Earlier this year, Ti West released the70s-set slasher movieX, his first feature film in six years. A product of renowned indie movie studio A24,Xwasa critical success, and now fans can look forward to its prequel. Ti West’s secret project,Pearl,was shot immediately afterXwrapped, and serves as an origin story for the titular villain of the first film.
Mia Goth, who played the dual role of final girl Maxine and senior citizen Pearl inX, will reprise her role as the latter, taking center stage once again. Anew trailerfor the movie teases sex, murder, and betrayal — much likeX —and fans can’t wait to see how it compares. Fortunately, they won’t have to wait long. WithPearl’s release on the horizon, here’s a look at what else to expect from the slasher, which looks to be just as X-citing as its inspiration.
RELATED:What Horror Filmmakers Can Learn From Ti West’s X
The Plot
Xfollows a group of adult filmmakers in thelate 70swho head to rural Texas to shoot a movie. While staying at an old farmhouse, they attempt to keep their project a secret, but elderly hosts Pearl and Howard (Stephen Ure) catch them in the act and murder them one by one.Pearl,meanwhile, is set some decades earlier, in 1918. In the film, Pearl is shown living with her parents in the same house where the massacre ofXeventually takes place.
As shown by the trailer, Pearl’s father is ill, and her devout mother is cruel. All she wants is to leave the farm and “be special, dancing up on the screen like the pretty girls in the pictures.” She’s so desperate to achieve this dream, in fact, that she’s willing to kill for it, as she’s shown contemplating feeding her father to the crocodiles and wielding a pitchfork. In many ways, Pearl isn’t so different from Maxine. West acknowledges this and toldFangoria:
I love that with the character of Pearl that Mia was able to create a villain character that wasn’t going to be a normal villain, and I love how she gave this character some humanity to her which is what that movie [Pearl] hangs on.
Clearly, the film is going to showcase Pearl’s origins, but fans will have to wait and see exactly what twists and turnsPearlhas in store.
The Cast
Leading lady Mia Goth is no stranger to the horror genre. Aside fromX, Goth previously starred in Gore Verbinski’sA Cure for Wellnessand Luca Guadagnino’sSuspiriaremake. Her performance in the latter attracted critical praise, and the movie itself won the Robert Alman Prize at the Independent Spirit Awards.
Joining Goth inPearlare actors David Corenswet (The Politician,Hollywood), Tandi Wright (Nothing Trivial,The Returned), Matthew Sunderland (Out of the Blue,The Nightingale), and Emma Jenkins-Purro (The Brokenwood Mysteries,Bygones). All have unspecified roles, but it appears from the trailer that Wright and Sunderland will play Pearl’s mother and father, respectively, and Jenkins-Purro will play her competition. Considering the strong performances in all the actors' histories, there are high hopes that this film won’t disappoint.
The Crew
Ti West wrote and directedPearlwith Goth assisting as co-writer. West told various sources that in the months leading up to filmingX, he and Goth developedPearltogether over FaceTime, not knowing if it would go anywhere. Fortunately, A24 — who will co-producePearlwith Little Lamb Productions — gave the project the thumbs up, and quarantine made it possible. Ti West is known for hislow-budget horror movies, includingThe House of the DevilandThe Innkeepers. His last movie beforeXwas the Western thrillerIn a Valley of Violence, and is an outlier in his filmography.
Tyler Bates and Timothy Williams provide the music forPearl, with Elliot Rockett returning as cinematographer. Despite the returning crew, audiences can expectPearlto look very different fromX.As West toldBloody Disgusting:
“In the way thatXis affected, let’s say by 1970s horror independent filmmaking and Americana cinema,Pearlis influenced by a very different era of filmmaking.”
Elsewhere, West cites Douglas Sirk melodramas as an inspiration. Sirk was a German-American director and a fixture in Old Hollywood, having been most popular in the 1950s.
Release Date & Future Projects
Pearlwill have its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival in September 2022 and is set for theatrical release on September 16. There are only six months betweenXandPearl, and it may come as a surprise that West is already thinking about a third film to add to the building saga. As he toldIndieWirein a recent interview:
“I’m trying to build a world out of all this, like people do these days … you may’t make a slasher movie without a bunch of sequels.”
Mia Goth also has another project lined up, thesci-fi thrillerInfinity Pool.Written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg,Infinity Poolfollows wealthy couple James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em Foster (Goth) who are vacationing on the fictional island of La Tolqa, where they encounter the hedonistic subculture and surreal horrors underpinning their lavish beach resort. Little else is known about the movie, so stay tuned for updates.
