Film
Schoenbrun's Camp Miasma Crafts a Slasher Fever Dream for Devoted Horror Fans
Director Jane Schoenbrun's new film blends nostalgic slasher tropes with emotional storytelling and vintage filmmaking techniques.
Ars Technica
Jane Schoenbrun's Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is purpose-built for horror enthusiasts who grew up sneaking peeks at movies way beyond their age rating. The film balances deep-cut references that reward superfans with broader comedy and narrative momentum that keeps general audiences engaged throughout.
A Twisted Reboot Concept#
The story centers on Kris (Hannah Einbinder), a queer filmmaker hired to develop a "woke" reimagining of the fictional Camp Miasma franchise—a grimy slasher property modeled after classics like Friday the 13th. When Kris travels to meet Billy Preston (Gillian Anderson), the original film's final girl now living as a junk food enthusiast in the abandoned campsite, her pitch derails. Instead, she becomes trapped in a psychological fantasy drawn from her own suppressed memories and obsessions with the franchise's tortured villain and hypersexualized victims.
A Personal Love Letter to Horror#
Schoenbrun has stated that formative childhood viewing of Friday the 13th, Halloween, and A Nightmare on Elm Street left a lasting impression. With Camp Miasma, the director aims to capture that intense emotional pull of discovering entertainment not intended for young eyes. As with their previous work, I Saw the TV Glow, Schoenbrun uses the fictional franchise-within-the-film to explore obsession and the impact of early media exposure.
Reviving Forgotten Techniques#
Production designers Brandon Tonner-Connolly and Matt Hyland prioritized visual storytelling that matched the film's emotional intensity. On Schoenbrun's directive, they turned to vintage filmmaking methods, specifically resurrecting matte painting—a pre-digital technique that creates expansive, dreamlike landscapes through painted backdrops. The challenge: reconstructing how 1960s filmmakers executed the technique, as the practical knowledge largely disappeared over decades. This commitment to tactile, analog visuals reinforces the film's nostalgic, surreal atmosphere.
