"Features a character that you have dressed up as for Halloween." by Julianne Bell 25. ICONOCLADS: Features a character that you have dressed up as for Halloween. Pearl Today, we’re watching the 2022 film Pearl, the second film in director Ti West’s X trilogy and sometimes affectionately referred to as “The Joker for women.” I indeed dressed as Pearl herself for Halloween 2022, and it’s still one of my proudest DIY costume achievements—I recreated her iconic dress by dunking a vintage nightgown in scarlet-red Rit Dye, sewed a hair bow out of leftover fabric scraps, and obtained a small fake ax to wield as an accessory. Maybe I’ll drag it out again this year! Mia Goth plays the titular farmgirl who resents her isolated life caring for her ailing father and answering to her stern mother. Abandoned by her soldier husband, she spends her free time killing stray geese with a pitchfork, fucking the occasional scarecrow in a cornfield, and sneaking off to the cinema in town, where she can fantasize about a glamorous life as a professional dancer. When her grand Hollywood dreams are foiled, she resorts to violence: As she tells her sister-in-law Mitsy, “It’s not about what I want anymore, Mitsy. It’s about making the best of what I have.” My favorite part of the X films is their strong aesthetic vision, and Pearl is no exception—drawing on the appearance of early Technicolor and the melodrama of Douglas Sirk films, it’s a delightfully campy pastiche. At West’s suggestion, Goth prepared for the role by studying The Wizard of Oz and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, and she absolutely nails the histrionics, bringing Pearl’s bloodthirsty ambition to life. The movie’s crowning moment is undoubtedly Goth’s show-stopping 8-minute-long monologue, shot in a single take, in which she unravels and confesses her sins to an unsuspecting Mitsy. If you ask me, it’s one of the most memorable scenes in recent cinematic history, cementing Pearl as a modern horror classic. The Stranger is participating in Scarecrow Video’s Psychotronic Challenge all month long! Every October, Scarecrow puts together a list of cinematic themes and invites folks to follow along and watch a horror, sci-fi, or fantasy flick that meets the criteria. This year, Stranger staffers are joining the fun and we’re sharing our daily recommendations here on Slog! Read more about Scarecrow’s 2024 challenge—and get the watch list—here. And you can track our daily recommendations here! 💀