Pearl, the envious, resentful elderly villain of this year’s sex positive slasher flick “X,” is getting her own movie. A trailer has arrived for “Pearl,” which follows the titular character as a young woman with big dreams. Mia Goth, who co-wrote the horror prequel with director Ti West, returns as Pearl, minus the old-age makeup.
“You only get one take at this life,” Pearl is told in the spot. Stuck taking care of her family on her childhood farm, she prays for for fame. “Please, lord, make me the biggest star the world has ever known,” she pleads, “so that I may get far, far away from this place.”
Desperate to escape and make a name for herself on-screen — whether it’s in dance flicks or the early iterations of porn she’s shown — Pearl goes to further and further lengths to get what she wants. The trailer sees her pushing her wheelchair-using father to the edge of an alligator-dwelling lake. She also seems to be terrorizing another young woman, her competition at an audition.
But is all this really a means to an end? Or does Pearl just enjoy doing “terrible, awful, murderous things”? “I’m worried there may be something real wrong with me,” she admits.
“X” was released earlier this year. Goth portrayed both Pearl and final girl Maxine. An executive producer on “Pearl,” Goth counts “Suspiria,” “High Life,” and “Emma” among her acting credits.
“Pearl” will screen Out of Competition at Venice Film Festival, which runs August 31-September 10. The film will open in theaters September 16.
