Slasher movies came to power in the late 1970s and early â80s; though most critics sneered at them, studios kept cranking them out because they were reliably profitable. And though the trend eventually faded (before reviving in the â90s), there will always be an audience obsessed with this subgenreâespecially the classics that established its best-known tropes, including the fiercely resilient Final Girl.

You can tell Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma writerâdirector Jane Schoenbrun is among the slasher faithful right from the opening credits, which introduce you to the filmâs fictional Camp Miasma franchise through imagery that pays eerily accurate homage to how Friday the 13th and its ilk were marketed back in the day. We see Camp Miasma posters, lobby cards, newspaper ads and clippings, an arcade game, a board game, and other tie-in trinkets. Thereâs also a huge stack of VHS tapes that illustrate the increasingly silly path taken by the Camp Miasma sequels.

And thereâs more recent history and context given, as a series of blog posts reveal that thereâs fresh interest in the Camp Miasma films. Theyâve carved out a cult following despite containing transphobic and homophobic messaging that hasnât aged wellâa problem the studio seeks to remedy by hiring a queer âSundance wunderkindâ to direct a âwokeâ reboot, retooling the origin story of the franchiseâs problematic villain, Little Death. What better way to heal those old wounds while also cashing in on an IP that could be making money off new generations?

With Weâre All Going to the Worldâs Fair and I Saw the TV Glow, Schoenbrun was established as a uniquely gifted artist. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma further showcases their strengths, particularly the ability to blend dazzling visuals with stories that start off in the real world but soon escape into wilder, scarier, far more thrilling places.

Their deep, affectionate knowledge of slasher filmsâthe attention to detail cannot be overstatedâmakes this latest release feel like their most personal story yet. And despite all the geysers of blood, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is actually very sweet, as Kris Williams (Hannah Einbinder) realizes her big break as a director has nudged her into a journey of self-discovery she never thought possible. Itâs also extremely horny, helped along by the casting of Gillian Anderson as Billy Presley, the reclusive, glamorous, endearingly weird star of the original Camp Miasma movie. The seductive Dolly Parton accent is never explained, but it proves an inspired choice.

After stocking up with an unhealthy amount of candyâsweets are a close second to slasher movies in the fetish pecking order hereâKris drives into the snowy wilderness to meet Billy, intent on convincing her to sign on for her Camp Miasma reboot. But this is no ordinary work meeting, as Kris initially understands it to be; for one thing, Billy lives at the old summer camp that served as the backdrop for the first Camp Miasma movie.

Speaking of that retro classic, we get a glimpse of a good chunk of it, thanks to Billyâs insistence on screening it for Kris, even though Kris can recite all the lines by heart. Watching the film where it was made, sitting next to the woman who starred in it (the haunting Amanda Fix plays the young Billy), helps Kris begin to unlock a part of herself that has nothing to do with patronizing studio executives or her pushy agent (literally entered in her phone as âYour Agent” and played by the satirically spot-on Sarah Sherman).

Sheâs sought out Billy, hoping to woo her out of retirement; itâs just one piece of her plan for reclaiming her favorite slasher series. âIâm going to beat Hollywood at their own game,â she tells Billy and explains that her work focuses on âqueerness and cultural depictions of monstrosity,â not to mention âthe gender trouble inherent in the slasher genre.â And when we hear how Camp Miasma portrayed Little Death (played by I Saw the TV Glow‘s Jack Haven, whoâs mostly obscured by the killerâs bulky vent mask), anyone whoâs watched Sleepaway Camp will understand where Schoenbrun got the inspiration.

But Billyâs more complicated than Kris initially realizes. Sheâs not just an alluring former movie star; sheâs unusually in tune with Little Death, who might be real, and who might just be capable of tapping into the slasher filmâs signature use of point-of-view cameraworkâletting the audience see through the eyes of the killerâto help the sexually repressed learn to blossom. It could be the ultimate form of fan service.

And, yes, there are both orgasms, as Little Deathâs name promises, and operatic bloodshed to go with that ooey-gooey stuff. One splattery spree set to an unexpected Counting Crows track is a Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma high point, illustrating Schoenbrunâs ability to capture not just sex and death but perfectly calibrated oddball humor too. The slasher genre is lucky to have them and to have this subversive yet earnest tribute now in the pantheon.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is now playing in select cities and will expand starting August 14.

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