There’s a New Scream Queen in Town
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Move over Jamie Lee Curtis! We finally have a new horror queen dominating the genre: the infamous Mia Goth. Because let’s be honest…who hasn’t heard of the X horror trilogy, that has quickly become a cultural phenomenon. It’s like the Joker for girls.
Goth quickly rose up in the horror hall of fame, seated alongside the many actresses that have defined what it is to really be a scream queen throughout the years, such as Jamie Lee Curtis as the iconic Laurie Strode, and Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott in the Scream series. But even the scream queen title itself has evolved as time has gone on, from the first killed damsel-in-distress, to the final girl, to the crazed main lead slasher that we now know and love!
Goth reigns as the indie production company A24 dominates the new horror scene, with X, Pearl, and the final, upcoming movie in the trilogy, MaXXXine.
Pearl acts as a prequel to the 70’s-themed slasher X, where we first meet Goth’s eccentric but sinister character. X is a tantalizing but unnerving film which follows a group of adult filmmakers venturing out to a rustic Texas farm to film a porn flick – but they soon meet their untimely demise once their spine-chilling elderly hosts catch them in the act.
In Pearl, the titular character leads a dull life about 60 years prior (in about 1918), as she is trapped on her family farm after her husband, Howard, was shipped away to war. The only escape Pearl finds within the compounds of her run-down and dingy yellow barn is through her dream of becoming a dancer in Hollywood. Pearl yearns for this new life to the point where she is dead-set (literally) on making it big. This is what fuels her demented arc as she descends into her agenda of becoming a star, and she refuses to let anything get in her way – be it the farm poultry or the people around her.
Pearl casts you spellbound, from the doll-like innocent eyes to the erratic behavior that she portrays. Mia Goth’s astounding performance draws viewers into a trance where they simply can’t look away. It plays on the classic tale of “good for her” movies, leaving audiences no choice but to root for her, and anticipate what other unhinged move she will make next.