Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

There’s a saying I’ve always liked: every movie is someone’s favorite. I can absolutely get behind that because I know what it’s like to love a movie that everyone else seems to dismiss. That’s the beauty of movies—and music, for that matter. They connect with us in different ways. Think about that one film you always come back to, the one that feels like a comfort watch or somehow speaks directly to your soul. Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma gave me that feeling. It’s also the most unique moviegoing experience I’ve had in a while.

So, where exactly is Camp Miasma? Well, judging by the snow, it’s somewhere cold, but more importantly, it’s not really a place—it’s a legacy. Camp Miasma is a fictional slasher franchise very much in the vein of Friday the 13th. Like many long-running horror series, it started strong before eventually losing its way. But everything deserves a fifteenth chance, right?

Enter Kris (Hannah Einbinder), an up-and-coming Sundance filmmaker who’s been hired to direct the latest sequel. Unlike the studio, Kris actually loves the original film and believes the only way to make this new installment work is to track down Billy (Gillian Anderson), the original film’s final girl, who disappeared from public life years ago.

Kris eventually finds Billy living at the very camp where the original movie was filmed. Their meeting goes about how you’d expect at first, but once Kris discovers a mysterious key, she opens the door to something much bigger—not just the movie she wants to make, but an entirely different world she never knew existed.

Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma constantly blurs the line between horror, movie-making, and something else entirely. It’s the kind of film that leaves you sitting in your seat afterward wondering, “What exactly did I just watch?” In the best possible way.

On one level, it’s a loving tribute to slasher movies. Fans of Friday the 13th and countless other camp slashers will recognize the DNA immediately. But Schoenbrun isn’t just paying homage. They’re also gently pulling apart the genre, examining its tropes while making it clear just how much affection they have for it. The result is something that feels both familiar and completely original.

What really makes Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma special, though, is that beneath all the horror references is a deeply personal story about identity and becoming the person you’re meant to be. Every slasher cliché the film introduces eventually becomes something more meaningful, turning familiar horror beats into moments of liberation and self-discovery.

The movie hooked me almost immediately. The opening scenes dive into the mythology of Camp Miasma in a way that’s mysterious, funny, and impossible to look away from. Schoenbrun also has an incredible visual eye. Nearly every frame looks like a painting, with bold colors and dreamlike imagery that give the film an unforgettable atmosphere.

The performances are just as strong. Hannah Einbinder is captivating in her first leading role, carrying the film with equal parts vulnerability and curiosity. And yes, I’ll admit I’m biased because of The X-Files, but Gillian Anderson delivers one of the best performances of her career here. The scenes the two share together have an almost magical quality.

For me, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma feels like a beautiful fever dream—a fairy tale disguised as a slasher movie. It honors the films that inspired it while carving out something entirely its own. For some viewers, it’ll simply be one of the year’s most original movies. For others, I have a feeling it’ll become something much more personal. Either way, it’s a stunning exploration of identity, acceptance, and finding your own story, wrapped inside one of the year’s most unforgettable films.

Brian Taylor

Member of the North Texas Film Critics Association, and lover of all things Cinema