Pearl

"An X-traordinary origin story."

2022 1h 42m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 2,786

HorrorDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions collide.

“An X-traordinary origin story.”

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Cast

Mia Goth
Pearl
David Corenswet
Projectionist
Tandi Wright
Ruth
Matthew Sunderland
Father
Emma Jenkins-Purro
Mitsy
Alistair Sewell
Howard
Amelia Reid
Margaret
Gabe McDonnell
Woman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ti West
Writers: Ti West, Mia Goth
Languages: English, German
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 9.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "X Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ti West, shot by Eliot Rockett. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Tyler Bates. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ti West shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ti West directs. Eliot Rockett behind the camera. Tyler Bates scores. Ti West cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 9.8× over at the box office.
3Released 4 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.
5Part of the "X Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Ti West, shot by Eliot Rockett. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Tyler Bates. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Ti West shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Mia Goth and David Corenswet and Tandi Wright carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "An X-traordinary origin story.".
11IMDB entry: tt18925334 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 30 themes, including "farm", "pornography", "dance performance", "confession".

The technical file

Cinematography: Eliot Rockett
Original score: Tyler Bates
Editing: Ti West
Production design: Tom Hammock
Costume design: Malgosia Turzanska
Makeup / hair: Sanchia Reed
VFX supervisor: Frank Rueter
Sound: Peter Staubli
Stunt coordinator: Augie Davis
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,000,000
Box office: $9,847,490
Return: 985% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Pearl (2022)

Awards

Sitges Film Festival Best Actress award
Sitges Film Festival Best Director award
Saturn Award for Best Independent Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

X Collection

The X film series consists of American slasher-horror films based on an original story written by Ti West. The series includes an original film, its prequel, and its sequel. The overall plot of the movies centers around two characters, Maxine Minx and Pearl, both portrayed by Mia Goth.

Also by

Ti West

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Nathan2022-10-14
★ 8/10
Pearl is a great character study that dives deeper in the stakes that an individual will go to attain success. It is unquestionable that the main question people will ask is, does it live up to X? While I do think it is a good film that I thoroughly enjoyed, it does not overtake its predecessor and that is completely okay. They are two entirely different movies but achieve their goals brilliantly. This film is the textbook definition of a slow burn. The movie drags on and continues to provide this eerie tension as the viewer knows what the end result of this tragic film will be, but still remains locked in to see how it will unfold. I really enjoyed the first act, the character introductions were fantastic, and the audience has an instant connection with Pearl. But the second act drags a little more than I would have liked, but by the minute it is getting stale the third comes to pick up the pace and deliver a satisfying conclusion. Mia Goth is utterly fantastic in this film. There is a solid six-minute monologue of just her acting her ass off. One take, one angle, and somehow, she was able to lock me in completely. She has burst on to the scene with X and Pearl, and I cannot wait to see where her career goes from here. Overall, this film is great, but expectations should be had going into it. It is not going to be an action-packed slasher like its predecessor, but those elements are sprinkled in and work well with the overall film. If you enjoyed X, you should definitely watch this. Score: 81% | Verdict: Great
Manuel São Bento2022-11-22
★ 7/10
MORE SPOILER-FREE MINI-REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/mini-reviews-2022-edition/ "Pearl may be a prequel to X, but Ti West turns this slasher into an incredibly complex character study represented - and co-written (!) - by Mia Goth. The new star of the horror genre deepens the protagonist Pearl, exploring her tremendous desire to fulfill her dream of wanting to become something more than a mere farm girl, including a mesmerizing monologue of nearly ten uninterrupted minutes, where raw, insane, wholly genuine emotion of the character comes across in a fascinating manner. Extra appreciation for the practical effects and the fact that basically the entire movie is shot during broad daylight. Gore sequences become somewhat repetitive, and the narrative doesn't escape its predictability, being an overall less captivating film than its predecessor." Rating: B
CinemaSerf2023-03-23
★ 6/10
Despite quite a characterful effort from Mia Goth as the title character here, I wasn't really very impressed with this film. She lives on a farm whilst her young husband is off fighting on the Somme. She shares her life with her Germanic, rather authoritarian, mother "Ruth" (Tandi Wright) and her profoundly disabled father who cannot speak and who is entirely dependent on these two women. "Pearl" longs to escape. On one of her occasional visits to town to collect her father's laudanum, she encounters the local projectionist (David Corenswet) who shows her a (quite racy) film and suggests that maybe a new life could be her's. Meantime, her life at the farm is becoming unbearable and her options for escape lead her to realise that drastic action may be needed - a plan that is accidentally put into play after an altercation with her mother. It's perfectly watchable, this, but it's also perfectly forgettable. The story is weak and thin, and though the photography is attractive, the whole thing just doesn't catch fire for me. There's no menace. It's not an horror film - it's a film about a mentally ill girl that offers us a few mildly entertaining scenarios that peter out as quickly as the plot does before an ending that screams sequel loudly and defiantly. It certainly does not need to be seen on a cinema screen.