freakboy on film: TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA (2026)

I was searching for a soundtrack to some other film when I noticed a soundtrack to a film with a long and unusual title.  My first thought was, Is that a real movie?

After doing research, I realized it is a real film, obvi.  The trailer hypnotized me!  Gillian Anderson of X-Files fame stars!  Jane Schoenbrun (I SAW THE TV GLOW) is the writer/director!  I felt an overwhelming need (yes, need) to see TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA! 

I so badly wanted to grab my Mad Scientist Glasses and catch a showing in a theater, but I live in the center of Nebraska.  The closest theater showing it was 2 and a half hours away.  If I could drive, I would’ve been there in a heartbeat.  I even checked public transportation, which is about an hour away, and departures were at 2 in the morning!  It SUCKS to be visually impaired in the middle of nowhere! 

Anyhoo…since a theater screening was not going to happen, I purchased a digital copy from Apple TV the moment I could.  I convinced myself doing this was no different than purchasing an unknown Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.  Ultimately, purchasing the digital version was perhaps better for my half-blind eyes than seeing it in the theater because of the extraordinarily helpful Descriptive Audio language option. 

You might be asking, “What is TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA about?”  

Well…

Is it about rebooting a problematic film franchise from a queer perspective? 

Is it about the stress of being a young filmmaker?

Is it about the emotional toll of being an actor? 

Is it about how films can positively and negatively alter us? 

Is it about the blurring of lines between reality and film?

Is it about the female orgasm? 

I will just say Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder better receive acting nods as the two leads!  As for Jane Schoenbrun, if they aren’t nominated for original screenplay and director, then the Academy Awards can sink to the bottom of Lake Miasma! 

In conclusion…
TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA was everything I expected, but also so much more.  I actually can’t stop thinking about it.  So if you’re a horror fan who enjoys a smart, unique take on the genre, grab some fried chicken, dipping sauce and loads of candy to better prepare yourself for meeting Little Death! 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  Don’t forget to check out my post all about the recent poetry event I survived…
📜 
https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2026/09/i-survived-homegrown-poetry-event-in.html
📜 

Thelma vs. Nosferatu

On a recent excursion to a nearby city, my sister and I stopped at a well-known big box store which doesn’t need more advertising here.  Surprisingly, physical media is still sold in this marketplace, so I had to pop on my Mad Scientist Glasses to see what was on the shelf.  

I purchased two films.  One was a planned purchase.  The other was an impulse buy.  Which one was which and will I keep them both or are they headed for the library discard table?  Let’s find out…

NOSFERATU (2024) 

written & directed by Robert Eggers 

This is a 21st Century remake of the 1922 German silent film of the same name.  The silent film was an unlicensed adaptation of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, so you know the basic plot.  Thomas, a young realtor, visits Transylvania to secure a deal with a reclusive aristocrat and inadvertently unleashes a vampire upon the world, or at least upon one city.

Peekaboo, Count Orlok sees you!

NOSFERATU is a beautifully crafted update that fleshes out some unexplored plot elements from the original.  Real estate proprietor Knock has a bit more to do than simply go mad and eat bugs, while the psychic connection between the realtor’s wife Ellen and Count Orlok is more fully developed.  Visually dark (I would’ve been lost without Adrienne Barbeau’s descriptive audio narration) and emotionally moody,  NOSFERATU is a solid love letter to its source material.  However, if you want a truly unsettling vampire, nothing compares to the original silent film.

As an added bonus,  NOSFERATU contains a wink and a nod to a couple of other vampire films through its cast.  Nicholas Hoult plays Thomas, but in 2023, the actor was the title character in the outrageously fun Dracula spin-off RENFIELD.  Willem Dafoe plays the disgraced professor who is treating Ellen’s maladies in NOSFERATU, but in 2000, he portrayed the original silent film NOSFERATU actor Max Schreck in SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE. 

THELMA (2024) 

written & directed by Josh Margolin 

When Thelma is scammed out of $10,000 by someone pretending to be her grandson, there’s only one thing for this 93-year-old widow to do.  Go after the scammer to get her money back by trekking across the city without her overprotective family’s knowledge.  Will she succeed in her impossible mission?  Hang onto your scooter because it’s going to be a wild ride! 

Hell hath no fury like a Granny scammed!

THELMA is a delightfully funny, low-key crazy film about family, friendship and the realities of aging.  There’s the right amount of heart to ground the story without causing the viewer to vomit. 

The cast is perfection with June Squibb as the determined Thelma.  She brings a human touch to a character that could’ve been portrayed as a caricature by a lesser thespian.  Richard Roundtree, in his final role, brings sweet sincerity as Thelma’s cohort Ben.  Parker Posey, as Thelma’s understandably stressed-out daughter, is a joy to watch and listen to, as always.  Fred Hechinger, as Thelma’s devoted grandson, brings a bit of slacker charm to the table. 

NOSFERATU was my planned purchase because I have the silent version and a remake from the 1970s, so my filmic OCD demanded I purchase a copy of the new one.  THELMA was the impulse buy.  The vivid cover caught my half-blind eyes, but even with my Mad Scientist Glasses on, I couldn’t quite decipher the title.  I thought it was called Tell Me, so I asked my sister to tell me what the hell I was looking at.  She read the title and then mentioned Parker Posey was in it.  With that, THELMA was immediately put in my basket.

Wait, what are you putting where?

In conclusion…

Neither THELMA nor NOSFERATU will be donated to the library.  I enjoyed both and they each deserve more viewings.  However, if I could only keep one, it would be THELMA, which is currently streaming on Hulu.  The story was full of surprises and was extremely entertaining and satisfying.  Plus, it has Parker Posey!  

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. Click a pic ⤵️ for other filmic battles! 🍿

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Escape reality with one of my books… 📚