Watch the trailer for Pearl, Ti West/Mia Goth prequel to X

When X was released back in March, fans were excited to learn of a prequel called Pearl. And, it wasn’t just the news of the prequel that got people so excited, it was how that news was presented.

Those of us who were brave enough to venture out into a movie theatre to see Ti West’s exciting horror film, which was an homage to the gritty horror of the 70s, were given a special treat if we hung around through the closing credits: a short preview for a film called Pearl was presented.

Since we had just watched 104 minutes of bloody murder mostly committed by an elderly woman named Pearl, it was evident that these were related films, despite the very different looks they sported. While X was filmed very much in the style of films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the clips we saw from Pearl were bright and Technicolor-like, meaning the prequel would be filmed in an entirely different way.

A24 has finally released the first real trailer for the new film, and you can watch it at the end of this article.

Mia Goth performed triple duty for X and Pearl

Surprisingly, it was revealed that both movies were filmed almost simultaneously and that Mia Goth, who played Pearl in both movies (as well as playing the dual role of Mia in X) co-wrote the prequel with Ti West. A third film is planned as well, and will be a sequel to X.

Let’s talk briefly about the trailer, shall we? First of all, it’s gorgeous to look at! The colors are vivid, and everything is sharp and clear. I personally loved the melodramatic acting style, and Mia Goth comes across as brilliantly unhinged. I also appreciated the two call-backs to X: that alligator, and the reference to pornographic films. As fans will remember, the young victims characters in X drove out to that isolated home in order to make their own X-rated film, and it seems like Pearl is being persuaded to participate in a dirty movie as well.

The focus of the new film is on a young woman who has to take care of her disabled father and deal with an angry, bitter mother. Like so many other woman of her time, she dreams of becoming a big star (mostly so she can escape her life), but Pearl has a bit of crazy locked up inside…and something tells me that crazy is going to come out eventually.

Pearl (described by A24 as an “X-TRAORDINARY ORIGIN STORY”) will be released in theaters on Friday, September 16.

Did you like X, and are you excited to see Pearl in a theater? Let us know what you think in the comments section.