Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
2026 film by Jane Schoenbrun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a 2026 American slasher film, written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun. It stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.[2]
| Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jane Schoenbrun |
| Written by | Jane Schoenbrun |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Eric Yue |
| Edited by | Graham Mason |
| Music by | Alex G |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Mubi |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 112 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The film had its world premiere on May 13 as the opening film of the Un Certain Regard section at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival,[3][4] where it won the Queer Palm.[5] It will receive a theatrical release in the United States by Mubi on August 7.
Premise
A queer filmmaker is hired to direct a new installment of a long-running slasher[6] franchise known as Camp Miasma. The director becomes fixated on the prospect of casting the reclusive actress who played the final girl in the original movie. As the two women begin to work together, they descend into a frenzy of psychosexual mania. Schoenbrun has described the film as their "best attempt at the 'sleepover classic': an insane yet cozy midnight odyssey that beckons to unsuspecting viewers from the horror section at the local video store."[7][8]
Cast
- Hannah Einbinder as Kris, a young queer filmmaker hired to direct a reboot of the Camp Miasma franchise
- Gillian Anderson as Billy Presley, a reclusive former actress and the final girl of the original Camp Miasma whom Kris becomes drawn to
- Amanda Fix as young Billy Preston
- Jack Haven as Little Death, a vengeful ghost who serves as the villain of Camp Miasma franchise
- Patrick Fischler as Rudolph
- Arthur Conti as Alex[9]
- Eva Victor as DJ Ella Giastic
- Zach Cherry as Will
- Sarah Sherman as Billy's agent
- Dylan Baker as Jeffrey
- Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mari, Kris's partner
- Quintessa Swindell as Julie
- Kevin McDonald as Anthony / County Sheriff
- Ryan McEwen as Doomed Teenage Boy
- Louise Weard as Queer Assistant
Production
Development
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Jane Schoenbrun first discussed the project in June 2024, describing it to The New Yorker as a funny and grisly story.[10] Speaking with Filmmaker Magazine, Schoenbrun elaborated that a significant theme would be learning to enjoy sex after transition, noting the difficulty of having good sex in the wrong body pre-transition.[11][12] They also indicated the film would engage with the concept of gender deviance in classic horror films like Psycho (1960) and Silence of the Lambs (1991). Schoenbrun intends to both honor and critique how these films, in their view, created and codified an idea of transness as monstrous.[11] The director also compared the film's concept to Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) set in a Friday the 13th sequel.[13][11] By May 2025, Mubi was confirmed to finance and distribute the film in select territories, with Plan B Entertainment on board to produce.[14][7] Daniel Bekerman of Scythia Films will serve as an executive producer and oversee local production services.[14] The Match Factory is set to manage remaining worldwide sales.[7][8]
Casting
Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson were announced as the film's leads in May 2025.[15] In February 2026, Amanda Fix, Arthur Conti, Eva Victor, Zach Cherry, Sarah Sherman, Patrick Fischler, Dylan Baker, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Quintessa Swindell, Kevin McDonald, and Jack Haven rounded out the cast.[16]
Filming
Principal photography began in May 2025 in British Columbia[14][17] and ended on June 17, 2025.[18] Shooting specifically at the Totem and Macpherson Lodge at Camp Barnard happened on June 11-14. Camp Barnard is located outside of Sooke.[19] Cinematographer Eric Yue shot the film on 35mm,[20] marking his second collaboration with Schoenbrun following I Saw the TV Glow (2024).
Release
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Mubi plans to distribute the film across North and Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, the Benelux, Italy, Spain, Turkey, India, Australia, and New Zealand.[21] In November 2025, The Match Factory launched remaining worldwide sales at the American Film Market.[8][22] The Match Factory sold rights to the film in the markets of Greece (Weirdwave), the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Zero Gravity), Poland (Velvet Spoon), Taiwan (Hooray Films), Scandinavia (Nonstop Entertainment), and Portugal (No Comboio).[23]
The film had its world premiere at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on May 13, 2026 as the opening film of the Un Certain Regard section. It also made it to the international competition lineup of the 30th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan),[24] and is scheduled for release in the United States on August 7, 2026.[16]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 57 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.6/10.[25]
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 91 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[26]
Robbie Collin of The Telegraph rated the film 5 out of 5 stars, lauding it as a "an extravagantly funny, recklessly bizarre and unsettling satire of/paean to 'problematic cinema'".[27]
Stephanie Zacharek of Time deemed the film to be "funny, charming, even breezy at times", describing what Gillian Anderson does in it as "sublime".[28]
Accolades
| Award | Year | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | 2026 | Un Certain Regard | Jane Schoenbrun | Nominated | |
| Queer Palm | Won | [5] |
