The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
Pearl
Horror · Drama · 2022
Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions collide.
Movie details
Pearl
“An X-traordinary origin story.”
2022 Horror · Drama 1h 42m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.2 / 10
Community rating
Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions collide.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Pearl?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
An American Crime
Crime · 2007
The true story of suburban housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, who kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her Indiana home during the 1960s.
Fear Street: 1994
Horror · 2021
After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that's plagued their notorious town for centuries.
The Eyes of My Mother
Drama · 2016
A young, lonely woman is consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life.
Night of the Living Dead
Horror · 1968
A ragtag group barricade themselves in an old Pennsylvania farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls ravaging the Northeast.
Baby Blues
Drama · 2008
On a secluded family farm, a mother suffers a psychotic break due to postpartum depression, forcing the eldest son to protect his sibling from the mother they have always known and loved.
1922
Horror · 2017
A simple yet proud rancher conspires to murder his wife for financial gain, convincing his teenage son to participate.
Ginger Snaps
Horror · 2000
The story of two outcast sisters, Ginger and Brigitte, in the mindless suburban town of Bailey Downs. On the night of Ginger's first period, she is savagely attacked by a wild creature. Ginger's wounds miraculously heal but something is not quite right. Now Brigitte must save her sister and save herself.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Horror · 1974
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
Strange Darling
Crime · 2024
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
X
Horror · 2022
In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Ti West
Written by
Ti West · Mia Goth
Mia Goth
Pearl
David Corenswet
Projectionist
Tandi Wright
Ruth
Matthew Sunderland
Father
Emma Jenkins-Purro
Mitsy
Alistair Sewell
Howard
Amelia Reid
Margaret
Court is in session
Put Pearl on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.