Pearl, the A24 prequel directed by Ti West and starring Naomi Watts, is almost here. Fans are eager to hear the backstory of the film’s surprising enemy, even if West’s original slasher flick X only recently hacked its way through theatres. Fandango has released an exclusive first-look photograph of Mia Goth as our favourite ruthless starlet as the season of autumn approaches. An ambitious misfit crew decides to make an R-rated movie on the rural property of an elderly couple in the first film, X. Not telling the old woman, Pearl (Goth), the true purpose of their mission backfires badly when her lustful behaviours provoke the teenagers. By having his primary killer be a frail elderly woman yearning for the thrill she once knew, West completely upended the genre in his film.
West, sensing the potential of Goth’s new horror icon, Pearl, wasted no time getting to work on shooting her villainous backstory. The newly leaked picture shows a young Pearl standing over one of her victims, apparently putting a finger to her lips to stifle the victim’s screams. (The death toll in Pearl is not a joke.) She is wearing the bright, blood-red clothing that has become synonymous with our ethereal murderer, and she is armed with an axe, though we highly doubt she has been cutting wood.
The bright red barn seen in X serves as a striking backdrop for Pearl, standing out against the cloudy sky. The story of X will be told through Pearl’s eyes as she looks back sixty years to when she was a young woman helping out on the family farm in the midst of World War One. In the early 1900s, the little girl is responsible for farming and tending to her sick father in the rural setting of the story. Pearl’s life is already rather routine, but her mother’s stringent religious views keep her under her control. Despite the stress, Pearl still finds time to admire the movie stars she watches on film.
When talent scouts arrive in town seeking someone special, Pearl and the other girls find themselves competing for a chance that may take them far, far away from the farm and obscurity. Pearl has no qualms about the number of people she needs to kill to reach her goal of having her name on lights and becoming famous. The film also stars David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, and Emma Jenkins-Purro in addition to Goth. West penned the script, directed it, and enlisted Goth to help with the script.
Moviegoers may see Pearl in theatres on September 16, and you can bring it home with you on Blu-ray and DVD in November.