In March of 2022, moviegoers were able to sink their teeth into Ti West’s X, a slasher film reminiscent of grindhouse flicks with a coating of the fear of aging. What they didn’t know, however, was that, if they stuck around for the credits, there was a prequel coming out just mere months later, focusing on the villain of the film when she was much younger. Stuck on her family’s farm, Pearl craves stardom. Inspired by the stars she sees on the silver screen, she’s convinced her name will be the biggest in the business, and she’ll stop at nothing to get it. Outside of that basic synopsis, I do not want to give too much away, because this is a movie that begs to be seen. Mia Goth perfectly plays the titular character, giving what feels like the performance of a lifetime. I will continuously defend her performance until the end of time, and as great as Michelle Yeoh was, that Oscar should have gone to Mia Goth. The production design in the movie is top-notch, evoking feelings of classic films paired with modern practices. The color pallet really pops, and sticks out as vibrant, which makes it feel like some older films that came out when color films were still in their infancy; as many colors on screen as possible, as bright as possible, as often as possible. As far as being a prequel goes, it more than excels. It the screenplay keeps another common fear in it’s grasp, and manipulates it to scare the audience in a wonderfully subtle way. Both X and Pearl are instant horror classics, and have already begun to gone down in horror history. There is a third movie on the horizon, but as it stands, I can’t recommend Pearl nearly enough. Amazing in every way.