Pearl (2022)

Pearl is a 2022 American period horror film directed, produced, and edited by Ti West, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mia Goth. It is the second installment in West's X film series and a prequel to X (2022). Goth reprises her role as the title character, with a supporting cast featuring David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, and Emma Jenkins-Purro. The film serves as an origin story for the titular villain, whose fervent aspiration to become a movie star clashes with her home life and violent tendencies, leading to violent acts on her family's Texas homestead in 1918. West began co-writing a prequel script stemming from his collaboration with Goth while filming X. Motivated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema, filming started in New Zealand immediately after the first film, using X sets and the Avatar: The Way of Water crew and taking pandemic safety precautions. Pearl drew inspiration from the works of Douglas Sirk, Technicolor films like The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Mary Poppins (1964), and Disney films. It had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2022, and was released in theaters in the United States on September 16, 2022, by A24. The film grossed over $10 million and received positive reviews from critics. MaXXXine, a third film in the series and a direct sequel to X, was released on July 5, 2024. Goth reprised her other role from the first film.