Jane Schoenbrun movies are a vibe and their latest, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, is no different. However what sets this one apart is that Schoenbrun leans into their wicked sense of humor and exposes a more playful side. Again we explore the themes of fans and their connection with the art they love. But in this go around, Schoenbrun has found a way to both love, and laugh at the fierce bond that horror fans have with their genre, warts and all. The result is their most accessible film yet that is still rich with the visual artistry and intensity we have come to expect.
First let’s set the scene. “Camp Miasma” is a horror franchise that has seen better times. The series’ iconic killer Little Death, is now looked at as problematic. The final girl from the first film, Billy (Gillian Anderson,) has since gone into a sort of exile. Still, the studio system is hungry to reboot the series. But how to thread that needle, or projector, as it were?
Enter Kris (Hannah Einbinder.) She’s a spunky, critically adored filmmaker that physically embodies modern sensibilities in a bi-sexual, polyamorous relationship. What’s more, Kris has been a lifelong fan of the Miasma series, through good times and bad. She is destined to salvage the legacy of her favorite franchise.
The film begins as Kris has traveled to the remote home of series original Billy in hopes of getting her to join the project. It’s a remote, snow covered, mountain town with limited cell coverage much less wifi. Kris arrives at Billy’s cabin in the woods and the two immediately have a connection. But what is it? Fandom or attraction? In a hilariously sensual scene the two share a platter of KFC while making small talk. Kris is there to seal the deal but Billy has a frightening wisdom about the connection between subject and admirer. For years, Billy has lived in the world that Kris hopes to be a part of.
The two bond over the original film, smoke weed, and learn about one another. Billy screens her original 8mm print of the first film. Here we begin to cut back and forth between the old film that Kris hopes to resurrect and how a new generation tries to reconcile what was once considered entertainment.
This is a Schoenbrun film so, at a certain point the line between reality and surreality gets hopelessly blurred in favor of an artistic goal. Here scenes of intense emotion take on a painterly, aesthetic. Backgrounds begin to look manufactured. Life is imitating art and vice versa. To what end? It all becomes a bit Lynchian. Frankly it doesn’t always work.
Still, I think that the single most effective image in the entire film is of an eight year old Kris, sitting in the glow of a television, watching a VHS copy of the first Miasma movie. A seminal moment in the life of a fan. Watching the forbidden and falling hopelessly in love. This is what the film is about.
So does Kris get to make her movie? Does Billy concede? You will have to find out be seeing Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma yourself.
Anderson’s Billy is a delicious mix of Norma Desmond and Dolly Parton at once guarded and infinitely hospitable. Einbinder is very good, but shows little range. She’s essentially makes Kris a remix of Ava from Hacks. No shade there, as it’s an effective and endearing character type but it’s not the bog swing that Anderson takes.
What I loved the most was seeing filmmaker Schoenbrun finally lightening up a bit to lean into their scathing self reflection and validation in regards to the love of the horror genre. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a caustic look at the Hollywood machine, a pensive consideration fo generational entertainment, and a love letter to all who found refuge in the absurd funhouse mirror that is horror.
