Barbarian
Directed & Written by Zach Cregger

Pearl
Directed, Written, and Edited by Ti West

If you’re not into independent horror then both of these movies may have flown under your radar, but for horror nerds like myself, this was a super fun double feature that is only really possible around this time of year. Both of these are kind of on the same wavelength and I don’t want to go into too much detail on either one, so I’ll combine these into one post.

Barbarian

Created by a member of the Whitest Kids You Know comedy troupe, Barbarian tells the story of a trip for a job interview gone very wrong. Sorry, that’s all the plot I can tell you without spoilers. Regardless, I’m a big fan of Barbarian and thrilled to see how well it’s doing at the box office, proving that indie horror is a viable low-budget option. More about the movie though, Barbarian is a timely and clever horror film, combining a simple premise with excellent execution (my personal favorite type of indie horror) and a series of great performances. Sometimes the writing gets a bit sloppy, but never enough to ruin the experience, and even when things get a bit far-fetched the performances manage to keep everything grounded. Speaking of the Whitest Kids You Know connection, there is a surprising amount of very funny comedy here, especially when a certain character seems like a clear satire of a certain group of people that the writer/director is familiar with.

Barbarian tackles some harsh subjects but is shockingly tasteful in the way it handles them, choosing to be more suggestive than in your face, showing just enough restraint to avoid the ‘edgy’ pitfall that this could have so easily fallen into. What Barbarian gets especially right is that it is actually scary, with a great grasp of atmosphere and some visuals that will linger with me for a long time. What really impresses me about this is that, as far as I’m aware, this is Cregger’s first time directing or writing anything horror related, with everything else in his filmography being a lightish comedy. A great success, especially for a first attempt, the imperfections in Barbarian don’t detract from the overall experience and I’m eagerly awaiting Cregger’s next entry into the horror universe!

Pearl

An unexpected prequel to ‘X’, a well-received film from earlier this year, Pearl tells another story about the murderous elderly woman Pearl, this time with her as a young woman. At about the end of World War I, Pearl finds herself chafing under her mother’s strictness and harsh rules. Pearl finds no joy working the family farm, seeking a grander life of fame and fortune, one that she knows she truly deserves. Now is probably a good time to reveal a horror nerd sin of mine. I don’t care for Ti West’s filmmaking. I know he’s an indie horror darling, I know that his movies are generally well received and that everyone loved ‘X’ but me, but nothing he’s made has ever done anything for me, and sadly that includes Pearl.

In an effort to be fair I’m going to try to focus on things that I did enjoy about Pearl, and there are many good things about this movie. West strikes me as a great director of actors, getting solid performances out of the whole cast, each striking a unique chord. My personal favorite was from Tandi Wright, who excellently captured the intensity and domineering nature of Pearl’s mother, Ruth. What really comes through for me about Ti West is that he makes the movie he wants to make, and ultimately he makes movies for himself. I can respect that, he certainly has a love of cinema and a unique style that resonates with a lot of people.

My problem is that I can’t seem to ever see what he sees. Pearl is adjacent to an interesting story, choosing to tell me things I would rather see and show me things that could be told. The violence in Pearl, and even in X for that matter, never connected with me in any way, possibly because I felt so emotionally detached the entire time, and the drama certainly never grabbed me. West’s visuals, clear homages to Hollywood’s golden age, felt more cheesy than anything like there was some big joke that I wasn’t in on but that he thought was inspired. I’m not trying to say Ti West makes bad movies, but nothing he’s done has ever been for me. If you really enjoyed West’s previous films, you’ll probably like this one, but Pearl isn’t a movie I would generally recommend.