Yeah, this certainly looks like a Jane Schoenbrun movie. A trailer has popped online, but not yet on YouTube, for “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” starring Gillian Anderson & Hannah Einbinder.
Schoenbrun’s latest centers on the revival of the notorious ‘Camp Miasma’ slasher series. This time, however, the story takes a darker turn when the new director develops an intense fixation on the enigmatic actress who originally portrayed the “final girl.” As the obsession deepens, the two women descend into a frenzy of psychosexual mania.
The trailer is just over a minute long, and we already get several moments of kids watching television in the dark in a hypnotic state — which is about as Schoenbrun-esque as it gets.
After only two films, Schoenbrun’s artistic focus is already unmistakable: exploring how young people navigate identity in a hyper-connected, digital world. Following “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” and “I Saw the TV Glow,” Schoenbrun will once again delve into the overwhelming influence of media and the hypnotic power of images on the youth.
Schoenbrun tries very hard to position themself as a singular artist, and the effort to mimic David Lynch is unmistakable—he is the clear inspiration. I found the ambiguity of TV Glow not transfixing at all, but rather devoid of intrigue. If anything, it played like a David Lynch film, only watered down and repackaged for zoomers.
That said, I still look forward to the next film. Schoenbrun is only 39, with ambition to spare, and many filmmaking years ahead, and perhaps a greater sense of maturity will begin to emerge in the work. Here’s hoping.
“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” hits theaters on August 7 via MUBI.
