While it is available to stream overseas, 2022’s Pearl is finally making its way to Australia… in 2023.
Let’s get you up to speed on one of last year’s best horror-slasher movies.
Pearl’s plot
Pearl is a film set in 1918, during the influenza pandemic, set around an immigrant family of farmers. Pearl is the focus of the film, who wants to escape her family and pursue stardom.
It’s difficult to give up too much of the plot without spoiling key moments of it, but just know that it’s a horror/slasher/thriller, with Pearl portrayed as an antagonist (that much is clear in the trailer).
But something to also keep in mind is that it’s the middle film of a trilogy (and a prequel to the first movie). The first movie, X, stars the same lead actress playing two roles, but you don’t need to watch it. A sequel is also in development.
Pearl’s cast
Pearl stars Mia Goth as the titular character. She also appears as the protagonist of X (though is a separate character) and is set to star in the upcoming sequel.
She’s joined by Matthew Sunderland as her father, Tandi Wright as Ruth, Alistair Sewell as Howard, Emma Jenkins-Purro as Mitsy and David Corenswet as the projectionist.
Trailers for Pearl
Production house A24 gave us a trailer six months ago, here it is.
A24 also distributed a preview clip for the movie, showing us the first five minutes.
As you can see, the movie definitely has some stylistic roots in older movies, like The Wizard of Oz, but it is very obviously a horror flick.
What did reviewers think of Pearl?
While Pearl was originally released overseas in 2022, it has long dodged some markets – including Australia. It’s not entirely clear why Pearl didn’t get released at the same time in Australia as it did elsewhere, but at the very least it’s coming down under soon.
As it currently stands, Pearl is listed as one of the best horror movies of 2022 on Rotten Tomatoes. It currently holds up a 91 per cent on the Tomatometer and an audience score of 82 per cent.
We haven’t seen it yet, but here’s what some reviewers thought:
“The film itself is terrifically accomplished and horribly gripping, with golden-age movie pastiche and dashes of Psycho and The Wizard of Oz. And anyone tempted to look down on the horror genre might want to reflect that it is horror director West who has led the way in commenting on our key issue — his film is about the pandemic and how the lockdown experience incubates dysfunction and fear,” The Guardian wrote.
“As was teased at the end of X, we now have a prequel, Pearl, that tells the origin story of its titular bloodthirsty killer. On their own, the two films each offer a satisfying amount of scares and gore. But it’s when you put them together that they become much more intriguing,” The Verge wrote.
Pearl Australian release date
Pearl will be showing in Australian theatres from March 9, 2023.
While you’re here, why not check out Gizmodo Australia’s guide to what’s streaming this month on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Stan, Binge and more. We’ve also got one for all the good movies coming out in 2023 if that’s more your thing.