We went back through our
Movie Review archives
and compiled a list of 13 Horror Movies
we love here at Streaming Movie Night.
In no particular order,
here are 13 recommendations for your
Screaming Movie Night!
Tag: Pearl
Strange Darling
2024 Magenta Light Studios
Rated: R
Length: 1 hr 37min
Action ~ Horror ~ Suspense
Directed by: JT Mollner
Starring: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, and Ed Begley Jr..
“Love hurts, love scars…Love wounds and marks, any heart not tough enough or strong enough, to take a lot of pain…….takes a lot of pain.”
I watched this last night. I was looking for something to watch more than I was looking for a movie to review. Strange Darling caught my eye on Amazon Prime. Perfect I thought…I didn’t know anything about it and had never heard of it.
WHICH IS EXACTLY HOW YOU SHOULD WATCH IT. And that is why this review will feature very little of the plot, storyline or in-depth look at the movie or the characters. Here is all I can tell you:
It is a Slasher type Horror Action Suspense Film.
The Movie Stars The Lady and The Demon.
The movie is broken into six chapters and an epilogue, in this order:
Chapter 3: “Can You Help Me, Please?”
Chapter 5: “Here, Kitty, Kitty…”
Chapter 1: “Mister Snuffles” (Mister Snuffleupagus)
Chapter 4: “The Mountain People”
Chapter 2: “The Electric Lady”
Chapter 6: “Who’s Gary Gilmore?”
Epilogue.
The Movie starts like this:
SHOT ENTIRELY ON 35MM FILM
(IN BLACK AND WHITE) A man and a woman in a truck on a rainy night in front of a motel………… she asks, “So I have to ask you a question, are you a serial killer?”
Between 2018 and 2020, the most prolific and unique American Serial Killer of the 21st Century went on a calculated, multi-state spree that began in Denver, Colorado, continued through Grand Lake, and expanded across Wyoming and Central Idaho before culminating in the dense forest of Hood River County, Oregon.
Drawing from police interviews, detailed accounts of eyewitnesses, depositions, and observations of various law enforcement, this is a dramatization of the true story of the final known killings in that rampage….
Then there is a killer (Pun intended) car chase…and then a woman is running in the woods from a killer, blood dripping from her wounds……as an acoustic cover of Love Hurts by Nazareth plays in the background……..
Love hurts, love scarsLove wounds and marksAny heartNot tough or strong enoughTo take a lot of pain, take a lot of painLove is like a cloudHolds a lot of rainLove hurtsOoh, ooh, love hurts
Some fools think of happinessBlissfulness, togethernessSome fools fool themselves, I guessThey’re not foolin’ me
Ooh, ooh, love hurts
AND WE START THE MOVIE WITH:
Chapter 3: “Can You Help Me, Please?”
I absolutely enjoyed every minute of this Horrifying piece of Cinematic Slasher Art.
Willa Fitzgerald reminds me of Mia Goth in Pearl.
Kyle Gallner is creepy scary as the nice guy?
JT Mollner I am unfamiliar with but will keep an eye out for.
Turn out the lights, crank up the soundtrack and enjoy the ride…
because that is what it is.
A Horrifying Action Filled Thrill Ride
through a Serial Killer Amusement Park.
Highly Recommended!
Love Hurts Cover by Z-Berg featured in the movie:
Pearl
2022 A24
Rated: R
Length: 1 hr 43min
Horror ~ Drama ~ Thriller
Directed by: Ti West
Starring: Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, and Matthew Sunderland.
“I know what I’ve done. Bad things. Terrible, awful, murderous things. I regret them now, but I liked how they felt. Felt good. Killing’s easier than you’d think.”
Mia Goth stars as Pearl who is living on a farm in Texas with her German parents. It is 1918 and her husband Howard is away in Europe as a soldier in WWI. Her father has been stricken with the Influenza pandemic and Pearl and her mother do their best to stay isolated on the farm and take care of him. The loneliness and isolation have started to take a toll on Pearl, who dreams of nothing more than running away to be a Chorus Line Dancer. Or perhaps a Hollywood Movie star, anything but the dreadful existence isolated on the farm taking care of her sick daddy.
Pearl was pregnant with Howard’s child and right before he left for Europe, she lost the child. The Miscarriage of the baby, and then Howard leaving her alone on the farm to deal with the emotional fallout of the loss, affects her mental state greatly. She starts killing small animals and feeds them to the alligator in the pond she named Theda. She starts abusing her elderly sick Dad and wishes he would die. Mama too….She wishes for nothing more than to be a star far, far away from that dreadful farm. And as the movie progresses you can see the mental illness grow, fester and come boiling to the surface with horrific consequence.
The movie from the very beginning looks like the Wizard Of Oz in technicolor. Upon doing some research I found that is exactly what the director had in mind. He achieved that goal by far. It is a juxtaposition to the horror unfolding within Pearl and on the farm. There is blood, and there is gore, but it is minimal compared to your average horror slasher movie. It is instead more psychological, your horror grows as you watch Pearl unravel right before your eyes in a downward spiral of emotion and violence.
Pearl is part of a trilogy written by the director Ti West. The first installment was X, followed by Pearl and the just released Maxxxine. There is some debate as to the order in which to watch the trilogy movies. The director says in the order they were released; X, Pearl and then Maxxine. But there are those who say you should watch Pearl before you watch X and then Maxxxine. That in doing so you will get a better understanding of X, as Pearl is a prequel to X.
I can’t wait to watch X and Maxxxine, and I think I made the right choice in watching Pearl before X. Mia Goth stars in all three movies. This is my first introduction to Mia Goth and her horrifying gothic talent and I am immediately a fan for life. Mia Goth’s performance is extraordinary. Mia Goth is the movie. What she pulls out of her emotive being to express on screen with her facial expressions and emotions is incredible.
Pearl isn’t for everyone. But it is a first class psychological horror film well done.
Horrifyingly yes…Yes…YES!!!
Go Mia Goth!
Two Thumbs UP!
STREAMING MOVIE NIGHT 