I’m a big fan of director Jane Schoenbrun’s previous films – We’re All Going to the World’s Fair and I Saw the TV Glow. They were so weird and quietly reality bending. The films had a fresh perspective and unique aesthetic with an undercurrent of surreality. Though they are not horrific, they have a horror vibe. When I saw the trailer for Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, I was excited to check it out! Gillian Anderson is a powerhouse and Hannah Einbinder is a young talent in her own right. So, when it came to theaters I made a plan to see it. Then my family said they wanted to see it too. Saturday? “No, I have to work.” Sunday? “No, I’m meeting up with friends.” And so on. Then it left theaters. BUT – it’s streaming now. So I watched it! Let’s get into it, shall we?
Kris is a young filmmaker given the reins to reboot the Camp Miasma franchise after making a bit of a splash with a recent film. Camp Miasma is a Friday the 13th analogue with many, many sequels and has lost its edge and most of its audience. She (she/they) says she wants to do something fresh and artistic with the IP and wants the original film’s final girl, Billy, to reprise her role 30 years later. Billy lives in the abandoned summer camp where they filmed the original. And she’s pretty weird. She talks like the franchise’s antagonist, Little Death, is real and lives in a hole in the camp’s lake. Has she lost her marbles or is there something supernatural going on at this camp in the woods?
Schoenbrun (they/them) has once again captured that surreal feeling that permeates their previous films. This time around though, they added some explicit horror in the form of clips from the Camp Miasma movies-within-a-movie and then in scenes that have the viewer questioning if this is really happening to Billy and Kris or if it’s some sort of shared delusion. A shared delusion that we get to experience! That sense of unease runs throughout the film and is ratcheted up as the runtime ticks toward the explosive conclusion. Anderson is perfect as the weirdo, witchy former actor. She is at once a hermit who believes in the impossible and a personable local figure who picks up treats for her guest at Costco. Einbinder plays Kris a bit like her character on Hacks – creatively talented but socially awkward. (Sarah Sherman on the other hand should probably stick to reading cue cards on SNL) The film’s lore is interesting too. Little Death’s mask/helmet thing is part of an HVAC system and had me wondering what was up with it, until it was revealed. It makes sense within the canon of Camp Miasma and Billy’s seemingly skewed understanding of it. I thought the same thing about Little Death’s name until that too became clear to me – though the film doesn’t explicitly explain it. I probably should have caught on to that sooner given that themes of sexuality and desire are at the forefront. Overall, it’s another triumph from Schoenbrun and definitely worthy of a watch for fans of horror, slashers, weirdness, and existential and sexual angst.
The Final Cut: Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma delivers the weirdness and reality bending that Schoenbrun has come to be known for. The film entertains with its caricature and dissection of slasher tropes while tackling essential questions.
