All through October, I’ll be posting reviews of the best of the best films in the horror genre released since October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. As an added bonus, I’ll be doing a secondary review that may be somewhat related to the main review or slightly missed the countdown by inches. Follow along the countdown every day in October. Feel free to agree, disagree, or better yet, give me your own picks for your favorite horror movies of the year. Happy Halloween!

The Best in Horror 2025-2026 So Far…

#31 – DOLLY (GATOR FACE)
#30 – THINESTRA (SACCHARINE)
#29 – ONSLAUGHT (BEAST OF WAR)
#28 – READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME (PENNY LANE IS DEAD)
#27 – IN OUR BLOOD (V/H/S/HALLOWEEN)
#26 – SEND HELP (HEEL)
#25 – THE CARPENTER’S SON (THE BOOK OF SIJJIN AND ILLIYYIN)
#24 – OTHER (YOU ARE NOT ME)
#23 – WHO’S WATCHING (MATCH)
#22 – HOPE (TOUCH ME)
#21 – THEY WILL KILL YOU (MEAT KILLS)
#20 – IT ENDS (ANACORETA)
#19 – TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA (PLAY DEAD)

#19 – TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA (2026)

Released on August 7, 2026!
Steaming on MUBI and On Demand from Plan B Productions, and Scythia Films!
Directed/Written by Jane Schoenbrun.
Check out the trailer here!

A first-time feature filmmaker named Kris (Hannah Einbinder) is the given the opportunity of a lifetime—reimagine and reboot the classic slasher series CAMP MIASMA. Looking for inspiration, Kris travels to interview the star of the first CAMP MIASMA, a reclusive actress named Billy (Gillian Anderson). But upon researching the film, Kris finds herself sucked into a weird middle-realm where our world and the world in the movie meet and discovers intimate details about herself and her own sexuality.

Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun is responsible for two previous arthouse films; WE ARE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR and I SAW THE TV GLOW—two odd bits of cinema that failed to grab me, mainly because of their opaque storytelling and navel-gazing pace. Still, having heard good things about TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA and loving the slasher genre, I decided to check it out, only to find that this is Schoenbrun’s most commercial and accessible film to date. That’s not to say TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA is an easy film to wrap your head around. It certainly isn’t. But unlike her previous two films, I was never bored with it.

For those you love movies, seeing one can mean a moment in time. When you saw the film, where you saw it, and where your head was at when you saw it. For Kris, the CAMP MIASMA series signified a moment of self-discovery that she is still trying to figure out even into her adulthood. She felt feelings she had never felt before when she saw that film as a little girl. It left an indelible mark on her that she didn’t completely understand. This is a universal feeling any cinephile often gets, remembering the exact place you were in life when you saw a particular movie. Much like specific songs listened to on the radio, I can measure the years by identifying a specific movie and it takes me back to that time. This is what TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA (which I’m going to call CAMP MIASMA for the rest of this review for brevity and my own sanity’s sake) is all about and it’s a much more relatable idea than what Schoenbrun attempted with her first two films.

Still CAMP MIASMA signals a common theme in Schoenbrun’s films whereas the lead is in search of some kind of self-discovery but has that revelation a little too late in life to be a benefit for them (seen in I SAW THE TV GLOW) or that revelation comes back to bite them in the ass (as with WE ARE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR). CAMP MIASMA has a more uplifting plot than her previous two films and feels much more personal than her broader, more-artsy attempts in the past. Because of this, I liked CAMP MIASMA a whole lot better, as it feels like Schoenbrun grasped the concept more firmly and capably where it was a bit more ethereal in her previous attempts. This may mean that the filmmaker is evolving and maybe getting past her personal issues, paving the way for different voices and endeavors in future attempts. Or maybe I’m looking into the themes too much. But this feels like an extremely personal film for her as CAMP MIASMA deals with a love for genre films (mainly horror) and the discovery of one’s sexuality.

It is impressive that Schoenbrun created a whole world where the CAMP MIASMA series exists. Based pretty closely to the FRIDAY THE 13TH Series, CAMP MIASMA has sparked innumerable sequels, reboots, reinterpretations, and remakes. Still it is a film series that seemingly everyone knows in this world. This meta-commentary is not really dragging the popularity of slasher films like FRIDAY THE 13th down, but it isn’t above acting as if the films of those era were less sensitive than the world we live in today. I love how Shoenbrun deals with this topic. While watching the original film with Billy, Kris points out the misogyny and transphobia that was quote common in this genre. But having come from that era, Billy tells Kris to “Shut the fuck up and enjoy the movie.” I found this to be a fantastic commentary on the way modern audiences watch films of previous eras, attempting to attach modern morals to dated films. Here, Shoenbrun has it both ways by pointing out problematic bits, but also saying that there’s a lot to love about those old films that you wouldn’t see if you simply cancel it out of one’s life. Later, though the criticism of the male gaze and exploitative nature of those films is made, Shoenbrun doesn’t hold back on splattering everything with blood in the most violent and gory of ways and having Kris prance around in her undies in one scene and fully nude in another, embracing the tropes, yet still acknowledging their role in the slasher subgenre. So yeah, if you want to look past the politically correct commentary, the gender politics, and all of the other heady themes this film sports, you’ve got a ton of blood, mayhem, and boobs to enjoy as well.

Technically, Shoenbrun displays a lot of talent in CAMP MIASMA. There’s a particular scene where the killer who is called Little Death (played by Jack Haven) goes on a rampage with his spear through a party held by the counselors that is wonderfully choreographed as the POV shifts from the killer, down the spear, into the victims, back up the spear, and back through Little Death’s eyes. It’s next level camera-work and was the highlight of the film for me. The blending of the real world and the surreal world inside the film is wonderfully realized as well as some backgrounds are real forestry while others are painted landscapes, all representing the state of mind of the people involved and where they are in their personal journeys. Shoenbrun certainly made a film that looks like no other with CAMP MIASMA.

Seeing Gillian Anderson on screen was like seeing an old friend again. She’s fantastic as the reclusive Billy, giving a Dolly Parton-esque sway to her voice, suggesting wholesomeness with a whole lot of spice behind it. She really does radiate here, specifically in the scenes she shares with Hannah Einbinder. I have not watched HACKS, so this is the first time I’ve seen the actress’ work. I’ve been told she plays a similar character in that series, but in CAMP MIASMA she stands out as a person who thinks she knows what she wants but really has no clue until she meets Billy. The scenes where she deliberates in front of the TV, attempting to study the CAMP MIASMA series and understand it were wonderful as she conveys that sense of fun one has returning to an old movie, as well as ambition to remake it with dignity and honor. At the same time, Anderson’s Billy is attempting to come to grips with some pretty horrible stuff that happened on the set of the original CAMP MIASMA. What I’m getting at is that these are not simple characters and both Anderson and Einbinder really do them justice at fleshing them out.

There’s a lot to marvel at technically, a bunch of stuff to laugh at, and a ton of gore to be had with TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA. Yes, it still has some of that arthouse flavor and if gender themes spook you, you most likely won’t be interested in it. But it’s clear in every frame that, like you and me, Shoenbrun loves those old slashers. This is no SCREAM flick that puts the old slashers down. It honors not only the genre, but the era it was made in, and goes far deeper than any modern slashers ever dare go. TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA is not a simple slasher film, but I often found that those old slashers had a lot more going on with them than their critics ever gave them credit for. It’s worth taking a chance with and as this very wordy review proves, gives you a lot to talk about afterwards.

Worth Noting – PLAY DEAD (2026)

Released on March 4, 2026!
Available On Demand from Trinity Content Partners and Seven Tales!
Directed/Written by Carlos Goitia.
Check out the trailer here!

Alison (Paula Brasca) wakes up in a basement filled with four other dead bodies. When she hears someone coming, she acts as if she is dead and witnesses a masked man-monster grabbing the bodies one at a time and taking them upstairs. Now Alison must find a way out before it is her turn to be taken and she really doesn’t want to know what is waiting for her up there.

The beauty of PLAY DEAD lays in its simplicity. The women have been abducted. The murders have been committed. Now all the man-monster has to do is…some kind of ritual that I won’t reveal here. This film goes beyond where many films go because at this point, there’s a final girl the slasher must stalk and finally get defeated by. Instead of going down that tired slasher path, PLAY DEAD takes a simple premise of someone playing possum to survive and finds a way to extend that to a very tight one hour and ten-minute movie. And all of it comes together in a perversely perfect way.

It’s not that PLAY DEAD does anything too far outside of the slasher format. The killer is your basic stitch-masked mute. He has a family of sorts and that has everything to do with the abductions of the women in the basement. There’s even a dinner scene that plays with some of the same themes that TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE does. Still, through the fast pacing, bare bones script with very little dialog, and a truly gruesome setting, filmmaker Carlos Goitia, who recently did the stylized anthology 100 CANDLES GAME: THE LAST POSSESSION, delivers something unique and fun to watch.

Goita has a good eye for making this spin on the slasher genre feel fresh while using age old tropes. With PLAY DEAD, he skips the boring get to know you part and just tosses the viewer into the action in what would be the last half hour in most slasher films. The film zooms in on this cat and mouse, giving just enough information for one to follow the story. Sure, the characters are not as developed as well, but this film cuts straight to the fun stuff that draws us all to slasher films in the first place. Slasher fans, you’ve gotta check out PLAY DEAD. It’s going to surprise you!

Once again, feel free to agree, disagree, or how about you play along at home and give me your own picks for your favorite horror movies. It’s October, so let’s talk horror. Come back tomorrow for the next level in the Best in Horror Countdown. Be sure to hit all of the pertinent bells and whistles down below and you’ll never miss a post! Happy Halloween, folks!