Full Breakdown
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma: A Queer Reboot of an ‘80s Slasher
8/6/2026, 8:26:01 PM
Film Overview
The story follows Kris Williams (Hannah Einbinder), a queer indie filmmaker hired to revive the dormant 1980s slasher franchise “Camp Miasma.” To ground her reboot, Kris travels to the remote camp where the original film was shot to locate Billy Presley (Gillian Anderson), the reclusive “final girl” of the first installment. Their encounter spirals into a psychosexual odyssey that blurs the line between the fictional slasher narrative and the characters’ lived realities.
Production and Creative Vision
Schoenbrun, whose earlier features *We’re All Going to the World’s Fair* (2021) and *I Saw the TV Glow* (2024) explored internet culture and trans adolescence, frames “Camp Miasma” as a personal love letter to horror fandom while confronting the franchise’s historic transphobia. The film was shot with painted backdrops to evoke a timeless, dream-like camp setting, and intimacy coordinator Aryn Mott oversaw the numerous sex scenes. The director said the project was intended to confront the problematic legacy of the original series.
Cast and Characters
- Hannah Einbinder as Kris Williams, the queer filmmaker protagonist.
- Gillian Anderson as Billy Presley, the original final girl now living in seclusion.
- Jack Haven as Little Death, the trans-kid killer whose name references the French term *la petite mort*.
- Supporting roles include Amanda Fix (young Billy), Patrick Fischler, Eva Victor, Zach Cherry, Sarah Sherman, Kevin McDonald, and Dylan Baker.
Themes and Representation
The film interrogates the slasher genre’s legacy of gendered violence by foregrounding trans and queer perspectives. Critics note that the narrative uses the “Little Death” figure to explore the intersection of dread and desire, while the evolving relationship between Kris and Billy serves as a conduit for discussions of sexual intimacy post-transition. The production deliberately hired trans talent, a point highlighted by cast and crew during festival panels.
Reception and Awards
Premiering in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, the film received a nine-minute standing ovation and won the Queer Palm award. Newsday gave it three out of four stars, calling it “a thoughtfully constructed fever dream.” Moviefone scored it 80 out of 100.
Official Statements & Responses
Louise Weard, a producer on the set, emphasized that the production “corrected” the industry’s typical exclusion of trans people on set.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The chemistry was there from the minute we started reading the script and you can't make that stuff up,” — Gillian Anderson
- “This is the first movie I’ve made that really feels like it captures the fullness of my personality,” — Jane Schoenbrun, writer and director
- “One of the biggest obstacles we have is that trans people don’t get hired on set very often, which thankfully all of us have corrected within our production capacities, on our sets specifically,” — Louise Weard
What’s Next
The film is scheduled to open in U.S. theaters on August 7. A special Dazed × MUBI Cinema Club screening is slated for August 13, with tickets already on sale. Schoenbrun has also disclosed work on a Netflix adaptation of Charlie Burns’s *Black Hole*, for which they will write the entire first season.
