Jane Schoenbrun makes wild, gloriously weird films that you can watch over and over again. After their haunting coming-of-age debut, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, they made an even bigger splash with the dizzying I Saw The TV Glow, about two teens who become obsessed with a supernatural TV show. Now, they’ve raised the stakes once more with an even more ambitious, star-studded expansion of their mind-bending cinematic universe: Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

This new addition to their work opens up their world from cramped rooms and bright screens to vast landscapes and otherworldly dimensions. It’s a bold move, certainly, but it also results in something messier, looser, and more tangled than TV Glow. It’s sure to be a treat for fans, just as it’s likely to turn off newcomers to Schoenbrun’s work, who might find their last project—strange as it was—easier to digest than this one.

Whatever its flaws, the concept this time is compelling. The film opens with a Lynch-like framing device—the feeling that you’re watching a movie within a movie—before moving into a snappy opening credits sequence that sets up the premise: the Camp Miasma slasher movies were a classic of the ’80s, but after too many pointless remakes, they seem dead and buried. That is, until a promising young director, Kris (Hannah Einbinder), is tasked with reviving the franchise with a fresh take.

When we first meet her, she’s on her way to see Billy (Gillian Anderson), the captivating final girl from the very first Miasma movie, who still lives on the eerie, abandoned set of the original film. It’s a creepy nightmare, complete with giant painted backdrops and creaky old-school projectors, and Billy is the supremely glamorous Norma Desmond figure sitting among them, fading into obscurity.

With her purring Southern drawl and dreamy-eyed monologues, Billy also has a touch of Blanche DuBois. She invites Kris to make herself at home, and Kris pitches her vision for the new Miasma. As a queer filmmaker, she’s fascinated by the original Miasma lore: the killer at its center, who massacres teens at camp, wields a spear, wears a mask shaped like an air vent, and is named Little Death (memorably played here by TV Glow’s lead, Jack Haven). Once a trans teen freely exploring their gender identity, they transform into the feared creature living at the bottom of a nearby lake, ready to rise at a moment’s notice and unleash their vengeance. What does it mean, Kris wonders, for her to reimagine this painful, highly problematic story?

Little Death rises in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.
Photo: Mubi

Kris spends the night, and she and Billy grow closer, emotionally and romantically. Kris opens up about her intimacy issues, Billy shares bits of her own past, and the two revisit the original Miasma movie. Then we step inside that ’80s fever dream and learn what really happened on set.

Schoenbrun’s direction is confident throughout, and their world-building is as meticulous as ever, with plenty of delightful indulgence in nostalgic (and often analog) pleasures: intricate ’80s merchandise, VHS tapes, DVD players that need to be dug up and dusted off, and the joy of stocking up on chocolate and popcorn to curl up and watch a scary movie you’ve already seen a thousand times.

This is also a highly cine-literate piece of work, packed with references and Easter eggs that nod to everything from The Shining to Halloween. Some—like the detail that Kris’s hit first film is a retelling of Psycho from the perspective of the shower curtain—are hilarious, while others, over time, start to wear thin, weighing the film down with its extensive genre trappings and constant knowingness.

Like TV Glow, though, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’s themes are fully absorbing: ideas of trauma, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves.This leads you to bury your sexual desires deep inside yourself, fall into dissociative states (which are reflected in many of the distant wide shots we see in Little Death), and it sharply critiques the history of horror movies that have leaned into misogyny, exploitation, and transphobia. Miasma is at its best when it explores the pain of that legacy alongside the confusing, thrilling, and exciting experience of watching many of these films.

But while TV Glow kept up a steady pace of twists and turns, Miasma doesn’t fully let loose until the final scenes. We spend a bit too long in the ’80s flashback (though bonus points for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from Eva Victor with a mohawk). There’s a Zoom sequence that felt a bit overdone, and when the blood finally starts to flow, I found myself wanting something funnier, gorier, scarier, sexier, and more unrestrained.

In the end, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma doesn’t fully live up to the boldness of its title. Its restraint is clearly intentional, but it also makes the film feel slightly underdeveloped. In contrast, I Saw The TV Glow, flaws and all, felt more like a complete work. Still, this is a thrillingly surreal, layered, and undeniably bold addition to Schoenbrun’s filmography, and as a hint of bigger, bolder things to come, it’s incredibly promising. And, just like with TV Glow, I personally can’t wait for the merchandise to drop.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma will be in theaters from August 7.

Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the Cannes 2026 film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma starring Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder

General Premise

Q What is Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma about
A Its a romancehorrorcomedy set at a summer camp The story follows a camp nurse and a teenage counselor who fall for each other while a mysterious illness starts infecting the campers

Q Is this a horror movie or a romance
A Its a blend of both Think of it as a dark romantic comedy with horror elements The romance is central but the death and sickness are real plot points that create tension and dark humor

Q Why is Gillian Anderson playing a camp nurse Is this a comedy
A Yes its a very intentional choice Anderson is known for playing serious powerful characters Here shes playing a deadpan slightly eccentric nurse Her casting adds a layer of absurdist comedy to the romance

Q Is this based on a true story
A No its an original screenplay The title is intentionally overthetop like a campy Bmovie but the story is a heartfelt love story

Cast Characters

Q Who plays who
A Gillian Anderson plays Dr Iris the camps overly pragmatic nurse Hannah Einbinder plays Chloe a cynical 20something counselor dealing with a recent breakup

Q How do Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinders characters meet
A Chloe brings a sick camper to the infirmary They immediately clash over Chloes panicked attitude vs Iriss clinical calm The attraction starts as a sarcastic intellectual sparring match

Q Is this a MayDecember romance
A Yes theres an age gap Iris is older and more established while Chloe is younger and figuring out her life The film explores that dynamic with humor and sincerity

Q Is the Camp Miasma a real camp