In an era saturated with remakes and critical thinkpieces about them, Jane Schoenbrun's latest film arrives at the perfect moment. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is both a love letter and a takedown of 1980s slasher tropes, while also standing as a wildly original work. This is typical of Schoenbrun, one of the most exciting directors working today. Their previous feature, I Saw the TV Glow, used a fictional TV show as an allegory for the trans experience. The new film is lighter and sillier but no less complex, using a fictional media franchise to explore identity and sexuality.
The Fictional Franchise
The film's central franchise is the long-running Camp Miasma series. The original follows airheaded teens who fall prey to a serial killer in foggy, toxic campgrounds. It was a box-office hit spawning sequels and merchandise, but declined over time and was later criticized for its problematic representation of women and trans people. Hollywood, eager to revive a dormant IP, hires young Sundance wunderkind Kris (Hannah Einbinder) to resurrect the franchise. Kris is polyamorous, uses she/they pronouns, and is known for remaking Psycho from the shower curtain's perspective—a perfect choice for woke Hollywood moguls.
Kris's Vision
Kris is an avid fan of Camp Miasma, which she cites as her queer awakening. She aims to 'beat Hollywood at its own game' by producing a fresh entry that interrogates 'the intersection between queerness and cultural depictions of monstrosity.' She tracks down reclusive actor Billy Presley (Gillian Anderson), the final girl of the original film, to cast her in the reboot. Billy, now living alone at the remote camp where the first film was shot, is the slasher genre's Norma Desmond—a faded star yearning for love. Anderson delivers a top-tier performance with a drawly Southern accent and stately sultriness. Billy is skeptical of Kris's intellectualization, insisting the franchise was about 'flesh and fluids.'
Meta Commentary and Layered Homage
The film functions as meta commentary on the industry and generational differences. An extended sequence where Billy and Kris watch a 35mm print of the original blurs fantasy and reality, exploring spectatorship, escapism, and sexual liberation. Comically large fountains of blood and gruesome kills are accompanied by eclectic dream-pop. The result is genre-bending but not exhausting—silly, sexy, and gleefully funny. Schoenbrun's film is made with deep love for movies, especially the campy, grisly ones from video store shelves. It is a brilliant film gratefully received by audiences.
