--- title: "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma" critics_score: 85 critics_reviews: 16 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." --- # Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026): what the critics said Critics' score 85 from 16 reviews: 15 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Schoenbrun’s playful use of a fictional slasher franchise to explore queer desire, identity and attachment to disreputable cinema. Praise centres on Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder, whose chemistry gives the film’s ideas an emotional connection. The reviews repeatedly pick out its humour, unsettling sexuality and affectionate treatment of horror conventions, finding more than clever references in its bloodshed and nostalgia. The disagreement concerns how much feeling survives the film’s abstractions, rather than the quality of the performances. Film Comment offers the clearest reservation: viewers without an appetite for gore and exaggerated kitsch may find it cold, despite the leads’ work. The Hollywood Reporter also finds it more abstract than emotionally resonant, while remaining drawn to its honesty and humour. /Film and Collider note pacing problems, but these are modest qualifications within a broadly enthusiastic consensus. ## Financial Times — Danny Leigh Rating ★★★★★. 19 August 2026. The critic describes the film as heady, funny, and unnerving, a disguised horror movie that feels like feel-good fun with strong performances. Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder's chemistry and the inventive take on genre clichés are highlighted positively. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/65b7e5bd-e02f-41e8-a22f-06e8a05eac45) ## Radio Times — Patrick Cremona Rating 5/5. 21 August 2026. The critic calls it another immensely mesmeric and evocative piece that cements Schoenbrun as one of the most exciting directors of the decade and an instant cult classic. It singles out the spellbinding use of a fictional slasher franchise to explore art, identity, sexuality and the power of lowbrow media to transform alienated viewers. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-review/) ## Vulture — Alison Willmore Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 6 August 2026. Festival review. The film is an absolute banger that revolves around a decades-old slasher franchise and the feelings it engenders in its protagonists. It finds common ground between a young filmmaker and an older actress through themes of flesh, fluids, nostalgia, and visceral connections to art. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-is-an-absolute-banger.html) ## Slant Magazine Rating 3.5/4. 18 May 2026. Festival review. Schoenbrun’s endlessly playful, humorous, and gory film is a metatextual ode to slashers that collapses fictional and real worlds in a riveting blend of romance, absurdity, and violence. It explores sex and cinema as forces that penetrate and transform us, with tactile commentary on the genre. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-review-jane-schoenbrun/) ## Empire — Laura Venning Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 2026. The critic calls it an utterly unique, exhilaratingly entertaining vision that is both blood-drenched and beautiful. They single out its deliciously rich, cine-literate text, playful homage to slashers, and compelling tender lead performances that embrace queerness viscerally. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 14 May 2026. Festival review. The critic praises the film as an enjoyable, eccentric display of transformative ecstasy and fan devotion to trash cinema and kink. Gillian Anderson's performance as the reclusive Final Girl is singled out for its droll style and seductive presence. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/may/14/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-review-seductive-gillian-anderson-fulfils-a-rapturous-slasher-fan-obsession) ## The Independent — Adam White Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 14 May 2026. Festival review. The critic praises Schoenbrun's staggeringly original take on sexuality and the thrill of problematic horror cinema. They single out Gillian Anderson's performance as her greatest acting showcase in years, maternal yet threatening, and suggest it could earn her an Oscar. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/gillian-anderson-camp-miasma-cannes-review-b2976633.html) ## Variety — Jessica Kiang Rating Critics Pick. 13 May 2026. Festival review. The critic praises Schoenbrun's third feature as their most accomplished and playful yet, a meta slasher homage blending sex, death, VHS nostalgia and junk food into a queered exploration of desire and pop culture. Anderson and Einbinder deliver standout performances in this delirious, self-aware tribute that smuggle deeper themes into schlocky fun. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-review-1236747126/) ## IndieWire — Ryan Lattanzio Rating B+. 3 August 2026. Schoenbrun delivers an affectionate meta-horror homage that aims for the heart as much as the head, sparked by the sapphic chemistry between Anderson and Einbinder. It blends slasher tropes with explorations of orgasms, fandom, and personal transformation in a unique, playful way. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-review-jane-schoenbrun-1235193695/) ## Evening Standard — Hannah Pettit Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 8 June 2026. Festival review. The critic describes the film as a wildly original love-letter and takedown of 80s slasher tropes that is lighter, sillier, complex and layered. They praise its distinctive vision, deep love of movies, and how it uses the franchise to explore identity, sexuality and self-acceptance through silly, sexy and gleefully funny means. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/sxsw-review-teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-b1285254.html) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 May 2026. Festival review. The critic finds Schoenbrun’s meta slasher wise, kind and playful about sex and cinema, urging viewers to surrender to its pleasures rather than over-intellectualise. It singles out the believable invented mythos and the warm, self-aware space created by its trans presences and boundary-breaking approach to fantasy and desire. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/teenage-sex-death-camp-miasma-jane-schoenbruns-open-hearted-slasher-playful-about-sex-cinema) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 14 May 2026. Festival review. The review highlights the film's extravagant, funny, and unsettling qualities as a satire and paean to problematic cinema. Gillian Anderson is praised for her knowing, vampish performance as the horror queen. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2026/05/14/teenage-sex-death-camp-miasma-review-cannes/) ## Film Comment — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. The critic notes that many viewers will enjoy the film's blend of thrills and self-reflexive theory, with strong performances from the leads, but suggests those not invested in gore or hyper-kitsch may find it cold. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/cannes-2026-cannes-opener-fatherland-teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-in-waves-review/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Richard Lawson 13 May 2026. Festival review. Schoenbrun uses a fictional slasher franchise as a portal to explore identity, desire, and personal hang-ups about sex. The film is heady and strange, more abstract than emotionally resonant as the director's previous work, but captivating in its confusion, honesty, and comic touch. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-review-jane-schoenbrun-1236595127/) ## /Film — Witney Seibold Rating 8.5/10. 3 August 2026. The critic praises the film as a profound media analysis of 1980s slashers through a queer lens, highlighting its exploration of emotional catharsis and sexual discovery. They single out the conversations between the characters and the dreamlike visual style for particular acclaim, while noting some pacing issues. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/2228112/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-movie-review/) ## Collider — Emma Kiely Rating 8/10. 14 May 2026. Festival review. The critic praises the film as an erotic, tantalizing meta-slasher made for fans that explores identity, desire, and selfhood through its leads' chemistry and Schoenbrun's vision. Pacing issues in the second half are noted as a minor drawback. [Read the review](https://collider.com/camp-miasma-movie-review-hannah-einbinder-gillian-anderson-slasher-jane-schoenbrun/) ## The Skinny — Iana Murray Rating ★★★★. 14 May 2026. Festival review. The review praises the film's ambitious take on slasher tropes as a vehicle for queer awakening and bodily pleasure, highlighting its tonal balance and production design. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma) ## Deadline — Damon Wise 13 May 2026. Festival review. The critic calls it an instant midnight-movie classic and psychedelic tribute to early '80s slasher films that reclaims the genre from the male gaze. They single out the explosive mix of fear and desire along with Hannah Einbinder's strong, vulnerable lead performance. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2026/05/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-review-1236901799/) ## The Wrap 13 May 2026. Festival review. The critic describes the film as a haunting, spellbinding vision that interrogates themes of body comfort, desire, and transformation via slasher tropes and meta elements. They praise the visceral imagery, tacky genre thrills blended with existential ideas, and the inventive production design. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-cannes-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma.md