by Alex Billington
May 14, 2026
“There is a hole at the bottom of the lake where the movies come from.” Wait, for real? Sex and horror go together like peanut butter and jelly. This has been the case since the origins of the horror genre. This film isn’t so much about horror, it’s much more about someone obsessed with horror, and also a little bit about how this has screwed with their mind. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is the third feature film from acclaimed trans filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun so far, after their breakout hit I Saw the TV Glow. For me, it’s their best film yet, better than their previous two with more originality on display. But I’m still not the biggest fan of their filmmaking. While many people are able to connect with these stories and how they’re presented, they continue to be way too self indulgent. All 3 films play too obviously as therapy-as-filmmaking rather than actually worthy storytelling. Camp Miasma is bloody fun cinema with some unique creative choices, but not as clever or as deep as it thinks it is. Vibes are there, but the storytelling still lacks.
Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, Teenage Sex & Death at Camp Miasma seems to be yet another autobiographical, self-analysis take on what it’s like to be someone obsessed with watching horror growing up yet unable to truly express themselves. Only through horror can they understand who they really are. It’s primarily a meta horror story about not being able to cum. It’s much more about a fear of sex than anything to do with horror. The horror aspects of it that it examines and indulges in are merely dressing for the more intimate exploration of orgasms & sexual inexperience. Hannah Einbinder stars as Kris – a queer horror filmmaker (that is essentially Jane as a character) who is working on developing a new remake for a movie studio of a washed up, long dead horror franchise ala Friday the 13th or Halloween. She travels to the PNW to find the original “final girl” star of the very first film, played by Gillian Anderson as Billy, a reclusive actress who hasn’t acted much in years. Kris hopes to convince her to star in the new film (just like Jamie Lee Curtis in the recent Halloween movies) but instead ends up having a sexual awakening adventure with her. Which is a bit awkward to watch, especially considering the film’s tone & intent bounce around all over.
What’s most frustrating with Camp Miasma is how it brings up conversations that it wants to discuss, then indulges in them, betraying what was just said; or entirely skips over properly dealing with whatever topic is meant to be explored throughout the rest of the film. Schoenbrun is a competent filmmaker who has some fresh new ideas and they were given a chance to finally bring those ideas to life in this film. Alas it ultimately comes down to a naive, fantasy desire of wanting to literally sleep with the original “final girl” because it was a key part of their queer awakening when they were a kid. Does she even get over her orgasm issues by the end? There are multiple times in Camp Miasma where Kris laments Hollywood’s “woke” remake culture of bringing back all these zombie “undead” horror franchises with new “woke” remakes and how dumb that is. And how they shouldn’t do that. But then they actually do a Friday the 13th remake and shoot half of a fake film-within-the-film, which we must watch, literally trying this exact remake anyway. This indulgence feels more like an exercise in finally getting to make your own horror film your way than actually offering up any worthwhile, meaningful cinematic commentary on what is wrong with horror nowadays. It’s all too simple.
Even with some inconsistencies in tone and an inability to deeply engage with any commentary brought up, Schoenbrun’s Camp Miasma is still an entertaining film. Hannah Einbinder is entrancing and exciting in this lead role, bravely opening herself up to vulnerability and honesty in showing her insecurities on screen. However, Gillian Anderson is the real gem of Camp Miasma. As good as Einbinder is, Anderson is truly on a whole other level, performing better than any other actor in the entire cast. She slips so smoothly into this role and is entirely believable, easily whisking us away into her quirks and intrigues as her story plays out. Both of these performances are good because they both understand what Schoenbrun is going for and what they’re doing with the characters. The result is as exciting as it should be, because the story is theirs in the end– it’s about their relationship and how they grow together through this encounter. If only there was as much care and concert put into exploring slasher tropes and problems with horror and what’s wrong with remakes as there is with their intimacy. The ideas are there, the aesthetic is clever, the rest of the film is not.
Alex’s Cannes 2026 Rating: 7 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
