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…
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https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2026/09/i-survived-homegrown-poetry-event-in.html
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I survived the Homegrown poetry event in Chadron, Nebraska!

It was fantastic!  It was amazing!  It was, dare I say, magical! 

Those are some of the statements I exclaimed to those who asked how the poetry event went.  It was a breath of fresh air to step into the creative atmosphere of Chadron Open Art.  The proprietors, poets and people I met there were warm and inviting.  Honestly, I felt a bit loud and artless among such thoughtful, artistic souls in such an artistic place. 

Thankfully, the 2 Daniels of Chadron Open Art and the other poets, Jewel Rodgers, Stephanie E. Glass and Robert McEwen accepted me for whichever me was present that evening.  I know I was feeling super excited and enthusiastic for the event, so I can only imagine how tactless and uncool I was being.  Dork be dorking, but that’s ok. 

Robert, John, Stephanie and Jewel!

I was a bundle of nerves as the event kicked off, but watching and listening to Jewel and Stephanie perform their moving, thought-provoking words helped me to relax.  When Jewel introduced me, I was ready, but more about that later.  After my moment, Bob transfixed the audience with his poetry and humor.  I felt a distinct impression the majority of the room knew Bob in one way or another.  I definitely won’t forget him now that I’ve met him.  The incredible evening wrapped up perfectly with a few volunteers from the crowd sharing their poetry.  One piece about loving yourself, by a poet named Bailey (spelling?), was beautiful and relatable. 

As for my moment in the spotlight, I feel I did well.  My sister claimed I did a great job.  A few friends from home and elsewhere expressed similar opinions after watching the YouTube video my sister shot and I uploaded that very night.  I’ll let you judge for yourself… 

I must give a shout-out to Jeanne and The Olde Main Street Inn!  This historic hotel, located in downtown Chadron, Nebraska is like stepping back in time.  Jeanne greeted my sister and I with a refresher drink and we all had a delightful chat for almost an hour.  Our room, The Cowboy Room, was wonderfully unique.  So much more atmosphere than a chain hotel.  The next morning, over our choice of caffeine, we chatted with Jeanne about this, that and everything.  She made us feel at home and we will definitely stay at The Olde Main Street Inn the next time we visit the city of Chadron! 

Another shout-out goes to Chadron Public Library at its temporary location!  My sister and I found its usual home, but it is being remodeled.  Thankfully, the rather groovy temporary location is not too far away from The Olde Main Street Inn and was easy to find.  I donated copies of Vision Bent, Dark Excursions and Sturgeons for possible inclusion into their collection.  It would be awesome to see my books at a second Nebraska library, but we shall see if they are accepted. 

Overall, the weekend of September 5 & 6 was fantastic, amazing and, yes, even magical.  I got up in front of a crowd and performed my poetry and the audience seemed to enjoy and maybe related to my words.  I feel a sense of pride for having done what I could’ve scarcely imagined a few years ago, but the sound of the applause still embarrasses me.  So, even if nothing else comes from this event, at least I can say, “I did it!” 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  On the way home, we swung by Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska.  Think Stonehenge made out of cars.  It was interesting and thankfully free. 

booking freakboy: ERASE ME by Josh Silver (2026)

I was loitering at the library, examining a few small stacks of books that had yet to be placed back on the shelves.  A few mildly interested me as I sifted through the books, but then, at the bottom of one stack, a cover caught my attention.  Even though I was not wearing my Mad Scientist Glasses, I could see the soft colors of a sunset and the transparent figure shimmering with the sun reflecting off the body of water.  To add to the picture, a young person stood, gazing into the sunset, while appearing to hold hands with the transparent figure.  I was already going to borrow the book, because the imagery made me feel a longing sadness, but the emotionally devastating title sealed the deal.  

ERASE ME is about a young man with a lot of problems named Elias Pew.  On top of having church furniture for a last name, Eli has ADHD, was in a car crash and has lost two months of memory, along with the ability to feel emotions.  Through his morally debatable experiments to try to feel something again, Eli finds himself in Traumaland.  This business, yes, business, is a place where people can watch traumatic events through Virtual Reality goggles, all supposedly performed by actors.  Eli believes this until he recognizes a face or two in one of the many events to choose from.  This startling realization sends Eli on a journey of identity and how our memories make us who we are.  Eli also faces a forgotten love of a lost young man.  Not knowing anything about the story going in, this made me wonder if I felt queer vibes echoing within the emotionally layered cover and title. 

As much as I enjoyed ERASE ME by Josh Silver, I also found the story uncomfortably familiar in some parts.  There are several scenes of Eli in a mental institute, which is not so different from me at the age of 15.  Long story short, I was really messed up back then, mainly suffering from such low self-esteem that I should call it no self-esteem.  This landed me in a mental institution.  I’ll spare you the trauma of being committed for another day because I’d rather focus on a young man I connected with behind the sterile walls. 

His name was Mark and he was a year or two older than me.  I wish I had a photo of him, but I remember Mark looking like an American football player, and I think he was on his school’s team, but he wasn’t a stereotypical big sack of duh.  He seemed intelligent and thoughtful.  I recall one corner of his mouth raising as he spoke, which a group therapy therapist said the mannerism made Mark appear insincere.  I found it endearing, 

Mark and I were in different wards, but shared group therapy at least once a week.  On one day, the therapist zeroed in on me.  He explained how I should deepen my voice and cuss more to fit in.  That quack was just one more in a long mixed line of adults and peers telling me nobody will like me if I am myself.  

Before I could respond, a female patient pointed out that I didn’t “talk like this” and proceeded to do a stereotypical effeminate male voice, including flamboyant hand gestures.  The other patients laughed and so did I because in her own, possibly misguided way, she was defending me.  Then, after the laughter died, Mark, who was sitting beside me, expressed admiration for my ability to be myself even when pressured to be someone else.  

Looking back, I don’t know if he was talking in code, but it was the first time I had been seen and felt accepted by someone close to my age.  I hope I did the same for Mark, but I’ll never know.  Being in different wards, our interactions were few and far between.  I did get to say goodbye to Mark the day before my release and I had hoped to acquire his address so I could write to him, but he said his parents wouldn’t approve.  Over the years, I have conducted online searches for Mark, but he seems to be just a bright, shining moment in my memories during a most traumatic time. 

In conclusion…
I swear YA books are better than books for allegedly more mature readers.  YA books tend to be more daring and author Josh Silver dares to send readers down a dark rabbit hole of mental illness, memories and pain.  As I said, I enjoyed ERASE ME, but found aspects of the story hitting close to hone.  So, if you want to celebrate 🏳️‍🌈Pride Month🏳️‍⚧️ in an emotionally challenging way, ERASE ME by Josh Silver may be the book for you! 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  ERASE ME was originally published as TRAUMALAND in the UK and Europe in 2025.  I don’t think I would’ve been quite as drawn to its original cover or title.

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Other queer books for Pride Month are available from an Amazon near you…
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freakboy on film: IT! (1967)

Thanks to my damaged eyes, I don’t read text messages.  My phone reads them to me and this can sometimes result in confusion.  A friend texted me about the plot of EMBRYO, and in the same message, asked me if I had seen it, starring Roddy McDowell.  I assumed she was asking me if I had seen EMBRYO, even though saying Roddy starred in it seemed an exaggeration.  I mean, he makes a memorable appearance in it, but EMBRYO is Rock Hudson’s film through and through.  My friend then responded to my thoughts on that film, but concluded her message by once again asking me if I had seen it.  I felt like I was losing my mind, so I slipped on my Mad Scientist Glasses and took a screenshot.  After zooming in on her question, I realized she wasn’t asking me if I had seen EMBRYO.  She was asking if I had seen a film I had shockingly never heard of before.  IT! is a 1967 film from the UK that is like THE GOLEM and PSYCHO were stuffed together in a blender. 

Is that a cone on its head or is it just happy to see us?

After a fire destroys a storage building containing artifacts from Prague, museum curator Mr. Grove and his assistant, Mr. Pimm, search the rubble for anything salvageable.  The only thing left is a towering statue.  Grove reads part of an inscription and mysteriously dies.  Pimm doesn’t witness this, but uses it for his personal gain.  He is now acting curator and expects to spend more time with Grove’s grown daughter Ellen.  As an added bonus, being the museum curator makes it easier for Pimm to “borrow” jewelry from display cases to bring home for his dead mother to wear for a day or two.  Yes, dead mother.  Her skeletal remains sit in a rocking chair in Pimm’s flat.  This ghastly twist is revealed early on and shows Pimm’s disturbed mental state. 

Mother just wants to look fabulous!

It’s no surprise then when Pimm, after it’s revealed the statue is a Golem, uses the statue to kill and to impress Ellen by bragging he has the power to destroy a bridge.  However, Ellen only has eyes for Jim Perkins, a man from New York sent to authenticate the Golem.  Mr. Perkins is going to take the statue and Ellen to New York, which causes Pimm and the plot to go completely off the rails! 

We all go a little mad sometimes!

Pimm steals a hearse, kidnaps Ellen, and along with his dead mother and the Golem, holes up in a little castle.  He also holds castle caretaker Miss Swanson hostage and forces her to have tea with his dead mother and the Golem, but tragically, we never see this potentially hilarious and uncomfortable gathering.  Meanwhile, Mr. Perkins has figured out everything and now the British Army is trying to save Ellen and stop Pimm and the Golem.  What will happen?  Will Ellen be saved?  Will the army detonate a small nuclear warhead to stop Pimm and the Golem or will Miss Swanson be forced into another macabre tea?  You’ll have to watch to find out! 

Only the bust knows!

Roddy McDowall is perfectly Roddy McDowall as Arthur Pimm.  The rest of the cast is fine but this is McDowall’s film.  Writer/director Herbert J. Leder keeps viewers confused by showing some things, but not others.  Revealing Pimm is harboring his mother’s corpse so early causes a strange vibe to run through the plot.  Uneven is the best way to describe IT! but it is crazy fun, at least in the last 20 minutes. 

In conclusion…
IT! is a slow burn and only gets really bonkers when Pimm takes everyone to the castle.  Unlike some of the films I’ve reviewed for Rebecca of Taking Up Room’s SO BAD IT’S GOOD BLOGATHON over the years, I freely call IT! a bad film.  It’s a bit tedious at times, but the craziness makes it fun to watch.  So, if you’re a Roddy McDowall fan or you crave some low-key delirious storytelling, IT! might be the film for you! 

Freak Out, 
JLH

P.S. click a pic for more SO BAD IT’S GOOD films…

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A totally biased Reading List for 2026…null
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freakboy on film: WEAPONS (2025)

⚠️WARNING⚠️ 
I’m gonna spoil the shit out of this film!

written & directed by Zach Cregger 

The only things I knew about WEAPONS before catching a matinee were the title and that it was horror/suspense.  Maybe I had a vague notion of the plot centering around kids because of the shadows on the poster that I briefly glanced at without my Mad Scientist Glasses, so any text went undeciphered. 

WEAPONS is about almost all the kids in a classroom not showing up for school one morning.  Only Justine Gandy, the new teacher, and one shy student are there, followed by a town full of questions and accusations.  All that is known is the missing kids walked…well…more ran out of their homes at 2:17 AM and never came back.  Maybe they were running away from this movie?  The story unfolds from different perspectives, which I liked, culminating in an ending that goes on too long.  

Other things I liked include Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys.  Initially, it’s like she’s channeling Katherine Helmond as Jessica Tate in the sitcom SOAP (1977-1981), but her kind, mildly ditzy personality is all a (witch)crafty ruse.  

Another thing I liked was the surprise inclusion of a same-sex couple!  LGBTQ+ representation in the horror genre has come a long way, but it’s still feels rare.  That being said, have we come far enough in rights and being accepted to have the only queer representation in WEAPONS brutally killed without having a conversation about it, especially with the current political climate?  

This brings me to something  I didn’t like, besides the goofy scenes of kids running into the dark, the predictable jump scares, the long ending and a lack of explanation over how exactly the missing, spellbound kids loitering around a basement were going to cure an ailing old witch.  I mean, she was obviously not eating them and the kids didn’t seem to be aging if she was  siphoning their youth, but whatever.  As that ending never seemed to end, a realization dawned in my, perhaps, oversensitive mind.  All the characters who died in WEAPONS would be considered “sinners” in the self-righteous minds of right-wing religious whackjobs.  There’s an unfaithful husband, a junkie thief, a gay couple and a witch.  As the admittedly unique ending credits scrolled up at angles, I seriously pondered whether or not I just watched a piece of heteronormative, conservative Christian claptrap disguised as a horror film.  The big flaw in my borderline outrage logic is if my pondering was correct, the teacher would’ve died because she had an affair with the unfaithful husband.  History has proven time and time again that right-wing religious whackjobs would label a woman in this position a harlot or temptress and blame her for everything. 

So, the teacher not dying probably proves my pondering wrong, but the possibility of being correct leaves a distasteful taste in my mouth.  It doesn’t help that I reside in a conservative religious town, in a conservative religious state, in a country currently gunning for right-wing whackjob supremacy.  Can you blame me if my bigotry alert radar is set on high?  I mean, just look at the itsy-bitsy religious propaganda popping up around my already holier-than-thou town for Christ’s sake! 😏 

In conclusion…
If my spoilers and ponderings haven’t ruined it for you, I suppose WEAPONS isn’t the worst way to spend over two hours of your life.  (Did it need to be that long?  No.)  There is some humor and the different perspectives keep things interesting for a bit, but save some soda and popcorn for the never-ending ending.  You’re gonna need some energy to stay focused! 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  Julia Garner as Justine Gandy in WEAPONS made me visually think of a young Parker Posey donning a bad blond wig and glasses from a different decade. 

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… 📚 

A Short Story (a short story, of sorts)

    I stare, glare at the black screen through two pieces of plastic glass.  The white too bright to reflect, refract, magnify my muddled words.  Feeling the syllables crawling, scrawling beneath this growing older by the millisecond skin.  Verbal seeds screeching, reaching for the blinding sight of others to inhale, devour, clatter in their respective collective mindscape.  Fading away fingerprints scrolling through digital pages or tips bleeding from flipping sharp paper edges in a frenzy to discover meaning in nonsense and senselessness in moments.  Watering eyes, tears or sweat blurring lines of fictitious reality and really fiction until the happy or not end is reached, achieved.  My voice spent, digits numb from popping letters into place, trying to place the seen from my head onto the dark screen floating in depth, closer than appears but so far from the soul suffocating inside.  Circling the circles surrounding sighing eyes, unable to see what others claim to see inside out.  Inside me within the lines of a short story that may never come to be.

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2024, John L. Harmon 

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words. 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  Escape reality through my books available from an Amazon near you…

freakboy on film: MEAN GIRLS (2024)

It’s been a long January with sub-zero arctic temps and a less than stellar paid STURGEONS book promo.  I obviously needed to get out of the house and out of my mind for a bit.  The cinema has always been my home away from home, so I grabbed my mad scientist glasses and walked to my town’s 3-screen theater.  I could’ve checked out THE BOYS IN THE BOAT, but I knew it wasn’t a sequel to THE BOYS IN THE BAND.  THE BEEKEEPER was also playing, but despite the look of the poster, I knew it wasn’t a spin-off of the CANDYMAN franchise.  There was only one film left and I was one of 5 people who caught the Sunday musical matinee of MEAN GIRLS. 

freakboy confessions…
The only things I remember about the original, non-musical 2004 film of the same name is it starred Lindsay Lohan and I thought it felt like a watered-down version of HEATHERS.  That being said, the only thing I knew about the new version was that it’s a musical based on a stage musical, which I heard about at exactly the same moment I heard about the new film.  Whatever, don’t look at me that way!  You know as well as I do that unless they turn John Waters’ DESPERATE LIVING or Andy Milligan’s FLESHPOT ON 42ND STREET into gleefully inappropriate musical extravaganzas, I really don’t give a flying fluffernutter what happens on Broadway!  

Anyhoo, I assume the 2024 version of MEAN GIRLS follows the basic plot of the original.  New girl at school befriends social outcasts but also draws the interest of the popular clique.  Social outcasts convince new girl to infiltrate the popular clique for revenge purposes.  New girl falls for the ex-boyfriend of the popular clique’s leader, culminating in magnificent musical mayhem! 

Yes!  It’s true!  I seriously enjoyed this version of MEAN GIRLS!  I laughed out loud!  I tapped my feet to the beat and may have engaged in some neck-dancing!  In my opinion, the main source of my enjoyment was the energy this film radiated!  I mean, I fully expected glittery confetti to explode from the screen during the deliciously manic “Revenge Party” scene!  

This emotionally charged teen-angst energy is why I am down on my knees (shut up!) and begging stage play scribe/screenwriter Tina Fey to give CARRIE: THE MUSICAL a fresh coat of verbal paint and get directors Samantha Jayne & Arturo Perez Jr. to helm a cinematic disco bloodbath spectacle of this alleged Broadway misfire!  I get thrill-chills just imagining what this terrific trifecta of a team could do with “The World According to Chris” and the title song!  They could inject a MEAN GIRLS energy into CARRIE and probably get me thrown out of the theater when I would start emphatically singing along while having a filmgasm! 

In climax…I mean, conclusion… 
The new musical film version of MEAN GIRLS is just what no hot doctor ordered, but definitely what I needed to momentarily escape my possibly imagined frozen wasteland of mediocre obscurity.  Oh, and I know some haters will totally hate me for this, but much like the 2020 musical version of VALLEY GIRL, the 2024 version of MEAN GIRLS surpasses and improves on its source material.  Deal with it! 

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind, exclamation mark heavy words! 

Freak Out, 
JLH

P.S.  freakboy confession…
I have listened to the soundtrack to the stage musical of HEATHERS and it was like I had a brain tumor for breakfast.  Even the RIVERDALE episode couldn’t rescue that travesty of teen-angst tuneful torture! 👎
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Speaking of torture, my books are available from an Amazon near you…