In March 2022,Ti Westmade a thunderous impact in the horror film industry with his slasher filmX.Earning critical acclaim,Xfollows a group of young adults as they embark on creating a porn film. As the camera starts rolling, so does something sinister in this isolated sliver of Texas.
Finally revealing the becoming ofX’s antagonist is the prequel film,Pearl.Mia Gothreprises her role, but this time as a youthful Pearl in the late 1910s. Pearl is a dutiful daughter, caring for her paralyzed father and obeying her religious mother. Yet her heart yearns for more and harbors bitterness against the family holding her back from a life of stardom. Suppressed desires and weed-like hate make for a murderous cocktail.
Related:‘Pearl’ Review: Ti West’s ‘X’ Prequel Is a Horror Tease | Venice 2022
When Does Pearl Release in Theaters?
Pearlpremiered in U.S. theaters on August 25, 2025. Check outFandangoto see what theaters near you are playingPearl.
When Will Pearl Be On Streaming?
As of right now, there is no news as to which streaming platform the film will be available on or when.
When Will Pearl Be On Blu-ray?
Pearlwill be available to purchase on Blu-ray and DVD starting onNovember 8, 2022. If you are planning on getting them, it’ll cost you $29.96 for the DVD and $39.99 for the Blu-ray. The Blu-ray release comes with special features, including two notable featurettes titled “Coming Out of Her Shell: The Creation of Pearl” and “Time After Time”. The movie is also getting an exclusive Blu-ray package that will be available at Walmart, featuring new artwork. you’re able to now pre-order physical copies ofPearlon Amazon with the following link:
Pre-order on Amazon
Watch thePearl TrailerNow
A24, a co-producer of the film, dropped the Official Trailer on YouTube on July 30, 2025.
Who Do We Meet in Pearl?
Howard (Alistair Sewell) is married to Pearl at the start of this film, though he is largely absent due to fighting in WWI. His leave begs the question of how differently Pearl might have endured her dismal home life and crushed dreams had he not been away.
Ruth (Tandi Wright) is Pearl’s German, immigrant mother who is a devout Catholic and runs her household according to those beliefs. Unfortunately, Pearl doesn’t take well to her mother’s moral code or forms of discipline, further pushing Pearl toward all-out rebellion.
Matthew Sunderlandis Pearl’s father, who is a mute quadriplegic. His primary role in the film is a passive one, an irritant toward Pearl who keeps her chained to the farm.
The Projectionist (David Corenswet) works at the local movie house and strikes up a dangerous friendship with Pearl. He indulges her thirst to be a movie star, oblivious to just how dark her ambition grows.
Mitzy (Emma Jenkins-Purro), Howard’s sister, proves herself to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She innocently pits herself in a competition against Pearl when both she and Pearl take part in a dance audition.
Where Can I Watch X?
Xis currently available for streaming on Showtime, and it’s also available to rent/buy on most major online video stores.
InX, Pearl is the malevolent force that an adult film cast and crew meet when shooting their porn film in Texas. Maxine Minx (Goth) is a rising porn star alongside Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) and Jackson (Scott Mescudi). Their film, titledThe Farmer’s Daughters,which is produced by Maxine’s boyfriend, Wayne (Martin Henderson), and directed by RJ (Owen Campbell), is shot entirely in the guest farmhouse of an elderly couple, Pearl (Goth) and Howard (Stephen Ure). While drama and romance stir behind the scenes of filmmaking, no suspects that Pearl is stalking them. Needless to say, this version of the villain, sixty years post-Pearl, is no less twisted and bloodthirsty than the young Pearl with big dreams.
Related:‘Pearl’: Mia Goth’s Twisted American Dream Is Revealed in New Prequel Clip
Killer Origin Films Like Pearl
Pearlcarries a retro, campy style–a palette of cheerful colors that clashes harshly yet artistically with the violence that ensues. Other films have charted the growth and birth of killers, real and fictional. While the following films hold sinister tones more in line with the actions of their murderous leads, they are similarly entertaining likePearlin that they hold the lens close to some of the most horrific humans imaginable.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer(2006) - German filmmakerTom TykwerdirectsPerfume: The Story of a Murderer, whose screenplay is based on German writer Patrick Süskind’s 1985 novel. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) is a French orphan who grows up with an unnaturally keen sense of smell. His obsession with scent drives him to insanity when he realizes just how fleeting and utterly unique the scent of a woman is. So begins Jean-Baptiste’s descent into a murderous madness… to use women’s corpses to transfer their scent into perfume.
My Friend Dahmer(2017) -Marc Meyersdirects the biographical horror dramaMy Friend Dahmer, which is largely based on the graphic novel that Dahmer’s high school friend, John Backderf, wrote regarding the strange nature of the boy who would one day become a serial killer. Jeffrey Dahmer (Ross Lynch) is a socially awkward outcast who fails to feel seen or loved, despite his friendship with John Backderf (Alex Wolff). With his parents’ marriage fracturing, his mother getting sicker, and his own obsessions with bones and men worsening, Dahmer turns to killing animals, drinking, and stalking a male jogger. What audiences receive are the seeds of a killer, one who would later be charged with murdering, dismembering, and in some cases, consuming and sexually abusing, seventeen men between 1978 and 1991.
The House That Jack Built(2018) - DanishdirectorLars von Trierdirects the gruesome psychological horrorThe House That Jack Built. Jack (Matt Dillon) attempts to explain away his serial killings to Roman poet Virgil (Bruno Ganz) as they descend through the nine circles of Hell. Via flashbacks, the audience comes to understand how Jack, an architect with OCD, unintentionally became a serial killer. Jack’s first kill was the first feed to a dangerous and dark urge, one that leads him to murder over 60 people. He stores many of their bodies, fashioning them in a grotesque manner that is the thing of nightmares.
Maniac(2012) - FrenchdirectorFrank Khalfoundirects the 2012 remake,Maniac, of the 1980 slasher film of the same name. Frank Zito (Elijah Wood) is a schizophrenic man who runs a mannequin restoration business. He deals with his childhood trauma by compulsively killing women, collecting their scalps, and attaching their scalps to mannequins. His deadly hobby becomes threatened when he falls in love with a photographer, Anna D’Antoni (Nora Arnezeder). Oblivious to his killing addiction, the two strike up a tenuous relationship, one that forces Frank to face his darkness.
