals and murder there’s effortless monologues, Goth is award deserving delightful. With plenty going on under the skin in amongst the horror and theatrics the small cast ensemble is perfect. David Corenswet as the likeable rogue projectionist is memorable, Emma Jenkins-Purro as prim Mitsy is fantastic. Tandi Wright’s Ruth, Pearl’s mother has screen presence, along with Matthew Sunderland as Pearl’s paralyzed father.
Ultimately, it’s worth viewing for Goth’s standout wicked performance alone, this coupled with West’s direction make’s for some murderous psychological screen gold.
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