When Tradition Gets Shaken by Mystery

Read Time:4 Minute, 48 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
The Pearl Comb
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Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Short
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 21m
Director(s): Ali Cook
Writer(s): Ali Cook
Cast: Beatie Edney, Ali Cook, Simon Armstrong, Clara Paget, Roxana Cook, Thomas Stocker
Where to Watch: Shown at the 2025 Cleveland International Film Festival

RAVING REVIEW: I’m so glad I was able to screen this film with some time between writing my review. The longer I sat with the story on my mind, the more I grew to appreciate everything about it. Set against the fog-kissed cliffs and harsh seascapes of 1893 Cornwall, THE PEARL COMB pulls off something surprisingly rare in short-form storytelling—it crafts a complete world, rich with mood, myth, and meaning, in just over 20 minutes. Rather than a mere appetizer for a longer story, this short story feels fully realized and constructed, with a striking atmosphere and a sly bite beneath its surface. There’s depth in its themes, precision in its storytelling, and something oddly mesmerizing about how it merges history with hints of magic.

There’s a power struggle baked into every scene—one that doesn’t rely on melodrama but simmers beneath the surface. A woman in a small coastal town is said to have miraculously cured tuberculosis, a claim that sends ripples through the conservative medical establishment. Dr. Gregory Lutey, stiff-collared and status-obsessed, arrives to investigate and, more importantly, to disprove. He represents the institutional voice, cloaked in education and ego, who assumes women’s influence should stay locked in the domestic sphere. But Betty, the woman at the stories center, isn’t out to prove anything. She’s simply doing what needs to be done.

Beatie Edney steps into Betty’s boots. There’s something grounded in her performance that sidesteps clichés about defiant women and offers something more lived-in and human. She’s not challenging norms for the sake of the spotlight; she simply exists outside of them, which alone is enough to disrupt the order. As her counterpart, Ali Cook plays the doctor with just enough arrogance to be recognizable without tipping into parody. You’ve met men like him who don’t need proof to be certain they’re right (unfortunately, this is commonplace today, as it was in this period).

A supernatural thread woven into the plot makes the tension more complex. Betty’s husband, played with subtlety by Simon Armstrong, once had a strange, inexplicable encounter with something otherworldly beneath the waves. That something—embodied with an eerie calm by Clara Paget—has returned in ways that feel metaphorical as much as literal. The line between science and legend gets blurred here, not with flashy special effects but with a hushed dread.

Inspired by the real-life story of the Edinburgh Seven—women who fought for access to medical education in the 19th century—the screenplay adds historical gravity to what could have simply been a unique tale. There’s a cleverness here in how the factual and the folkloric are placed side-by-side, neither invalidating the other, but strengthening the whole.

Dave Miller’s cinematography takes full advantage of the natural setting without over-romanticizing it. The sea doesn’t sparkle—it looms. Interiors are cramped and creaky, reminding us of how confining the era could be, especially for women with aspirations beyond marriage and motherhood. Costume design deserves a mention, too—authentic and distinct without being showy. These choices give the film texture and help the story breathe even within its tight runtime.

THE PEARL COMB’s restraint is part of its charm. It doesn’t try to prove itself with overblown spectacle or heavy-handed themes. Instead, it lets you sit in its world and absorb the slow-burn discomfort of watching characters wrestle with a world that’s changing underneath their feet. The film frames this conflict through words, silence, glances, and the weight of unspoken history. THE PEARL COMB works on multiple levels—as a social critique, low-key supernatural tale, and reminder that short films can carry weight well beyond their runtimes.

What makes it stand out isn’t just its message—it’s how that message is delivered. Nothing here feels tacked on or pedantic. It respects its audience, trusts its cast, and shows the kind of restraint many features could learn from. It could serve as a proof-of-concept for something bigger, but it also holds its own as a complete, confident short.

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[photo courtesy of DUNNINGER FILMS, STIGMA FILMS]

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