Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma review

TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA: 

I SAW THE 80s SLASHER MOVIE GLOW! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

MUBI

Hannah Einbinder in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

 

            In the tradition of Scream and The Cabin in the Woods, the slasher movie genre is about to get deconstructed even more with outlandish results in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, the new film from director Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, I Saw the TV Glow). Before I go into this film, I should make something perfectly clear to all of you…don’t go in expecting a typical slasher movie because it is not that at all. 

            I was very impressed by Schoenbrun’s previous movie, I Saw the TV Glow, and when I found out they were attached to direct this, I was curious to see what they would bring to the screen here. If you thought I Saw the TV Glow was an absolute fever dream, you ain’t seen nothing yet because Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is fucking weird and does what that movie did with Power Rangers-style children’s shows for 80s slasher films such as Friday the 13^th and Sleepaway Camp (Hell, both those franchises are even mentioned in this film). 

            The film follows queer filmmaker Kris Williams (Hannah Einbinder-North Hollywood, History of the World: Part II, Seekers of Infinite Love) being attached to direct a reboot of the long-dormant Camp Miasma slasher movie franchise that dates back to the 1980s. But when she visits the actress who played the final girl in the original film, Billy Presley (Gillian Anderson-The X-Files, The Pale Blue Eye, Tron: Ares), Kris becomes fixated on casting her in the movie, and various oddities and psychological terrors begin on their quest to film the reboot. 

            The film also stars Sarah Sherman (Saturday Night Live, Nimona, Roommates) as Kris’ agent, Dylan Baker (Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Spider-Man 2 and 3, Trick ‘r Treat) as Jeffrey, Jasmin Savoy Brown (The Leftovers, Scream franchise, Missing) as Mari, Kevin McDonald (That 70s Show, Invader Zim, Lilo & Stitch) as Anthony, and Jess McLeod (One of Us is Lying, It’s a Wonderful Knife, Akashi) as Tracy. 

            Overall, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a surreal and riveting subversion of the slasher movie genre while also standing as a love letter to both the genre and filmmaking as a whole. Like when I went to see I Saw the TV Glow, I was unprepared for the absolute chaos and mindfuckery of the film and quite often had my jaw hanging open while trying to process what I’m looking at on the screen. 

            It very much is like I Saw the TV Glow except with slasher movies, and just like that film, this feels like a personal story for Jane Schoenbrun. When the movie becomes abstract and surreal, you can kind of argue this is how Schoenbrun perceives the slasher genre and how it affected them at a young age and shaped who they are as an adult. 

 

            In terms of the production design and editing, the film looks fantastic, and you can tell Jane Schoenbrun has a lot of love for 80s slasher movies, even right down to shooting the movie on 35mm film. It really feels like a lost 80s horror movie that you’d probably see on the shelf at a video store,e and I’m not just talking about the scenes where you’re watching the movie within the movie. 

            Probably my favorite sequence in the whole film is this long, continuous shot in the Camp Miasma movie within the movie of the franchise’s killer named Little Death killing people, le set to Counting Crows’ A Long December. It really makes me want to see the Birdman of slasher movies now; that whole scene left a huge impression. 

            The film also does a lot of meta commentary and satire on the slasher genre and the film industry itself, with Hollywood relying almost solely on IP-driven franchise,s which sadly is true even if I enjoy a large amount of them (Coming Soon to a Theater Near You: Hunger Games again, Avengers again, Dune again, Jumanji again, Angry Birds again,…and Werwulf!). Granted, there are times when it feels the film is trying to channel the meta satire of the Scream movies a bit (Neve Campbell is even mentioned), but since this is a movie about making a horror movie, I think it works well enough, and it easily beats the shit out of Scream 7 in terms of genre satire. 

            The movie explores themes I certainly wasn’t expecting, specifically the true meaning behind the Little Death. Some of you might know what that actually means, but for the sake of spoilers, I won’t say it here. 

            This is my first time seeing Hannah Einbinder in something,g and I thought she was great as the filmmaker working on the Camp Miasma reboot. I wouldn’t be surprised if Einbinder’s Kris is actually a surrogate for Jane Schoenbrun because I can definitely see them through her performance;e, she’s witty, forward-thinking, and has some burning desires of her own. 

            Gillian Anderson, though,h is amazing as the reclusive, Billy Presley and has very strong chemistry with Hannah Einbinder. She clocks into work and brings her A-game with some of the best acting I’ve ever seen from her, which could even make Scully from The X-Files blush, almost makes you forget she was in the last Tron movie. 

            Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a great big love letter to 80s slasher films that completely subverts audiences’ expectations and deconstructs the genre with a wildly ambitious, bizarre, and engaging movie that must be seen to be believed. I don’t see this film winning everyone over, especially those going in expecting a standard slasher movie, but if you know what you’re getting into with this or enjoyed Schoenbrun’s last film, you’ve got quite an experience to look forward to.