Martin Scorsese showers praise on Ti West's 'Pearl': 'A wild, mesmerizing, deeply disturbing 102 minutes'

There are times in the lives of filmmakers when it appears that what they have done means something. In the life of Ti West that moment has come. No less than the legend himself -- Martin Scorsese -- has showered compliments on his latest film 'Pearl', a prequel to his slasher film 'X'. The film, both written and directed by West, explores the origins of the titular character played by Mia Goth who was such a source of terror and violence in 'X'. As per Variety, Scorsese said, "Ti West’s movies have a kind of energy that is so rare these days, powered by a pure, undiluted love for cinema. You feel it in every frame."

"A prequel to ‘X’ made in a diametrically opposite cinematic register (think ’50s Scope color melodramas), ‘Pearl’ makes for a wild, mesmerizing, deeply — and I mean deeply — disturbing 102 minutes. West and his muse and creative partner Mia Goth really know how to toy with their audience… before they plunge the knife into our chests and start twisting," he added.

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Such praise must have come as music to West's years. 'Pearl' is clearly another winner. 'X' had the cast and crew of a pornography film arriving at a cabin owned by an elderly couple, Howard and Pearl. They seemed eccentric but nowhere near like the killers they turned out to be later. Pearl particularly grouches about her advanced age and openly expresses jealousy about one of the actresses Maxine's youth and beauty. At night, she turns into a stone-cold killer and begins to murder the cast and crew, something that has seemingly happened before as well.

Meanwhile, 'Pearl' has received positive reviews. On the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an impressive rating of 88 per cent. The critical consensus reads, "Pearl finds Ti West squeezing fresh gore out of the world he created with X -- and once again benefiting from a brilliant Mia Goth performance."

'Pearl' was released on September 16 in North America.