During the development of the ’70s-set slasher X, filmmaker Ti West began developing a backstory for the character of Pearl, played by Mia Goth in old-age makeup. Quarantine protocols in New Zealand due to the coronavirus pandemic offered up a rare opportunity for the production, with the quarantine time allowing West to collaborate with Goth so deeply on Pearl’s backstory that the pair ended up crafting a complete script for her origins. Once production wrapped on X, A24 Films greenlit production on Pearl, with the prequel announced as a surprise at the world premiere of X. The end result feels exactly like what was described: a rich yet not entirely necessary history of a character that doesn’t recontextualize X significantly, though the layered and unhinged performance from Goth and entirely unconventional aesthetic from West somehow seems to make it all work. Pearl almost proves how, even with an ancillary tale, West and Goth can make a more riveting project than most other horror films this year.
