When Ti West’s porno-shoot-gone-wrong horror X first arrived in cinemas back in March, nobody expected A24 to announce that a prequel was coming – and coming fast, given it had already been shot. X was a disturbing delight, following a group of amateur adult-filmmakers in 1970s Texas, who end up clashing violently with the elderly couple living in the remote farmhouse where they’re attempting to make a movie that will propel fame-hungry Maxine (Mia Goth) to superstardom. Pearl is, in the trailer’s words, the ‘X-traordinary origin story’ of the wife from that elderly couple, also played here (and in X) by Goth. Have a watch of the wild, old-school-feel trailer below.
As seen in X, we know that Pearl, similarly to Maxine, had dreams of seeing her name in lights, and escaping the shackles of her small town. That’s the focus of this trailer, as Pearl stares hungrily at dancers on her TV screen and attends auditions – and appears to allow her violent and sexual desires to flourish, as well as consider the fact that she might not be a good person. Goth looks to be following up her remarkable dual performance in X here with one even more committed and deranged, and though other cast details are limited at the moment, we do see David Corenswet as a potential male suitor, encouraging Pearl to aim high, telling her “you only get one take at this life”. Director West looks to have turned all his filmmaking dials up to eleven – a campy country setting, vivid imagery, Pearl’s unsettling grin, people exploding, more pitchfork-as-a-murderous-weapon action. If you thought X was “one goddamn fucked-up horror picture,” you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Pearl will release in US theatres on 18 September, with no UK date confirmed as of yet.