Dallas Fisher

I’m so happy that they (Jane Schoenbrun) finally made a movie I like!

The skill and promise has always been there, but the execution has always felt off to me. Since I jumped right into it, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma feels like the most personal movie of their career while also being the most accessible for any audience, and I connected with this heavily. Whether it was the constant reliance on gummy candies or the need to be involved in your favorite horror franchise, Jane created something for everyone. In creating something for the film fan masses, they formed the most unique movie you will see this year. It’s bloody, hilarious, nostalgic, and finger lickin’ good.

I still can’t believe how well executed every aspect of this film is. I know it’s listed as a horror/slasher but it is so much more than that. It honestly rarely feels like it belongs in the horror genre at all. Jane has created their own genre here and it’s fantastic. Sometimes there is no need to jam movies into a genre corner. The writing makes the humor grounded but still so funny and you won’t believe some of the things that happen in this movie. Every other scene feels brand new but still tells the story of an eternal and external awakening. Like how did they make it feel modern and like we were in the eighties at the same time!?

From a filmmaking perspective, Jane has grown up a ton. Basically making two movies in one is so impressive. Your director makes every single thing work fluidly with very little flaws. And don’t even get me started on the attention to detail in the fictional world of the Camp Miasma films. Insanity. Whether it’s the metaphorical Little Death or the in-world killer Air Vent Man, this world is lived in and I never wanted to leave. I’m so glad there was a budget here to make these visions come to life. You also can’t talk about this movie without talking about “the scene” and all I’m going to say about it is that you’ll finally be able to compare something to Kingsmen: The Secret Service.

The characters make this really work though. I was unfamiliar with Hannah Einbinder before this but now I want more of her than I ever thought possible. Hannah is mesmerizing. She is fleshed out to an incredible degree that makes it feel like it was my story. Of course Gillian Anderson playing an ex-child star recluse is perfect too. Then the two of them together is some of the greatest sexual tension, fantasy ever put to screen. Did I also mention it’s hot and traumatic?

Like I said before, there’s something here for everyone. From the horror nerd to the person that’s looking for someone to tell them it’s okay to feel uncomfortable with your past but comfortable with your present. Film bros and gals are certainly going to be into this but the average movie goer should know that there’s nothing to be scared of here, on any level. 

Every year for the Oscar’s I use food from the year’s movies to stock my party and this movie did the work for me. We certainly are in the golden age of gummy candy.

I know I sung this movies praises for a few paragraphs but just for personal taste reasons this won’t be a 10/10 but it’s still a –

7.8/10