Pearl

Pearl is a prequel to Ti West's 2022 slasher film X, exploring the origin story of the elderly killer from that movie. Both films star Mia Goth and were shot back-to-back during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. A third film, MaXXXine, was later released to complete the trilogy.

Mia Goth stars as Pearl, delivering a performance widely praised by horror critics and audiences. Goth also co-wrote the screenplay with director Ti West, making her a creative force behind the project. She previously played both Pearl (in old-age makeup) and the character Maxine in the first film, X.

Pearl is set in 1918 during the final months of World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic. The story takes place on an isolated rural Texas farm where Pearl lives with her strict mother and ailing father. This period setting establishes the social isolation and wartime anxieties that frame Pearl's descent into violence.

The third film in the trilogy is MaXXXine, which follows Mia Goth's character Maxine pursuing a career in 1980s Los Angeles. Ti West directed all three films, which together span from 1918 (Pearl) through 1979 (X) to the 1980s (MaXXXine). The trilogy has been praised for reviving the prestige horror genre.