Jane Schoenbrun’s Camp Miasma Satire Blends Slasher Lore with Queer Commentary

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, directed by Jane Schoenbrun, is a self-aware slasher that follows queer director Kris (Hannah Einbinder) as she tries to sell a progressive remake of a politically incorrect camp horror series. Instead of a straightforward pitch, Kris is pulled into a vivid fantasy set on the abandoned camp grounds, where she meets the original final girl, Billy Preston, portrayed by Gillian Anderson.

The film blends explicit slasher tropes with witty commentary, aiming to please both die-hard fans and casual viewers. Production designers Brandon Tonner-Connolly and Matt Hyland revived the vintage matte-painting method to give the set a nostalgic, immersive feel. Schoenbrun, who has long been immersed in Friday the 13th-style movies, uses the project to examine how early exposure to adult horror shapes emotional development. The result is a surreal, emotionally charged piece that oscillates between homage and critique, delivering both scares and laughs.