A prequel to last spring’s raw twist on horror “X,” “Pearl” gives audiences the disturbing backstory of excruciatingly horny anti-hero Pearl. This past Tuesday, Sept. 13, at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in downtown Brooklyn’s early screening, director Ti West revealed that the film was surprisingly written within two weeks.

West and Mia Goth — who plays the role of Pearl and Maxine in “X” — worked on the script during the mandated quarantine period before the start of the movie’s production. Impressively, their script for the 120-minute long emotional rollercoaster was greenlit by independent production company A24 before even shooting a frame of “X” in New Zealand, which incidentally becomes the setting for Texas in the film.

Digital vintage grain complimented by the use of A24’s signature vibrant colors make the setting of rural 1920s Texas eye-pleasingly aesthetic. The film opens with what looks like a stock image of a farm and a carnivorous pet alligator. The setting quickly changed into a scene between a mother and daughter, with the question “Are you wearing my dress Pearl?” causing the all too familiar fight. In the first few minutes of the film, the audience can relate to Pearl’s mommy issues when her mother yells at Pearl for wearing her dress, and then is condemned to do chores. Then, in a quick turn of events, she stabs a goose and feeds it to the pet alligator, ready for all bodily carnage. Suddenly, she becomes a little less relatable to the masses. Or, at least, one would hope so.

Was she like this all along? West makes it hard to think of Pearl as murderous; her childlike voice and demeanor paired with a Texan drawl make her evil tendencies easy to forget. She’s an incredibly relatable character, aside from when her anger is entangled with homicidal tendencies. West makes it hard to see Pearl as a villain, exhibiting Pearl’s problems with her love life, burdensome relationship with her parents and her strong desire for freedom.

After briefly displaying her farm duties and taking care of her father, “Pearl” swiftly takes a turn into its more horrific elements thanks to West’s twisted storytelling. Pearl’s quirks rapidly unfurl like her mental state throughout the movie, like when she has sex with a scarecrow. Pearl’s impulsive behavior draws awkward laughs from the audience as there is no other feasible reaction to such odd behavior — a reaction that West intended. 

Pearl’s honest aspirations and burdening domestic life push her to want to completely erase her current life and start over, just as anyone would. But fed-up, Pearl takes it to the next level. In the film’s climax, she promptly embarks on a killing spree.

The first on her hit list is her mother, who she shoves into a burning fire. Charred but barely alive, her mother reflects on how Pearl felt half alive under her own roof. Her fleeting moments of hope accompany her rage, mourning the life she hasn’t lived. 

While her husband is off fighting in World War I, she finds a distraction: a movie projectionist (David Corenswet). Her fear of rejection, exacerbated by her removal from a failed dance audition, results in her boy toy being pitchforked — and dare I reveal — the audience claps.

After murdering her entire family, her unsuccessful audition is the last straw. Pearl, at her lowest, delivers an Oscar-worthy monologue. Stemming from a conversation with her sister-in-law, Mitzy (Emma Jenkins-Purro), she candidly admits that her violent desires began with small animals, then larger ones, then humans. 

Mitzy, unaware of what to make of her sister-in-law’s deeply disturbing confession and in an effort to make a face, lies about being cast as the dancer — aka Pearl’s last hope of escaping her domestic burdens. Unable to offer words to console Pearl, because empathizing with a murderer isn’t easy for most, she tells Pearl she has to go. The audience knew these were Mitzy’s last words, as her lame trip over a rock in the next scene makes her the perfect bait for Pearl’s wrath. 

Goth’s chilling smile is classic, but her childlike, yet charming tendencies, make her a horror enigma. Captivating and peculiar, Goth’s star qualities shine in “Pearl” — eerie and engaging, this installment to the “X” franchise is not one to miss.

Contact Samantha Burge and Shreya Wankhade at [email protected].