Pearl (2022)
spacetime coordinates: 1918 Texas, during the influenza pandemic
Pearl (subtitled An X-traordinary Origin Story) is a 2022 psychological slasher film directed by Ti West, co-written by West and Mia Goth, who stars as the title character, and featuring David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, and Emma Jenkins-Purro in supporting roles. A prequel to X (2022), and second installment overall in the X film series, it serves as an origin story for the titular villain whose fervent aspirations to become a movie star lead her to committing violent acts on her family’s Texas homestead.
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X (2022)
spacetime coordinates: 1979 Texas
X is a 2022 slasher film written, directed, produced and edited by Ti West. It stars Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure, and Scott Mescudi. The film’s plot follows a cast and crew who gather to make a pornographic film on an elderly couple’s rural Texas property, but find themselves threatened by an unlikely killer.
Nate Roscoe of Fangoria wrote in an essay on the film that X exemplifies a modern take on the psycho-biddy horror subgenre, in which aging or elderly women portray grotesque, violent characters. Roscoe also notes that the film’s primary theme revolves around aging, youth, and longing over the past. “Snatching its inspo from the shadiest recesses of art and exploitation, it is the relationship between beauty, aging and self-worth that creeps most conspicuously through the architecture of X.” He also notes that the film presents its antagonist—the murderous Pearl—in a manner that is sympathetic, writing that, at moments, “one can’t help but feel crushingly sorry for this tragic figure.”
West stated that he had pitched his idea of a new franchise to A24 and had been surprised when they green-lit his projects. The filmmaker stated that he intends each film to have its own distinct style and genre of horror. Describing his approach to each movie, he stated that X was heavily influenced by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise and by the works of Mario Bava, which explore how the rise of independent filmmaking affected society, while Pearl will be a melodrama meets the Technicolor style of Mary Poppins and The Wizard of Oz, made as a “demented Disney movie” and based on the works of Douglas Sirk, and will explore how Hollywood filmmaking has influenced people. West stated that he intends to continue this trend of exploring diverse styles and genres in future installments.
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