In Jane Schoenbrun’s films, ecstasy and annihilation coexist on the other side of a screen. Their 2021 debut We’re All Going To The World’s Fair took the chokehold of internet addiction and turned it into a horror movie; their new film I Saw The TV Glow returns to the genre and expands on the contemporary themes.
Set in an uneventful town in the ‘90s, the A24 release follows disaffected teenagers Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) who find their mundane realities skewed by a supernatural sci-fi TV series called The Pink Opaque.
This show-within-a-movie is a clear homage to dark fantasy series like Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, shows that drew teens in with their mix of campy thrills and broody angst.
Owen and Maddy’s The Pink Opaque fandom soon grows into a fantastical obsession and a vehicle for disassociation. Both make reference to unsettled home lives and it’s easy to see why the smooth edges of the fictional universe are more appealing than what lies behind their front doors.
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