Common Sense Media Review
By Tara McNamara
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Lusty horror comedy looks at media's pairing of sex, danger.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
What's the Story?
In TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA, Kris (Hannah Einbinder)—a queer filmmaker whose star is rising—is hired to refresh the 45-year-old slasher franchise Camp Miasma, which happens to be one of her childhood favorites. Kris journeys to meet the original film's "final girl," Billy Presley (Gillian Anderson), who is now a recluse living on the campground property where the Miasma movies were filmed. As the two get to know each other, Billy opens up secrets of the film.
Is It Any Good?
Jane Schoenbrun's audacious third film is poised to be polarizing, especially when it comes to teens: Some will find it genius, some will find it difficult to watch. When it dawns on them what Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is about (hint: It's in the title), they'll either give an "ugh, whatever" groan or giggle in delight and chat about it with all their friends. It offers a cinematic thesis that will beget many a film school essay, but, just as easily, it can be summed up in a single sentence. And while cinephiles may initially declare the surrealist comedy's brilliance, sharp wit, and daring sensuality, seeing it as a fantastic dissection of what's wrong with the horror films we've been fed for the last 50 years, it's just as likely that in about 15 years, another generation will roll their eyes, calling it pseudo-intellectual.
The wink to the audience is the advertising tagline for the Camp Miasma series: "Now if it gets too real, you can always turn it off." Of course, no one ever does, and that was true for 8-year-old Kris, who watched the film alone, far too young to really process what she was seeing. Schoenbrun is elbowing viewers with that familiar truth: Kids inevitably encounter mature content before they're ready for it, and that applies to Teenage Sex and Death itself. Parents, heed the nudge.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma puts a spotlight on the connection between sex and danger/extreme violence in the media. Can you think of movies that do this?
Is drug use glamorized in the film? Are there realistic consequences? Why does that matter?
Talk about the slasher film genre's history of making trans or gender-fluid characters into villains. What's the potential impact of that choice?
A plot point is that Kris originally saw Camp Miasma when she was 8 years old, watching it alone, and that some of the movie's mature depictions affected her perspectives as a result. What media did you watch or read at what you consider to be too young of an age? Did it scare you or change your outlook?
Movie Details
- In theaters : August 7, 2026
- On DVD or streaming : October 2, 2026
- Cast : Hannah Einbinder , Gillian Anderson , Patrick Fischler
- Director : Jane Schoenbrun
- Studio : MUBI
- Genre : Horror
- Character Strengths : Curiosity
- Run time : 106 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : bloody violence, gore, sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and some language.
- Last updated : August 20, 2026
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