Take that, Marvel: Martin Scorsese reveals himself as a huge fan of ‘Pearl’

Movies from Marvel still move millions at the box office, but occasionally, others still get to break through. Pearl in the X franchise is one. The prequel has not only received praise, it’s apparently director Martin Scorsese’s cup of cinematic-violence tea.

The 79-year-old makes his view known in a new article published by /Film today. He says the work from director and franchise creator Ti West is powered by a clear love for cinema, and adds what he does give to the public is so rare in the industry now.

“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.”

Later Scorsese — no stranger to violence in his filmography — says the work enthralled him, disturbed him, unsettled him, and kept him from looking away. As well, he apparently had difficulty in dozing off after the credits rolled on the recent horror production.

“I was enthralled, then disturbed, then so unsettled that I had trouble getting to sleep. But I couldn’t stop watching.”

A third film in the franchise, titled MaXXXine, is in development. Here’s hoping Scorsese chimes in on it when it sees the light of day, or dives back into making unsettling and scary movies himself. He has previously dabbled, with work like Cape Fear and Shutter Island which, while not as explicitly scary as X or other works, certainly have their moments. Scorsese’s next movie is Killers of the Flower Moon, while West has previously been involved with things like The Sacrament, The House of The Devil, and In a Valley of Violence. He has also created a number of short films, like Prey, and M is for Miscarriage, as well.