“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” (Mubi), the new full-length feature written and directed by filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun, is a vast improvement over their unwatchable debut movie “We’re All Going To The World’s Fair,” while continuing the trajectory of the slightly better “I Saw The TV Glow.” An homage to genre filmmaking, with a twisted sense of humor, it features a polyamorous Gen Z filmmaker unable to achieve orgasm and a ruthless killer known as Little Death (la petite mort, get it?).
“Sundance wunderkind” Kris (Hannah Einbinder) is researching her dream film project: a reboot of the popular hyper-violent “Camp Miasma” slasher series. A significant piece of her exploration includes securing a meeting with the reclusive Billy (Gillian Anderson wielding a country bumpkin accent that makes her sound like Dolly Parton’s less well-informed sister), the movie’s original final girl. Fortunately for Kris, Billy, who resides on the abandoned Camp Tivoli set in the wintry Pacific Northwest, agrees to connect.
As the director and actor get acquainted with each other, their backstories play a major role. For example, Kris tells Billy, the original “Camp Miasma” movie was part of her queer awakening. There is also the important backstory of Little Death. Before becoming the murderous fiend, they were a bullied camper at sleepaway Camp Tivoli who received special treatment for their gender dysphoria; a bed in both the girls’ and boys’ bunks, before being drowned by some boys in the camp’s lake. This is depicted in the movie within the movie when Kris and Billy watch Billy’s original cut of “Camp Miasma.”
In the midst of it all, Kris is beginning to lose her grip on reality. She’s dissatisfied with the arrangements she has with her girlfriend (and her girlfriend’s boyfriend), her fast-talking agent (Sarah Sherman), and some studio execs (including Jeffrey played by Dylan Baker). She also firmly believes that Little Death, with their square air-vent head, is waiting to re-emerge from the depths of the lake.
With “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” Schoenbrun reigns in the homage realm. After paying tribute to online gaming in “…World’s Fair” and influential TV shows in “…TV Glow,” Schoenbrun turns their attention to celebrating horror/slasher flicks with a wide range of references including David Lynch, the “Friday the 13th” franchise, the body horror of David Cronenberg’s “Videodrome,” and the current trend of horror comedy. As Billy tells Kris, “Camp Miasma” was about two simple things: flesh and fluids. The same can be said for Schoenbrun’s film.
Rating: B
