Movie review by Greg Carlson
An increasingly intimate relationship between a filmmaker and a reclusive horror actor commands our attention in “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” director Jane Schoenbrun’s highly anticipated follow-up to the much lauded “I Saw the TV Glow.” Schoenbrun’s latest, described by the artist in an interview with JP Mangalindan for “Time” as emerging from the “fun parts” of transitioning as opposed to the more frightening aspects explored in “I Saw the TV Glow,” is essential viewing for genre fans and cinephiles. Operating with a budget nearly double the estimated 5.4 million dollars spent on “Glow,” “Miasma” deftly blends comedy, eroticism, gore, and VHS-era nostalgia into an intoxicating brew of deeply personal storytelling.
The title refers to a once-popular slasher franchise that has beguiled moviemaker Kris Williams (Hannah Einbinder) since she first witnessed – at the tender age of eight – the performance of the inaugural entry’s final girl Billy Presley (Amanda Fix). In particular, Kris has been drawn over and over again to a scene in which Presley’s character loses her virginity, an uncomfortable and mesmerizing interaction made even more complex by Billy’s revelation that she was sexually assaulted during the film’s production. In the present day, Kris pursues an older Billy (Gillian Anderson), hoping to convince her to participate in a planned reboot/relaunch/refresh of the dormant “Camp Miasma” series.
Like their last feature, Schoenbrun maximizes the cinematic potential of surreal and stylized environments in part by pointing much of our close attention to the shifting relationship dynamics of a central pair. Where Maddy (Jack Haven) and Owen (Justice Smith) were surrounded by the engrossing world-building of “The Pink Opaque,” Kris and Billy step into and out of the past, present, and possible future of the movie series haunted by the cleverly-named Little Death (Haven), a relentless killer in the vein of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. And even though the emotional heart of the movie can be found in the conversations shared by Kris and Billy, Schoenbrun knows exactly when to shift into wordless pure cinema and bodily fluid phantasmagoria.
One of the most impressive and appreciated dimensions of Schoenbrun’s close examination of sexual politics is the open, curious and thoughtful manner in which key themes and issues are investigated. The writer-director acutely fathoms the messy intersection of cinema’s scopophilic allure and the gnarly and frequently problematic objectification of the body as a core element in so many horror films. And while the tone and tenor of “Miasma” embraces the sex-positive breakthrough of self-acceptance, the onscreen kills (which deliver crimson fountains, torrents and showers of blood) match each of the orgasmic milestones experienced by Schoenbrun stand-in Kris.
“Teenage Sex and Death” received the independently sponsored Queer Palm following its premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and will surely remain one of the highest profile queer/trans features released this year. Schoenbrun’s cinephilia, which extends well beyond the lore, tropes and mythology of 1980s slasher flicks to conjure Cronenberg’s “Videodrome” body horror and Gloria Swanson’s iconic performance as Norma Desmond in Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard,” proves irresistible to film fanatics. Key writings that include Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” Carol Clover’s “Men, Women, and Chain Saws,” and Linda Williams’ “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess” find an ideal textual site and an apt pupil in “Miasma.”