Jane Schoenbrun directs Justice Smith, Jack Haven and Ian Foreman in this 90’s-set teen chiller where two fans of a forgotten young adult genre show deal with a darkness at the edge of their own lives.

Lynch meets Buffy. I do understand what this is about, “the subtext”, but that doesn’t stop it from being a meandering drag. The cosmic horror of being trapped in the wrong life doesn’t need to be this dawdling slow. The lifeline of fandom as an outsider should allow this to engage in even more extreme imagery more often. Plays out more like a “will this do” sketch stretched out to feature length, knowing there is an inbuilt market for it. Lovecraftian terror has a colour scheme and it is PUCE! And yet I’m excited for Schoenbrun’s next film, a queer slasher.

5

Perfect Double Bill: The People’s Joker (2022)

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