Horror movies may center around supernatural ghosts or demonic forces, but it’s undoubtedly movies with real-life antagonists that are most effective at making audiences tremble with fear. A ghost walking through your bedroom walls is one thing, but a murderous human being, something that absolutely exists in the viewer’s reality (although hopefully murder is only on the edge of your life), is a character that carries considerable emotional weight.
But it’s not enough just to be scary; a horror movie villain generally needs to arouse some kind of sympathy, however tense, from viewers to help the audience understand the antagonist’s actions, which ultimately makes the death caused by the killer all the more terrifying.
One of the more recent additions to the canon of terrifying serial killers from horror movies is Pearl, who has been taking the lives of innocent people for decades. While her liberal use of various farm implements makes for quite a few bloody and brutal moments, she is far from a one-dimensional mass murderer. The character’s standalone prequel film, Pearlsees her desire to leave her humble existence on a remote farm, while X determines that Pearl’s murderous rage stems from her lost childhood. In X, Mia Goth plays both Pearl and the film’s protagonist, Maxine Minx, and she returns to play the villain in the prequel.
The Incredible Acting Skills of Mia Goth
Neither film would have been nearly as effective without Mia Goth’s perfect performance as both Maxine Minx and Pearl. The actor is no stranger to appearing in intense movies. Her career first started when she appeared in the 2013 Lars Von Trier film Nymphomaniac. A few years later, she appeared in the deeply disturbing post-apocalyptic drama The Survivalist. Over the new years, she appeared in a trio of horror films that spanned the entire gamut of setting and subgenre: A cure for wellness, High lifeand Suspiria.
Goth has had to use all her acting skills in the… X franchisee. Obviously, her experience in the horror genre was incredibly useful in the movies. Both films see Goth portray wide-eyed fear and fiery anger. However, the films are not simple slashers; she also needs to use her dramatic skills. Maxine Minx is a tragic figure who has fled her religious family in hopes of making it big in the porn industry. Goth lets the audience in on the character’s desperation through her subtle expressiveness.
Almost the end of PearlGoth’s titular character delivers a minute-long monologue about her “flaws,” lamenting the psychopathic side of her personality, and the audience is completely entranced by the uninterrupted shot. Finally, both films are actually quite funny, and Goth’s performance is complex enough to provide viewers with levity, even if the on-screen content itself is deadly (literally) serious.
Maxine Minx and Pearl: two sides of the same coin
Using prosthesesMia Goth portrayed both Maxine Minx and Pearl in X, a directorial decision that served to emphasize the film’s youth and beauty themes. As such, having her play Pearl in the prequel was an easy decision. It was co-written by Goth and filmed in secret, making the release announcement all the more exciting for fans of the original movie.
The two characters of Goth are similar in many ways. For starters, they’re both beautiful women (this makes sense, since the same actor portrays them), though, in X, Pearl’s beauty has faded with her old age. Both have, or had, ambitions beyond their humble upbringing. Pearl wants to become a world famous dancer, while Minx has chosen a career in porn film. While these two professions may seem far apart at first glance, the dreams of both women are actually quite similar. To become a famous dancer or an adult movie star requires a certain amount of physical attractiveness, which can lead people to underestimate the skills required for both careers.
While Pearl clearly has a psychopathic streak that goes beyond competition and desire, both women are motivated by a level of self-confidence that sometimes borders on delusion. Nothing can get in the way of their master plans… and anything (or rather, anyone) who does, won’t for long.
X received rave reviews from audiences and critics alike, and the recently released Pearl continues in that tradition. For both films, much of the credit can be attributed to: Mia Goth and her respective performances. Maxine Minx and Pearl are two of the most compelling movie characters in recent memory, and the overarching themes explored through the two women’s similarities bring great depth to the story. X franchisee.