• Release year: 2022
• Director: Ti West.
• Producers: Harrison Kreiss and Kevin Turen.
• Screenplay by: Ti West and Mia Goth.
• Cinematographer: Eliot Rockett.
• Music by: Tyler Bates and Tim Williams.

Shotgun Commentary: Tedious story about a girl who thinks things are just handed to you in life, but discovers they are not.

Review

After wasting my time watching X (2022), I decided that I would not give any more of it watching the prequel, Pearl (2022). However, since it got out, I have been hearing about it everywhere, from friends to YouTubers to horror film studies and female rage studies. It is still trending on Letterboxd! So I decided to give in and watch it. Just in case I was missing something incredible just for my stubbornness.

Shocking no one, Pearl is just as empty and superfluous as the previous film. The story follows Pearl (Mia Goth), a girl who lives on a farm with her vegetative father and her super strict mother. The pacing is slow and clumsy, accelerating and decelerating in a very unfortunate way. This gives off the same feeling as driving in a car with the handbrake on. Not to mention that the whole story is stretched to its limits and doesn’t really say anything original or entertaining.

Spoiled Pearl

As for Pearl herself, she is a psychopath with the obsession of becoming a famous dancer and appearing in the movies. Regardless of whether you have watched the previous film or not, her mental condition is made clear from the beginning through the pointless killing of a goose, which is later fed to a crocodile (alligator? Still not sure about that one). A nice callback to the only notable scene in X, although the animal’s ability to devour everything will be used numerous times during the film.

Aside from her mental condition, her obsession to become famous has a massive gap that renders whatever might be salvageable from the film completely purposeless: she gives up after one try. This detail turns a young lady capable of anything to achieve success into a brat who acts on whims and gets offended when the world doesn’t bend to her will. The story really could have been something but, by doing this, it becomes a half tale that deflates so fast it leaves you wondering what was its purpose at all.

While Mia Goth’s performance promises a nice future in horror, her talent has been wasted on a half-cooked film. Her range and expressions are the most entertaining addition to an otherwise bland movie.

Female rage or tantrum?

The theme of female rage should also be addressed in terms of Pearl’s character and her addition to the trope. During my extensive research on female rage, I came across Pearl numerous times. I didn’t delve into her contribution to the theme since it had nothing to do with my subject of studies, but now that I have watched the film, I can safely say that the positioning of Pearl as an icon for female rage is quite inexplicable.

While all women shown on TV yelling about their negative feelings and thoughts are considered female rage, this is not always a sign of advancement towards a better female representation in the media. Pearl is a girl who is obsessed about something, and yet she isn’t willing to work for it, not even to give it a second try. This makes her character just another conceited child who is outraged about the world not working as they want it to. Thus, her yelling becomes just some spoiled girl’s whining. Even worse than that, it sadly turns a psychotic girl with potential to be a really horrifying character into another representation of the outdated “hysteric lady”.

Almost… but no

All in all, Pearl can not be defined as horror, not even as spooky. Admittedly, there are murders and gruesome bodies, but that doesn’t mean it is scary at all. It could have been good as a strange drama film or thriller had it not collapsed into nothingness during the last half hour, which was quite disappointing. And as for the female rage perspective, it adds to the conversation the same thing it adds to mashed potatoes, nothing at all.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Psychopaths are like horses, if you show fear or hesitation, they will take you down.
• Life is not going to give you everything you want just because you want it. Unless you are born rich, like, mega rich, cleaning-your-nose-with-banknotes rich.
• Killing people is always more fun when you have an animal to dispose of the bodies.
• Watch MaXXXine (2024), it is so much better.

What’s your take? Have you watched Pearl? Do you love it? If so, please let me know what it is about it that you like, I’d love to hear all about it. Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀

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