Jane schoenbrun's 'teenage sex and death at camp miasma' premieres at cannes, a surreal horror saga

Published on 14/05/2026 14:33 in entertainment • Charles Harris

Jane Schoenbrun's latest film, 'Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma', has premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, diving deeper into the director's signature blend of horror, nostalgia, and queer themes.

Surreal horror saga expands schoenbrun

Surreal horror saga expands schoenbrun's cinematic universe

The movie expands on Schoenbrun's 2021 hit 'We're All Going to the World's Fair' and 2022's 'I Saw the TV Glow', presenting a more ambitious, star-studded entry that opens up her world from cramped rooms to vast landscapes and otherworldly dimensions.

The film's premise finds promising young director Kris (Hannah Einbinder) tasked with reviving the '80s slasher franchise Camp Miasma with a fresh spin. Kris heads to meet Billy (Gillian Anderson), the original Miasma's captivating final girl, who still resides in the eerie, hallucinatory abandoned set of the first film.

As a queer filmmaker, Kris is fascinated by the problematic lore of the killer, known as Little Death, who was once a trans teen exploring their gender before morphing into the feared creature living in a nearby lake. Schoenbrun's direction is assured, world-building meticulous, with plenty of delightful nostalgic touches, from '80s merch to VHS tapes and DVD players.

However, the film's themes of trauma, dissociation, and the legacy of horror movies that lean into misogyny and transphobia are more engrossing when examining pain alongside the confusing, titillating experience of consuming these films. While 'TV Glow' delivered twists at a consistent pace, 'Miasma' builds slowly, with a Zoom sequence that felt overdone and a flashback that, while memorable, slowed the momentum. The gore and sex promised by the title is also notably restrained.

Still, 'Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma' is a thrillingly surreal, layered, and audacious addition to Schoenbrun's filmography, offering a glimpse of bigger, bolder things to come. It's a must-see for fans, though newcomers may find it challenging to fully appreciate.