Jane Schoenbrun’s third feature, “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” is a fitting entrant in their filmography lineup. As a fairly new filmmaker who has begun to make a name for themself in the industry, Schoenbrun is interested in how gender and identity themes can be tied to the media w e consume. Their first feature, “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” (2021), focused on those who spend their time online, while 2024’s “I Saw the TV Glow” centered on a popular TV show and the characters’ attachment to it.  “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” deconstructs the slasher genre, to which Schoenbrun shows great reverence. From the title on down, the film plays with horror tropes, puts them under a microscope and weaves them into an updated take on the camp slasher. While it will likely land best with those in the audience who can pick up on every wink and nudge thrown their way, it’s Schoenbrun’s most accessible film. The opening credits perfectly encapsulate what “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” is all about, charting the evolution most horror franchises face in a lifetime. There are newspaper clippings of rave reviews, headlines about box office records being broken and, as the series continues on years later, articles dissecting the “Camp Miasma” franchise through a modern-day lens and how problematic it is regarding its depiction of trans characters.  Like any popular franchise, “Camp Miasma” is ready for the reboot treatment. Kris (Hannah Einbinder, essentially playing an extension of her “Hacks” character) is known as a “Sundance wunderkind” who has been hired to reboot the once-popular film series from the 1980s. She intends to put a modern spin on the “Camp Miasma” series but still recruits Billy (Gillian Anderson), the series’ original final girl, for another round with the killer Little Death (played by Jack Haven). Kris really wants Billy to star in the new movie, but she has to pitch and sell the idea so Kris heads to the camp where the original film was shot, because that’s where Billy lives as a bit of a recluse. A lot of people don’t really know who Billy is anymore. On their first night together, Billy and Kris dine over Kentucky Fried Chicken and a variety of dipping sauces as they get to know each other a little better. As a queer woman, Kris knows she’s been hired to smooth over the transphobia of the original series, which Billy tosses off as merely a generational divide. Everything after that conversation simply needs to be experienced and not explained. “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” is a movie that felt a bit too removed to work entirely, but “I Saw the TV Glow” tapped into the powerful emotion of nostalgia and made you reexamine how you engage with the media you love and consume. Neither film provided easy answers but always provided an original experience. “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” plays more like a fever dream, sometimes getting lost in its own homage.  There are creative moments scattered throughout “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” that creatively play into the familiarity of slasher films, but the movie almost feels more like a two-hour inside joke between Schoenbrun and their Letterboxd obsessed audience. It rarely feels like the movie ever stands on its own story, instead quickly moving from one reference to the next. As an experience, “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” can be intoxicating — but as a fully formed movie it comes up short. “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” is playing now. Matthew Passantino is a freelance film critic and a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association. The post REVIEW | ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ appeared first on CITY Magazine. Arts. Music. Culture.. ...read more read less