Following a well-received premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, director Jane Schoenbrun’s latest feature, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, is poised to be one of the year's most discussed queer films. The movie, which stars Gillian Anderson and Hacks' Hannah Einbinder, offers a meta-commentary on the slasher genre, infused with themes of sapphic desire and trans identity.
Schoenbrun, a nonbinary transfeminine filmmaker known for introspective works like We’re All Going to the World’s Fair and I Saw the TV Glow, moves into a more high-profile space with Camp Miasma. The film has generated considerable attention, not only for its cast but for its intelligent approach to horror.
Plot and Premise
The story follows Kris (Einbinder), a young filmmaker hired to reboot a dated and transphobic slasher franchise. To do so, she seeks out the original film's 'final girl', Billy (Anderson), now living a reclusive life on the isolated campground where the movie was shot. Kris's professional project soon becomes personal as the two women develop a complex relationship that blurs the lines between ambition, desire, and obsession, pulling them into what the film's synopsis calls a "blood-soaked world of desire, fear, and delirium."
A Personal Vision of Horror
In interviews, Schoenbrun has connected the film's narrative to their own experiences, particularly exploring sexuality and embodiment post-transition. They explained to Deadline that the film emerged from working through sexual trauma and learning to feel comfortable in a body that felt like their own. This personal perspective shifts the film's focus inward.
"In a lot of horror movies, the scary thing... is exterior," Schoenbrun noted, contrasting it with their own work. "It’s really felt much more interesting to me for the horror to be more ephemeral and internal." This approach frames the psychological and emotional landscape of the characters as the primary source of tension.
Revisiting Slasher Tropes
Camp Miasma is not a remake but an original script that actively engages with the history of 20th-century slashers like Halloween and Friday the 13th. The film deconstructs and reclaims genre tropes—such as the idea that teenage sex leads to death—to critique the misogyny and transphobia often present in classic horror.
However, Schoenbrun's goal isn't simply to condemn these films. The director, a self-professed horror fan, also aims to understand and celebrate the "libidinal" and "cathartic" experience that has drawn audiences to the genre for decades, while updating its imagery for a modern, queer perspective.
Cast, Buzz, and Release
The casting of Anderson, a long-standing figure in genre entertainment, opposite the more contemporary comedic talent of Einbinder has proven to be a significant draw. The pair's dynamic, both on-screen and in promotional appearances, has fueled anticipation among their respective fanbases.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is scheduled for a theatrical release on August 7 via MUBI, which is available in the Netherlands. You can watch the official trailer below.
