After years of slapdash sequels and waning fandom, the Camp Miasma slasher franchise is handed to an enthusiastic young director, Kris (Hannah Einbinder), to resurrect. She becomes fixated on casting the original film’s final girl, Billy Presley (Gillian Anderson) — now a reclusive actress shrouded in mystery. When Kris visits her, the two women fall into a blood-soaked world of desire, fear and delirium.
Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun and produced by Plan B’s Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, it’s distributed by MUBI. Our verdict: a strange, seductive and frequently hilarious horror film that’s equal parts love letter to slashers, Hollywood satire and celebration of self-discovery.
A Love Letter to Slashers and Physical Media
The film adores ’80s slashers and physical media, and it shows from the very first minutes. A fantastic opening credits sequence runs through the entire history of the Camp Miasma franchise — the original hit, its run of sequels, its days as a genuine rival to Freddy, Michael and Jason, and its slow commercial decline. There’s even a cheeky nod to Friday the 13th’s infamous trip to Manhattan.
It’s a clever way to tell the story, too. In a few minutes, you understand the whole world: the franchise’s rise and fall, and Billy Presley’s place in it — a star who became famous for the first film, then simply disappeared. You can absolutely enjoy Camp Miasma on that level alone, as a slasher fan’s dream.
Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson
A Sharp Satire of Modern Hollywood
Camp Miasma is also very, very funny about the way movies get made today. In one of its best scenes, Kris pitches her vision to Billy and has to acknowledge that the films she loves have plenty of problematic elements by modern standards. The studio, it becomes clear, has hired a queer director precisely so it can rehabilitate the franchise’s image — while still making as much money as possible.
The Hollywood in-jokes land hardest for anyone who’s sat through a pitch meeting on Zoom. In one, Kris faces the studio head and a grid of executives — and one silent box, labelled simply “Queer Assistant,” who speaks exactly one sentence the entire call. It’s a brutally accurate joke about the people in the room who often know the most and get to say the least.
Not Everyone Is Convinced
Things to Know
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
| The Good | The Bad | The Ugly |
|---|---|---|
| Schoenbrun’s Most Joyful FilmA personal story about liberation and letting go of shame, rather than dread. Rare and refreshing. | Not a Traditional SlasherIf you want straightforward scares, the surreal approach may frustrate you. | A Big Critic/Audience Gap93% from critics, 6.5 from IMDb users. Your mileage will vary. |
| Einbinder and AndersonTwo exceptional performances with a knowing Sunset Boulevard dynamic. | Surface-Level for SomeSome horror fans felt its themes gestured at depth without fully getting there. | — |
| A Gorgeous Love Letter to SlashersThe franchise-history opening credits alone are worth the price of admission. | Some Jokes Are Very NicheThe best Hollywood gags land hardest for people who’ve sat in pitch meetings. | — |
| Hilarious Hollywood SatireIP resurrection, cynical studio politics and the immortal “Queer Assistant” Zoom box. | — | — |
The Verdict
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is several films at once: a slasher fan’s dream, a pointed satire of how Hollywood resurrects old franchises, and a deeply personal story about finally letting yourself be who you are. That it manages all three — and is often very funny — is a real achievement.
It won’t be for everyone. Its surreal, dreamlike logic will lose some viewers, and its themes won’t land the same way for every horror fan. But for those who connect with it, it’s the rare film that means something different to each person who watches it.
The honest read: a bold, joyful and genuinely original horror film — and proof that a story about queer self-discovery doesn’t have to be a tragedy. Leave your expectations at the camp gate.
For more reviews, check out our full reviews section.
Score Breakdown
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