- my first experience with ti west, was when an old best friend of mine brought a copy of the innkeepers (2011) to where i used to live. i watched it with her and my cousin at nighttime, and it kept me on edge. really spooked my cousin. but, we were younger, in high school. can't remember the film much, but it's a nice memory. - what i do know, is that in comparison to the innkeepers, i feel i enjoyed x a lot more, especially knowing that the next film in west's trilogy precedes what ultimately happens to pearl in this. - i really liked how much west sought to connect maxine and pearl--not only through sharing the same actress, but through the strong-yet-differing sense of ambition: pearl's remaining-yet-fading ambition and maxine's growing ambition. it's this mirror effect that had me more invested than i originally expected to be. - i also liked how west, the cast and crew presented the other characters as well. it felt like they were set up to be sort of shallow in character, but they weren't. that was nice. - i'm excited to finally get to pearl (2022) next. mia goth is another performer i'm adding to my recent favorites, and what i've seen her do in the horror genre so far is super promising. so, seeing what she brings as younger pearl, and eventually as maxine once more, will be a treat.