Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026) - Review

Jane Schoenbrun is back with a bang, following her hauntingly beautiful I Saw the TV Glow (2024), a divisive yet poignant film that explored repressed gender euphoria and self-acceptance, showing the loneliness and isolation someone suffers from such a complex struggle.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma hits a home run, Babe Ruth would be proud of. A deep dive into sexual anxiety and fulfilment. Camp Miasma responds to I Saw the TV Glow with a cautious optimism soaked in camp 80s slasher references and blood; a meta commentary on taking back control of ones-self and embracing their true nature.

Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson are electric on screen together; each scene they share it becomes increasingly apparent that they understood each-other and the script. The duo effortlessly bounces off one another's energy, making a joy to watch their onscreen relationship unfold. Anderson is funny and intense, bringing a darker more jaded energy with Einbinder being timid and more closed off, complimenting one another perfectly.

Anderson portrays Billy Presley, former final girl of the Camp Miasma franchise turned recluse, someone who hasn't been seen in years. Einbinder portrays the coy and passionate Kris who approaches Billy to try and convince her to star in the upcoming Camp Miasma reboot; Kris wants to create a genre defining reboot and the studio wants an origins story for Little Death, the main antagonist of the franchise.

Little Death is a fun antagonist from his first scene murdering a couple in a fountain of blood, to his last. A cool design that is reminiscent of Pyramid Head (Silent Hill) and Michael Myers (Halloween) with a dash of Patrick Bateman (American Psycho). Every scene Little Death appears in is fantastic, its gory, it's over the top and its cheesy 80s-esque slasher at its peak; the over-the-top gore and silliness that follows Little Death everywhere he goes works well for the love letter to the slasher Genre that Camp Miasma is.

The meta commentary that runs throughout the movie is as entertaining as it is weird and obscure, which makes it more interesting to watch. If we compare this to David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001), though some sequences could be akin to the dream portion of David Lynch's mind-bending hit, the fabricated reality and the surrealism also rears its head. Whereas Mulholland Drive ends on a pessimistic note, revealing the whole first portion was an idealised dream state, that fell apart after the reveal.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma acts in reverse to this, starting off very much grounded in reality then descending into a dream state and ending on a climax and high of self-discovery. Camp Miasma's approach works incredibly well; it shows exactly what it needs to show for the view to come to aa conclusion and not be lost in the metaphor of the scenes. This coupled with the almost surreal performances on screen from Anderson and Einbinder just elevates the film in a way that other films fail to do.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma builds upon the things that worked well in I Saw the TV Glow (2024) and ramps them up, its well-crafted a beautifully shot as well as thoughtful and introspective look at sexuality and the struggles of enjoying ones-self when given the chance to discover and come to terms with identity. There's so much to love about this weird and wonderful movie, Jane Schoenbrun's love letter to slashers stands shoulder to shoulder with the titans of 2026s horror line up; a line-up that so far has been one of if not these best line ups for the genre in a very long time.

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Blake Reilly