The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw

The film itself is terrifically accomplished and horribly gripping, with golden-age movie pastiche and dashes of Psycho and The Wizard of Oz.

Film Threat by Bobby LePire

West’s bold, stylish direction and brilliant use of color and shadow push Pearl into a whole different level of horror. Goth carries the picture with a bit of acting that is subtle and over-the-top at the same time. How? I don’t know, but I know it works wonders.

The Independent by Clarisse Loughrey

Pearl’s torment – empathetic, frightening, and ludicrous all at the same time – is believable largely because Goth single-handedly wills it to be.

NME by Paul Bradshaw

Less a horror than an occasionally bloodthirsty character portrait, West dances us through the mind of a serial killer with a visual flair that soars on the big screen.

TheWrap by William Bibbiani

Pearl isn’t just great; it retroactively makes its predecessor great, too. It’s a handsome and sad horror drama, with scenes and shots and performances that will make you wonder if you’re supposed to laugh, cry or shriek. Until you realize that the best part of this film is that you are absolutely supposed to do all three. And you probably will.

The A.V. Club by Phil Pirrello

Unlike X’s dusty fun, a melancholy atmosphere looms over the carnage, all underscored by West’s fascination with the tragic ends that come from building future hopes upon the shakiest present realities. If only more horror movies dared to dream as big with such emotionally charged results.

Original-Cin by Thom Ernst

What begins as a weird tribute to The Wizard of Oz becomes a genuinely creepy horror. West chooses deliberate methodic movements rather than jump scares to terrify the audience, and the film is all the better for it. And he never lets loose of an underlying sense of humour that is as clever as it is demented.

Entertainment Weekly by Joshua Rothkopf

Co-scripting with her director, Goth is the standout, displaying a verbal vigor and earthiness she's been unable to tap so far (not even in movies like Nymphomaniac and A Cure for Wellness).

We Got This Covered by Alejandra Martinez

The larger-than-life feelings Pearl experiences are brought to life around her through the technicolor-inspired cinematography and shot composition, making for a beautiful, sometimes moving, and delightfully unhinged journey.

Austin Chronicle by Sarah Jane

If nothing else, Pearl is a showcase of the powerhouse that is Goth. She deserves all the accolades and then some.

Slashfilm

Pearl is an ambitious and bold work of horror that calls into question what it means to deserve love and the bad things we sometimes do to receive it.

Screen Daily by Tim Grierson

This new instalment stands on its own unsettlingly odd merits.

Total Film by James Mottram

Clever, violent, and wicked, with a fabulously unhinged turn from Goth, West’s period psycho tale truly does have the X Factor.

The Telegraph by Robbie Collin

In her first outright lead role Goth is straightforwardly tremendous, and gets to move through the considerable breadth of her talent even within individual shots.

The Playlist by Jack King

Flimsy logic notwithstanding, Pearl is the superior of the two heavily-stylized slashers, partly because it dedicates so much time to building the eponymous antiheroine from the ground up.

Variety by Peter Debruge

Its distinctive look and oddly appealing antihero (picture Norman Bates as Shelley Duvall might have played him) could actually make this the more popular of the two films.

The Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney

As a cleverly packaged pandemic production with narrative echoes of that global anxiety, it’s at the very least something fresh. A gruesome portrait of another young woman hungering for a life greater than the fate she’s been handed, it makes an amusing companion piece to X.

IndieWire by Kate Erbland

It’s an impressive feat of filmmaking, but one that reveals nothing new, a major misstep for a film seemingly dedicated to doing just that.