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It’s camp! It’s whacky! It’s a play on itself! It’s totally queer! What more could you want? Well, for me as a member of the queer community, Jane Schoenbrun’s latest film had me as its target audience. As soon as it was announced that Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder would play opposite each other in a queer slasher comedy horror, I knew I would be set. And seated I was at the world premiere of Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Those of us who are fans of queer cinema, and those especially who are fans of Schoenbrun’s prior works, knew of their latest film back in 2024 when they announced it. It was originally described by the filmmaker as an exploration into what the classic horror films — like Psycho (1960) and Silence of the Lambs (1991) — missed in terms of gender deviance. While honouring the classics, Schoenbrun critiques the monstrous depiction of the idea of transness within. Knowing this and then having seen it in action, it can definitely be confirmed that Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma does just this.
Set within the world of filmmaking, queer filmmaker Kris (Einbinder) is hired to direct the resurrection of a long-running slasher franchise, Camp Miasma. Reclusive actress Billy Presley (Anderson) originally brought the franchise to life, but now lives alone at the home base of the first film. On a mission to make the best reboot she can, Kris begins to work closely with Billy. While exploring the original Camp Miasma film, the two bond over their love for the genre, and something even more. Fixated on cracking Billy, the two descend into a spiralling psychosexual mania. Hidden away in the woods, Kris will soon realize that she has stepped into a world she may never understand.
Wow. To unprofessionally put it. In so many recent slasher comedies, I found myself left disappointed or disgusted. Too many filmmakers try to play into the tropes too discreetly that when they occur, they take you out of the film. Schoenbrun does not need to worry about that because they play straight into it from the beginning. Who cares that the blood is too bright red, or definitely fake, we are a welcome audience for this whacky endeavour.
Schoenbrun has a clear queer lens when creating films. They know what viewers want to connect with. From the moment Kris locks eyes on Billy, even back when she was a child watching Camp Miasma on VHS for the first time, a connection is made between them. It is a longing that many young queers find themselves having. An infatuation with someone older than them whom they wish to become close with. Through Schoenbrun’s exploration of sex and the comfort in one’s body, Kris and Billy both bring the viewers on an enchanting ride.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma Is the Queer Slasher Comedy That Finally Gets It Right
In all honesty, the plainest success of Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and its budding popularity before the film even releases, is the casting of Anderson and Einbinder. Schoenbrun’s film is literally a film about discovery, sex, longing, and desire. For the young queer, and especially female or non-gendered or trans viewer, the life Kris has gone and goes through within the film is almost entirely relatable. Relatable apart from the fact that they are living in a movie.
Beyond the Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma script and its architecture lies two brilliant actors at the helm. Never before have you seen either at this level. After her rise to fame in the HBO series Hacks (2021-2026), Einbinder grew her comedic career. In this comedic slasher, her comedy comes across greatly. But it is not the greatest strength that Kris contains. It is the innocence and the curiosity that give that young queer viewer the most to connect with. From that opening shot, sitting in her car on the way to her new destiny, Einbinder brings us on a journey.
Schoenbrun has a clear queer lens when creating films. They know what viewers want to connect with. It is a longing that many young queers find themselves having. An infatuation with someone older than them whom they wish to become close with.
Meeting her counterpart in Billy, Anderson gets to have a type of fun with the role that we are not used to from this talented veteran. The silliness of a child, the matureness of an actress past her prime, and the insanity of someone who has been alone far too long. That all extends itself through the related persona referred to as Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) from Sunset Boulevard (1950). Anderson is not her in the slightest, though they may joke about Billy being her in the film itself. No, Anderson creates her own character with Billy. One that is absolutely peculiar and idolizable. It is no wonder that any young female not find themselves attracted to her. Thus also how we — the lesbian/queer audience — are given a deeper connection to Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.
Taking back that sleepover classic, that campy slasher film, Schoenbrun truly succeeds at making the film their own. You might recognize elements and techniques — even a split diopter (cheers Kris for letting me know what this is) — but they are able to take what is wrong, or incorrect and old, from the classics and give it the life the queers deserve. Commenting throughout the film on the misogyny and transphobia within classic camp and horror films, through Kris, Schoenbrun creates a new take on the slasher. Giving a voice to the marginalized and a chance for them to not be penalized as well.
As stated before, it is a whacky fun ride that who would not want to go on. Schoenbrun fully excels past what they accomplished in I Saw The TV Glow (2024) and the result is even better than you could imagine. Making it completely their own, you can feel the passion and self that was put into the project. Adored by the room during its world premiere at Cannes, there is no doubt that as it releases around the world Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma will find its audience. It already has its audience, in fact, and they are ready.
Grade: A
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Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
The infamous Camp Miasma slasher franchise is getting rebooted yet again. But when the latest movie’s director becomes obsessed with the mysterious, reclusive actress who played the “final girl” in the original film, a whole new kind of slasher emerges from the bottom of the lake.
Release Date: August 7, 2026
Director: Jane Schoenbrun
Cast: Hannah Einbinder , Gillian Anderson , Patrick Fischler
