Pearl Before Swine: Pearl (2022) Review

Director: Ti West

Notable Cast: Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, Emma Jenkins-Purro, Alistair Sewell

 

When Ti West dropped his A24 neo-retro-slasher (is that a thing?) X earlier this year, it took the horror community by surprise. Love it or hate it, West delivered a slasher that used its retro 70s exploitation style to chat a bit about the genre in a way that made a splash in the community. 

 

The real twist of the film was that West, actress Mia Goth, and studio A24 managed to simultaneously film a prequel about one of the film’s villains. Pearl, named after the villainess at the center of the film, is inherently tied to X in most of its themes but serves as a character study about the birth of a killer ala American Psycho or Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. In a bold maneuver, A24 attached the teaser trailer to the end of X. Surprise! This is already a franchise.  

 

Reportedly, West and Goth had worked out this character story together during the process of filming X. Yet, on paper, Pearl achingly feels like an exercise in extensive character backstory writing, but one that is both empowered and hindered by that intention. As viewers of its predecessor, where can the film go that will hook us? The answer that Pearl presents is a story that is far more character focused than plot focused. Is the story going to drive the film? Absolutely not. Is the character going to drive it? Absolutely.

 

A New Move in a Slasher X-orcise: X (2022) Review

Director: Ti West

Notable Cast: Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Brittany Snow, Kid Cudi, Martin Henderson, Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure, James Gaylyn

 

Over the last few years, the slasher has started to make another comeback. I’ve mentioned it a few times in recent reviews, including our coverage of Scream (2022) just a couple of months ago, but it’s a fascinating time for the slasher to be rearing its gory and gimmicky head. Perhaps it’s the reactive way that things swing after a handful of years of slow burn, artsy horror that has dominated the landscape, but nonetheless, here we are once again as slashers regain momentum. 

 

Of that reactionary stance, perhaps it makes sense that A24 would leap in on it as they continue to be one of the big studios leading the horror charge in theaters, but a slasher seems like it could be outside of their overall style as a studio. Compound that by having writer and director Ti West helm the film X for the studio and it seems like it could be a massive misfire in concept out of the gate. 

 

Yet, X, the film that brings Ti West and A24 together for the first time, is a wild and offbeat success. It rocks a see-saw teetering balance between the director’s notable slow-burn style and the more entertaining titillations of the genre. It also adds in just enough of that artistic flavor of the studio to snatch the horror fans with an “elevated” taste. It’s strangely effective at what it does and it makes X one of the more effective throwback horror flicks in recent memory. 

 

Suspiria (2018)

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Notable Cast: Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth, Chloe Grace Moretz, Angela Winkler, Ingrid Caven, Elena Fokina

Remakes are a contentious subject for movie fans. I don’t necessarily share most of the feelings, as I believe a good film can be a good film regardless of its connection to its source material, but after years of terrible remakes, it’s hard not to have some understanding for the hatred. When it comes to a classic film with a very rambunctious and vocal fan base like Suspiria, having a remake was already going to be a hotly debated topic even if it is a great film. This is what makes the multi-award nominated director Luca Guadagnino’s version of this horror classic such a fascinating remake. It’s a very good film. It’s shies of being great, for some reasons that will be further explained below, but 2018’s Suspiria is a massively fascinating and true reinterpretation of the original film. This is not Argento’s version simply modernized and watered down for mainstream consumption that traps so many horror films. This is truly a unique spin on the classic, incorporating its own key elements, loosely following the core plotting of the original, and developing some fantastically disturbing and refreshing themes. Even for fans of the original, if you’re a cinephile, you’re going to find plenty of things to respect about the film, even if you have a full-hearted love for the original.

A Cure for Wellness (2017)

Director: Gore Verbinski

Notable Cast: Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth, Ivo Nandi, Adrian Schiller, Celia Imrie, Harry Groener

Upon hearing so many mixed opinions on A Cure for Wellness from trusted friends and critics, it was hard not to be skeptical of Gore Verbinski’s somewhat hefty return to the horror genre. It looked slick from trailers, but there was certainly a distance that it seemed to create in its viewers that didn’t spell great things. However, now that I’ve taken time to sit down with the film, I’m shocked there isn’t more love for it. It’s easy to see why more mainstream movie people would dislike A Cure for Wellness based on its somewhat abrasive approach, mixture of intent, and extensive run time, but it’s a film that uses its meticulously assured hand in crafting a cinematic experience that’s both modern and completely rooted in a decades old style that makes it both fascinating and strangely effective. A Cure for Wellness is the throwback modern horror film that the mainstream horror genre desperately needed and no one understood on its release. It’s a film guaranteed to develop a devout and voracious cult following in the years to come.