Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026), Dir Jane Schoenbrun, Mubi ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review by Matthew Alicoon

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)

Dir Jane Schoenbrun

Mubi

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review by Matthew Alicoon

Running Time: 112 Minutes

“The monster is what the monster reveals about you.”

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma follows a young filmmaker Kris Williams (Hannah Einbinder) who has been hired to direct a reboot of the slasher franchise “Camp Miasma”. Apart of Kris’ obsession is with casting the original final girl actress to be in her film (Gillian Anderson).

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is the kind of film that could occupy your mind for weeks after the credits have rolled. Going in completely blind contributed to an initial sense of uncertainty. However after sitting with the film, the more apparent it becomes that Jane Schoenbrun is engaged in something considerably more ambitious than a conventional genre exercise. Within the film its core themes of sexuality, identity, control, ownership and obsession are constantly at the forefront, making the film feel intellectually assured. Schoenbrun has established themselves as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary genre cinema.

The concept of what the slasher villain represents in the film is thought-provokingly subversive, as the character functions as something far more complicated than a conventional slasher villain. The figure can be read as a plethora of externalisations. What particularly resonates in the film is how horror can become embedded within the individuals of Kris and Billy. The film’s exploration of the female gaze is an incredibly multifaceted achievement. The slasher genre has historically been a genre deeply preoccupied with women being watched, objectified, pursued and subjected to violence. However, Schoenbrun turns that cinematic language back upon itself. The pivotal overriding question this film asks is “What happens when the woman becomes the one doing the looking?”. Therefore, an elegantly realised approach is taken to understanding how the gaze can be controlled.

Hannah Einbinder delivers a mesmerising performance, carrying the psychological spiral of Kris with a sheer sense of vulnerability and internal conflict. There is a plethora of mannerisms Hannah communicates with, which enriches Kris’ inner trauma. Gillian Anderson brings a deeply commanding performance with mannerisms that enshroud her inner trauma masterfully. Alex G’s music is superbly ominous and looming throughout. Eric Yue’s cinematography is authentic and truthful, therefore harkening back to 80s style slasher movies. Every component felt designed to immerse you into its peculiar psychological landscape.

Across all three films of Jane Schoenbrun’s including We’re All Going To The World’s Fair, I Saw The TV Glow and now Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Schoenbrun has portrayed media as something which functions as a portal into something buried beneath the surface of the protagonists. Screens, performances and constructed worlds become gateways through which characters can encounter existential identity crisis’s that no one can understand. 

For the amount of stellar ambition, something remained slightly off with the film. The screenplay is where the film may occasionally lose you and I have a peculiar take. Camp Miasma felt at times too overt and revealing about its ideas that the dialogue can sometimes shoulder an unnecessary amount of the thematic burden. What I missed from this film was that gradual process of discovery that made I Saw the TV Glow so devastating. That film's screenplay allows its metaphor to emerge almost organically, requiring you to process your way towards an understanding of Owen's relationship with The Pink Opaque TV Show as an expression of identity, repression and the terror of losing oneself. The ambiguity becomes part of the emotional journey for me and this was lacking at times for Camp Miasma.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is extraordinarily ambitious. However, explaining the idea rather than discovering it; did prevent this film from being on the level of richness explored within World’s Fair and I Saw The TV Glow. A strange, bizarre and illiterate experience.

Cast

Hannah Einbinder       -           Kris Williams

Gillian Anderson         -           Billy Presley

Jack Haven                 -           Little Death

Arthur Conti                -           Alex

Eva Victor                   -           DJ Ella Giastic

Zach Cherry                -           Will

Sarah Sherman          -           Kris’s Agent

Patrick Fischler           -           Rudolph,

Crew

Director                      –                    Jane Schoenbrun

Writer                         -                       Jane Schoenbrun

Producers                  -                       Dede Gardner & Jeremy Kleiner

Cinematographer     –                      Eric Yue

Editor                          –                     Graham Mason

Music                          –                     Alex G