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

Quick Thoughts:

1. Excellent usage of a Counting Crows song.
2. As always, Jane Schoenbrun’s visuals are unique, expressive, and handcrafted.
3. There’s a great bit about the perspective of a film being told through the shower curtain from Psycho.
4. Zombie IP is real.
5. Interesting tree burl work.
6. Best worst Zoom call of 2026. I’d hate to pitch a film to the executives.
7. We’re living in a golden age of gummy candy.
8. Schoenbrun describes the film as “Portrait of a Lady on Fire set in a Friday the 13th sequel,” and it’s a solid descriptor.
9. There’s a great Wes Craven’s New Nightmare bit.

Between We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, I Saw the TV Glow, and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, director/writer/producer Jane Schoenbrun has produced three thrillingly original and long-titled films. All three are deeply personal yet appeal to universal emotions. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is Schoenbrun’s most mainstream-accessible film to date and should be watched in a theater so you can immerse yourself in the world.

The film revolves around a young director named Kris (Hannah Einbinder) who is tasked with rebooting the dormant horror franchise Camp Miasma after her successful Sundance debut. Her film, which spent a large chunk of its screen time from the perspective of the shower curtain from Pysho (I love silly meta-commentary), gave her enough cred to reboot the franchise. In an interesting twist, Kris was hired to bring the “zombie IP” back to life because she’s a twenty-something queer director who can make the problematic material less problematic, which is wildly cynical. But she’s fully aware of why she was hired. Kris’s first bit of research involves interviewing Billy Presley (Gillian Anderson), the “final girl” of the first Camp Miasma film. Billy retired from acting shortly after appearing in Camp Miasma, and Kris wants to meet Billy because her memorable performance (Amanda Fix plays the younger version of Billy) greatly affected and molded Kris.

Kris sets up a meeting with Billy, the original “final girl”, who lives a hermit-like life in an isolated cabin located on the property where the first Camp Miasma movie was filmed. The two share a fried chicken dinner, smoke weed, and converse while eating loads of candy. From there, the two bond as they rewatch the original film and go on a bloody journey of self-discovery in the stylized world. Schoenbrun was smart to pitch a high-concept horror-ish idea so they could create a “meaningful exploration of desire, pleasure, and gender in genre filmmaking.” (thank you press notes). The easily digestible story allows for the film to be visually ambitious and genre-fluid. One of the best things to come out of my research is learning that Schoenbrun is incredibly well-studied in the horror genre. It’s neat that this film was influenced by Sleepaway Camp, Friday the 13th, Evil Dead II, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors, Peeping Tom, Psycho (the OG and remake), Secretary, Psycho II, and Sunset Boulevard. It’s obvious that Schoenbrun loves horror cinema, but also understands its problematic history, which makes Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma a unique and worthwhile watch.

Shot over 25 days on Vancouver Island, the film is loaded with inspired matte paintings (inspired by the movie Kwaiden), lovingly constructed sets, and fake snow created by snow guru Kyle Moore. Costume designer Kendra Terpenning and Schoenbrun drew inspiration from the plastic surrounding Laura Palmer’s body in Twin Peaks to create Little Death’s plastic outfit, a visually distinctive and meta creation. Terpenning and Schoenbrun also loaded Gillian Anderson with furs, silks, and velvet outfits that are very Norma Desmond-esque. As always, Anderson looks great, and her Dolly Parton-inspired accent works perfectly in the surroundings. Also, it shouldn’t be spoiled, but one of the funniest wardrobe moments involves Einbinder leaning into the final girl trope by doing something unexpected in the woods (you’ll know).  

Horror franchises are known for their killers, and the killer here is Little Death (Jack Haven), who was once a camper, and now lives in a subterranean world in the middle of a lake. Decked out in a plastic body suit and wearing what looks like an air vent on his head, Little Death (which means a couple of things) stalks the campground and uses a harpoon to impale horny teenagers. Little Death’s backstory is that he was a gender-confused child who was bullied, drowned in a lake, and now stalks the campground. Little Death’s highlight is a fantastic one-take rampage soundtracked by a Counting Crows song. Haven’s physicality is admirable as they carried a 60-pound SnorriCam (body-mounted camera) on their back and moved gracefully during the murderous musical moment.

Final thoughts – Catch it in theaters and enjoy the world.