--- title: "I Saw the TV Glow" year: 2024 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/i-saw-the-tv-glow" fi1m_id: "i-saw-the-tv-glow" imdb_id: "tt15574270" tmdb_id: 858017 wikidata_id: "Q113903713" fi1m_score: 74 critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 30 published: "2026-09-30T22:31:18.251605+00:00" updated: "2026-09-30T22:31:30.383964+00:00" region: "PT" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # I Saw the TV Glow (2024) Directed by Jane Schoenbrun · 1h 40m · Drama, Horror ## Identity I Saw the TV Glow - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/i-saw-the-tv-glow - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** i-saw-the-tv-glow - **IMDb ID:** tt15574270 - **TMDB ID:** 858017 - **Wikidata ID:** Q113903713 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15574270/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/858017, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q113903713 **Fi1m score: 74** · Critics 76 from 30 reviews *In a sentence:* The suburbs lit like a screensaver, and the most frightening thing in it is a man insisting he is fine > Jane Schoenbrun’s horror film about a boy, a girl and a cancelled television show is quietly, seriously unsettling for an hour. Then it slows to a crawl and tells us what it means. Worth your evening, if you can sit still for it. ## Synopsis It is 1996, in an American suburb. Owen (Ian Foreman), in seventh grade, wanders into the school hall on election night and finds Maddy (Jack Haven), two years older, reading an episode guide to *The Pink Opaque*, a Saturday-night show about two girls, Isabel (Helena Howard) and Tara (Lindsey Jordan), who share a psychic link and fight the moon-faced Mr Melancholy (Emma Portner). It airs at half past ten, after Owen’s bedtime, and his father Frank (Fred Durst) thinks it is a show for girls. Maddy tapes it for him, and Owen lies to his mother Brenda (Danielle Deadwyler) about a sleepover and watches it in Maddy’s basement. Justice Smith takes over as Owen gets older, and the show becomes the only thing either of them talks about. ## Review Jane Schoenbrun’s film is set in an American suburb in 1996 and, for its first half, it is about two lonely teenagers and a television programme. Owen is in seventh grade and in bed by ten. Maddy is in ninth, reads an episode guide alone in the school hall on election night, and does not seem to have anyone either. *The Pink Opaque* goes out at half past ten on Saturdays, so Maddy tapes it for him and labels the cassettes by hand. That is the plot for a long time, and it is enough. Eric K. Yue lights the town as if every streetlamp had been swapped for a neon tube. Front rooms are pink and violet, school corridors are green, and the television throws a soft white square across children’s faces that is the nearest thing in the film to warmth. Brandon Tonner-Connolly’s production design gets the junk right: a rainbow parachute in a gym, an ice-cream van, the words THERE IS STILL TIME chalked in pink down the middle of a road. The show inside the film is fog, blue gel and Emma Portner’s Mr Melancholy, a moon with a man’s face, and it is as frightening as anything is when you are eleven. Justice Smith plays Owen from his late teens onwards as someone who has stopped expecting anything. His shoulders sit up round his ears, his voice comes out in a half-whisper, and when he tells us, straight to camera, that he has known since he was small that something was wrong inside him, he says it the way you would read out a phone number. That was the line that got at us. We had been waiting for the horror to come out of the television, and it came instead from a young man being polite about his own disappearance. Jack Haven’s Maddy is the opposite, all edges and long stares, and Haven gets the film’s big speech, on the bleachers of a football field in something close to a single take. We will not say what it is about. It is the best-written scene in the film and the one that most tests your patience. Schoenbrun is plainly writing about being trans, about years spent knowing and not acting, and the film’s strengths and problems both come from that. Danielle Deadwyler and Fred Durst, as Owen’s parents, are used sparingly and well; Durst, asking whether *The Pink Opaque* is not a show for girls, makes a sofa and a can of beer menacing. Rachel Dainer-Best keeps Owen in the same slack jumpers across two decades, which tells you most of what you need to know. Alex G’s score hums under all of it and rarely rises above a hum. The songs are another matter. Twice the film stops for a band to play a full song in a bar called the Double Lunch, and the second time we were doing sums with the runtime. Sofi Marshall cuts the school years quickly and with feeling, then lets the adult years sit, and we understand that the slowness is the subject. Owen’s life is a waiting room. But there is a difference between showing us a man who does nothing and making a film in which nothing happens, and for perhaps twenty minutes in the middle Schoenbrun lands on the wrong side of it. Later the film says aloud what its pictures had already told us, and then says it again. Schoenbrun’s previous feature, *We’re All Going to the World’s Fair*, was about a girl and a webcam, and this is the same idea with more people in it. It has better light and two real performances, and it has lost some of that film’s plainness; here every second image is a symbol and you can feel the camera pointing at it. Most critics have been warmer than we are, and we understand why. The people who found it shattering saw themselves in it, and we would not argue with them. We saw an hour that had us completely and forty minutes that had already made their point. It is a 15 certificate and earns it with dread rather than blood. See it in a cinema if you can, with the sound up, because the glow is the whole point and a laptop will make it look like somebody’s night light. Then go and find the programme you loved at twelve, and see whether you dare watch it again. *Fi1m score 74, published 30 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is I Saw the TV Glow worth watching?** *I Saw the TV Glow* is worth watching if you can sit still through a slow second half, and we scored it 74. For an hour Jane Schoenbrun's horror film about two lonely teenagers and a cancelled television show is quietly unsettling, with Justice Smith very good as a young man being polite about his own disappearance. Then it slows to a crawl and tells us what it means, twice. **How long is I Saw the TV Glow, and what is it rated?** *I Saw the TV Glow* runs 1h 40m. It is a drama and horror film. **Where can I watch I Saw the TV Glow in Portugal?** *I Saw the TV Glow* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from €3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is I Saw the TV Glow, and is it suitable for children?** *I Saw the TV Glow* is a UK 15 certificate and earns it with dread rather than blood; there is little violence, but the mood is heavy and sad throughout. The frights come from a moon-faced villain inside a children's show and from a grown man insisting he is fine. It is not for young children, and teenagers should expect a slow, mournful film rather than jump scares. **How does I Saw the TV Glow compare to Videodrome?** *I Saw the TV Glow* and [*Videodrome*](https://film.one/film/videodrome) both find horror in a television screen, but Cronenberg's film is about a screen invading the body, while Schoenbrun's is about a boy hiding inside one. *Videodrome* is the stranger and more physical film and still looks like nothing else; *I Saw the TV Glow* has the better performances and the gentler, sadder heart. Both are unsettling for an hour, then lose their footing. **What should I watch after I Saw the TV Glow?** After *I Saw the TV Glow*, try [*Videodrome*](https://film.one/film/videodrome) (1983, Fi1m 82): Cronenberg’s television gets under the skin, literally; the original screen-as-body horror. Then [*Perfect Blue*](https://film.one/film/perfect-blue) (1997, Fi1m 82): Satoshi Kon’s pop idol loses track of which self is real; a fast, nasty cousin; and [*Donnie Darko*](https://film.one/film/donnie-darko) (2001, Fi1m 83): Suburban teens, late-night television and dread in the late nineties, with more plot. ### Reviews we read (30) - **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (A): Ehrlich praises the film as an astonishing, haunting exploration of trans identity and the power of media. He singles out Brigette Lundy-Paine’s intensely delivered monologue as especially chilling and poignant. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-1234946004/) - **The AV Club**, Matthew Jackson (A): Jackson calls the film a triumph of beautiful darkness, while noting its unusual approach may not appeal to everyone. He praises its evocative visuals and the hypnotic, emotionally unsettling performances of Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/i-saw-the-tv-glow-movie-review-1851326195) - **Little White Lies**, Esther Rosenfield (92/100, inferred): Rosenfield finds the film a potent, assured portrait of anxiety, repression and transgender life. She especially praises its vivid, eerie visuals and the way its horror elements gather force. [Read](https://lwlies.com/festivals/i-saw-the-tv-glow-first-look-review) - **Empire**, Laura Venning (90/100, inferred): Venning finds the film awe-inspiringly original, visceral, and intensely moving. She especially praises Justice Smith’s revelatory performance and the film’s affecting queer allegory. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/i-saw-the-tv-glow/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Jourdain Searles (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an astonishing, emotionally powerful exploration of identity and self-denial. They single out Justice Smith’s phenomenal performance and praise the film’s dreamlike ’90s atmosphere. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-justice-smith-1235794664/) - **The Guardian**, Benjamin Lee (86/100, inferred): Lee praises the film as a richly immersive and haunting work, with particular force in its exploration of queer and trans experience. He finds the last act imperfect but says its emotional impact leaves a powerful impression. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/20/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-devastating-tale-of-identity-and-obsession) - **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (85/100, inferred): Brody regards the film as a profound, carefully realized vision of trans experience and adolescent isolation. He especially praises the performances and Schoenbrun’s evocative visual composition. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/i-saw-the-tv-glow-is-a-profound-vision-of-the-trans-experience) - **Time Out**, Lou Thomas (4/5): The review presents the film as a vivid, engaging coming-of-age mystery-horror. It singles out the story’s trans twist as a distinctive element. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/i-saw-the-tv-glow-2024) - **Total Film**, Josh Slater-Williams (4/5): The review calls the film an eerie, empathetic allegorical horror that both unnerves and mesmerises. It praises Schoenbrun’s uncanny imagery, especially moments that make ordinary scenes feel nightmarish. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-movies/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review/) - **Screen Daily**, Tim Grierson (70/100, inferred): The review presents the film as a haunting evocation of childhood television obsessions. The standfirst singles out its treatment of those obsessions for praise. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/i-saw-the-tv-glow-sundance-review/5189598.article) - **Sight and Sound**, BFI (70/100, inferred): The review finds the film fantastically inventive while emphasizing its unsettling, isolating view of reality and human connection. It singles out the analogue textures and saturated colours of the fictional show as especially effective. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/i-saw-tv-glow-second-look-review-jane-schoenbruns-1990s-horror-cracks-open-radically-disturbing-space-between-realities) - **Vulture**, Alison Willmore (70/100, inferred): Willmore finds the film intensely personal and enveloping, though its obliqueness can be frustrating. She praises its rich sensory details and Schoenbrun’s willingness to work things out through the filmmaking. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-an-enveloping-portrait-of-fandom.html) - **RogerEbert.com** (65/100, inferred): The URL identifies this as a review of the specified film, but the page is blocked. Its verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be verified from the available text. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-saw-the-tv-glow-film-review-2024) - **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (65/100, inferred): The page could not be read, so the critic’s verdict and any specific praise or complaint are unavailable. The URL identifies a New York Times review of the named film. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/02/movies/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review.html) - **Evening Standard**, Nick Howells (3/5): Howells applauds the film’s haunting, important cautionary tale but finds its relentless gloom likely to turn viewers off. He praises Justice Smith’s performance while lamenting the character’s heartbreaking unfulfillment. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/i-saw-the-tv-glow-film-review-b1172917.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Marshall Shaffer (2/4): Shaffer finds the film’s exploration of transgender self-actualization compelling but muddled by genre conventions. He praises its innovative portrayal of trans temporality, while criticizing horror imagery that distracts from Justice Smith’s vulnerable performance. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-jane-schoenbrun/) - **Variety**, Guy Lodge (50/100, inferred): Lodge finds the film affecting in its portrayal of two guarded teens, but less compelling as it shifts into fragmented surrealism. He praises Brigette Lundy-Paine’s fragile, volatile performance while criticizing the film’s increasingly wayward control and repetitive abrasive style. [Read](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-1235877715/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Amy Nicholson (40/100, inferred): Nicholson finds the film’s mood and imagery haunting but says its sluggish scenes make engagement difficult. She praises Schoenbrun’s evocative ’90s details while criticizing the modern folk soundtrack and drawn-out dialogue. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-05-02/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-jane-schoenbrun) - **Film Stories**, James Harvey (95/100, inferred): The critic calls the film terrifyingly brilliant and a rare work that seems to rewrite the cinematic rulebook. They single out its empathetic, unsettling exploration of fandom and the trans experience, supported by Justice Smith’s performance. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-blazingly-original-empathetic-filmmaking/) - **The Wrap** (95/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a modern masterpiece and a rare, revelatory work. They especially praise Brigette Lundy-Paine’s performance, amplified by Eric K. Yue’s cinematography and the soundtrack. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review/) - **The Playlist** (90/100, inferred): The headline gives the film a strongly positive verdict, calling it an entrancing trans masterpiece. It singles out Schoenbrun’s richly stylized approach for praise. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-jane-schoenbrun-has-rendered-an-entrancing-richly-stylized-trans-masterpiece-sundance-20240119/) - **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (90/100, inferred): Nayman finds the film haunting, ambitious, and deeply affecting, praising Schoenbrun’s ability to turn fandom and nostalgia into a story about identity and isolation. He singles out Yeule’s cover of “Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl” as a beautiful, emotionally resonant centerpiece. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2024/05/02/movies/i-saw-the-tv-glow-movie-review) - **NME** (85/100, inferred): The review calls the film an instant cult classic and a fresh, exciting work. It especially praises the performances and the film’s trans-identity allegory. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-horror-3779184) - **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (8/10): Bonaime finds the film fascinating, unconventional, and deserving of discussion. He particularly praises its unsettling tone and Justice Smith’s performance, which give its exploration of identity and alienation emotional force. [Read](https://collider.com/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review/) - **Consequence**, Liz Shannon Miller (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the film difficult to unlock at first, but says its themes ultimately have a powerful impact. They praise Justice Smith’s fearless performance and the film’s nuanced understanding of how fandom can reveal hidden desires. [Read](https://consequence.net/2024/05/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-justice-smith-buffy/) - **/Film**, BJ Colangelo (8/10): The critic gives the film a strong recommendation, calling it a potentially vital work for viewers who connect with its story. She praises its haunting visual storytelling and its portrayal of the fear and repression surrounding Owen’s emerging identity. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1557774/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review/) - **The Skinny**, Ellie Robertson (★★★★): Robertson finds the film a vivid, disturbing coming-of-age story about identity and repression. She praises its ultraviolet imagery and its depiction of the monstrous forces at the edges of fantasy. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/i-saw-the-tv-glow) - **Deadline**, Damon Wise (70/100, inferred): Wise finds the film dizzying and sometimes hard to follow, but ultimately a must-see gut punch. He praises Schoenbrun’s combative visual style and its intuitive grasp of cult-movie fandom. [Read](https://deadline.com/2024/01/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review-jane-schoenbrun-trippy-gut-punch-sundance-film-festival-1235797917/) - **Eye for Film**, Jeremy Mathews (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film unsettling, visually dazzling, and likely to enchant some viewers while baffling others. They praise its haunting use of light and its evocative portrayal of devotion to a mysterious television show. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/i-saw-the-tv-glow-film-review-by-jeremy-mathews) - **Paste**, Leigh Monson (6.5/10): Monson finds the film’s trans metaphor compelling and its emotional perspective empathetic, but judges the story underdeveloped and frustratingly passive. They praise its neon-soaked atmosphere and its affirmation of transgender experience, while faulting its thin narrative and overexplained mythology. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/jane-schoenbrun/i-saw-the-tv-glow-review) ## Details - **Director:** Jane Schoenbrun - **Director:** Jane Schoenbrun - **Writer:** Jane Schoenbrun - **Cinematography:** Eric K. Yue - **Editor:** Sofi Marshall - **Music:** Alex G - **Production design:** Brandon Tonner-Connolly - **Costume design:** Rachel Dainer-Best - **Producer:** Luca Intili, Sarah Winshall, Emma Stone - **Cast:** Justice Smith as Owen; Jack Haven as Maddy; Ian Foreman as Young Owen; Helena Howard as Isabel; Lindsey Jordan as Tara; Danielle Deadwyler as Brenda; Fred Durst as Frank; Conner O'Malley as Dave - **Runtime:** 1h 40m - **First release (the US):** 18 January 2024 - **Genres:** Drama, Horror - **Budget:** $10 million - **Box office:** $5 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kymDzCgPwj0 ## Where to watch in Portugal - Amazon Prime Video: rent €3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy €5.99, sd *Checked 2026-09-30.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HR, HU, IE, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *We're All Going to the World's Fair* (2021): Schoenbrun’s earlier film, one girl and a webcam, quieter and stranger still. - *Videodrome* (1983), Fi1m 82: Cronenberg’s television gets under the skin, literally; the original screen-as-body horror. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/videodrome.md) - *Perfect Blue* (1997), Fi1m 82: Satoshi Kon’s pop idol loses track of which self is real; a fast, nasty cousin. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/perfect-blue.md) - *Donnie Darko* (2001), Fi1m 83: Suburban teens, late-night television and dread in the late nineties, with more plot. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/donnie-darko.md) - *Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me* (1992): Lynch’s last week of Laura Palmer; the small-town dread Schoenbrun has plainly studied. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. 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