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I Saw the TV Glow

I Saw the TV Glow

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I Saw the TV Glow

I Saw the TV Glow

I Saw the TV Glow

2024

Drama, Horror

1h 40m

Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

Directed by:

Jane Schoenbrun

Writer:

Jane Schoenbrun

Starring:

Fred Durst, Justice Smith, Jack Haven, Helena Howard, Danielle Deadwyler, Lindsey Jordan

Genres:

Country:

Language:

Suggest an edit

I Saw the TV Glow

2024

Drama, Horror

1h 40m

Your probable score

Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Average Percentile: 52.69%

Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

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Average Percentile: 52.69%

20 May 2024

One of this year’s best movies in my opinion. Feels like a total nostalgia-trip in ways that I can’t even comprehend. The cinematography, music and fictional Pink Opaque took me to a time I miss on my life, but it’s Schoenbrun’s treatment of identity, body dysphoria and being trans that works so freakin’ well. There’s so much passion, honesty and heartbreak here, yet it isn’t a totally miserable watch. The visuals and performances are seriously amazing. I can’t wait to see it again.

20 May 2024

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25 May 2024

An arthouse film that delivers in a variety of ways. The acting and direction is absolitely brilliant. As is the unsettling aesthetic. As a cis man, I didn't realize the film was so heavily allegorical to a general trans experience upon initial viewing. As such an allegory, the film suceeds. However, it does suffer from the typical highbrow affliction of many art films, that being that more than a few plot beats are nonsensical and rely far too heavily on audience intrepretation to be impactful.

25 May 2024

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23 Aug 2024

A queer masterpiece, a movie about being so deep in the closet that the only thing you can see is the barest hint of TV glow. Recommended to the Venn diagram of people who love David Lynch and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and who are queer (especially trans, since that's what this is about). Gorgeous and touching and heartbreaking.

23 Aug 2024

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23 Jun 2024

Maddy: "Time wasn't right. It was moving too fast. And then I was 19. And then I was 20. I felt like one of those dolls asleep in the supermarket. Stuffed. And then I was 21. Like chapters skipped over on a DVD. I told myself, "This isn't normal. This isn't normal. This isn't how life is supposed to feel.""

23 Jun 2024

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08 Jun 2024

Ebert’s quote about movies as “a machine that generates empathy” was on my mind a lot here - Schoenbrun does a superb job of illustrating the despair and horror that comes with being afraid to live your life as the person you truly are. Gorgeous and transfixing in all the same ways as World’s Fair, with incredible tragic performances and astonishing production design and music. Sometimes a little too on-the-nose, but if it helps crack some eggs that feels like a very minor tradeoff.

08 Jun 2024

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30 Nov 2024

This feels more like a series of admittedly pleasingly crafted and seductive images than a real movie, though it gives Smith an opportunity to play hazy and bewildered, and Lundy-Paine has a knock-out of a mid-movie monologue. Though it seems to connect more strongly along the lines of the lived trans experience, I’m not sure there is enough substance here to really dig in to the concepts of identity and self-actualisation that Schoenbrun seems concerned with.

30 Nov 2024

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23 Sep 2024

A horror story about the slow, suffocating death you endure while living through the identity that you constructed to survive your environment, but not the one that is true to you. But there is always still time...

23 Sep 2024

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05 Aug 2024

A curious and somewhat surreal drama that I found at once affecting and occasionally baffling. There are a few themes in play, and it is made with care and very well performed. It does feel rather open to interpretation, and is none the worse for it. It also feels both very modern and very nostalgic. I'd definitely like to see this again to see how it lands.

05 Aug 2024

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29 Jul 2024

Come on, let’s not take this sophomore shit seriously.

29 Jul 2024

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17 Jun 2024

Get your insides reupholstered at Build-A-Bear® today!

17 Jun 2024

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14 Jun 2024

The vibes are immaculate, the cinematography is stellar. Really liked the story and how it's portrayed.

14 Jun 2024

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08 Aug 2025

Not to damn it with faint praise but this is easily my favorite media featuring Fred Durst.

08 Aug 2025

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16 Sep 2024

Ultimately, every serious American film is about the inevitable coming of the Matrix. The more you understand this, the easier you interpret American films.

16 Sep 2024

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13 Sep 2024

More pretentious A24 shit but now extra gay

13 Sep 2024

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28 Jul 2024

Justice Smith undeniably chooses interesting projects, and there's a dedicated visual style that I can't help but appreciate. "The Pink Opaque" is a show that would have been the hottest shit on YTV in the late 90s. Definitely pretentious, and lacking in a number of production areas (the sound mix in particular). Knowing that this was made with the trans experience in mind, this definitely represents more to others than it does to me. As presented, I thought it was intriguing, but only okay.

28 Jul 2024

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30 May 2024

the only way i can redeem this in my head is that ironically it works as commentary on the suburbs/suburban lifestyle in that they created a person who would make this stupid film

30 May 2024

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18 May 2024

I adored the first two thirds of this. Thought is was some of the most intoxicating audiovisual storytelling I've seen all year. The ending really felt janky and improvised, but not enough to have totally undone the magic. Will be eagerly awaiting Jane's films whenever they drop.

18 May 2024

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10 May 2024

This is the Rabbit R1 of movies in the sense that it is barely reviewable because it fulfills almost none of the basic requirements you expect of a movie.

10 May 2024

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30 Apr 2025

A powerful trans allegory but also a meditation on the relationship between nostalgia and our potential, how the things we attach to in our formative years may be yelling at us about who we are/can be, uprooting ourselves more than we’re consciously able, and the results of ignoring the call of our truth. Then fate twists cruelly, and those nostalgic images become nightmares, a faded freeze frame of “what if?”. We are all blinking away decades, you don't have time to apologize for who you are.

30 Apr 2025

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23 Dec 2024

Schoenbrun's command of style and mood is impressive. Both lead actors are great, and the ending is a doozy.

23 Dec 2024

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30 Nov 2024

what a waste of an amazing ice cream monster suit!

30 Nov 2024

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12 Sep 2024

On one hand, a love letter to the ability of fandom to bring a sense of purpose and community to our lives. On the other hand, a horrifying portrait of how we use fandom to cover up the existential meaninglessness of our tepid lives. It's a sublime work of beauty and, simultaneously, a terrifying mirror that I can't help but see myself reflected in.

12 Sep 2024

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07 Sep 2024

I'm generally a big fan of so called A24 horror, which tends to be very vibes based, doesn't really have a ton of jump scares, and relies greatly on its atmosphere and mood. Sometimes vibes just aren't enough, though. This is a very frustrating film. It seems to be exactly the film it wants to be, and it has some brilliant moments, but so much of it was just boring to me. I wanted to like it way more than I did. It's obvious that Schoenbrun is gifted, but she just hasn't totally connected for me

07 Sep 2024

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05 Sep 2024

Schoenbrun does something that rarely works, namely visualizing one's outsider fragility, fear, and social anxiety without resorting to complete self-pity and navel-gazing. The film transmits a deep feeling of sadness and being unwell, of living a wrong life, retreating into fantasy, and lacking the guts to ever cross over. That they found a neon-colored, Blue Velvet-y language for this and almost dramatize the conflict is quite something.

05 Sep 2024

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30 Jun 2024

A definite step up from her first film. I will praise its Cronenberg and lynchian (actually this time) imagery while also hoping it didn’t have to mask its heart. If you squint you can basically see a kaufman film in here.

30 Jun 2024

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24 Jun 2024

Time wasn’t right. It was moving too fast. I was 19, and then I was 20, and then I was 21. like chapters skipped over in a DVD. I told myself ‘this isn’t normal. This isn’t normal. This isn’t how life is supposed to feel.

24 Jun 2024

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23 Jun 2024

I understand what it's exploring but it's not the best version of itself. Too much time spent monologuing. When it does get some momentum, it's killed off with "artsy" shots like watching someone's face for a couple minutes. There's really only one moment where it ascends from an odd vibe to something resembling horror but then it descends again into what I don't like about it, right when I truly got invested. I dig the colour palette, the atmosphere and the fact it's weird though.

23 Jun 2024

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15 Jun 2024

Kinda felt like the whole time it was hinting at a plot that never actually happened. The second half was a bit incomprehensible. I feel like this director needs a co-writer. I dug the vibes though. My opinion will probably improve once I read the inevitable explanation of the subtext that I’m completely missing

15 Jun 2024

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12 Jun 2024

Fair to say this one captures a moment: liminal-spaces, bisexual lighting, creepypasta elevated horror about gender dysphoria. Has some very deep feelings in it that moved me and it put me in mind of how grateful I am to have had good (weird, fun, tolerant) female friends growing up.

12 Jun 2024

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30 May 2024

grieving over futures past and being afraid of anyone who will tell me the time, hopeful or damning

30 May 2024

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26 May 2024

Like Jane Schoenbrun's previous feature, this was maybe a little too ethereal for me to embrace as much as others have, but this one is also a good deal more ambitious and weird which kept me more actively engaged and happily along for the ride. If nothing else, this is among the most visually striking and memorable films I've seen all year. Occasionally bewildering, but almost always in good ways. I'll be chewing on this one for a while.

26 May 2024

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30 Sep 2025

in my opinion, it was trying too hard to be 'deep' and came off as a bit pretentious.

30 Sep 2025

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30 Aug 2025

queer limbo, gays burying themselves, practical effects, campyness, this movie has it all. Jane schoenbrunn thank you for this

30 Aug 2025

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29 Jul 2025

a very dreamy film exploring isolation, a failure to come of age. it's pretty powerful, but spends most of the time dealing with the fantasy aspects of the tv show, rather than centering the emotional beats of the characters. it works fine as a trans allegory, but doesn't really explore gender identity

29 Jul 2025

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21 Jul 2025

Now, mind you, I'm not one to incite violence against marginalized groups, but if someone wants to throw a copy of Against Interpretation at Jane Schoenbrun please by all means you have my blessing.

21 Jul 2025

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24 May 2025

Calling this a horror movie feels like a stretch, unless we're talking about existential horror, in which case it's one of the most effective ever. It's this agonizing feeling of being able to recognize something in your life as important, but not understanding why until it's far too late, if ever. I wish this feeling wasn't relatable.

24 May 2025

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18 May 2025

I mean, it was okay… I think if you love Lynch, you’ll love this, but I don’t love all Lynch.

18 May 2025

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13 Apr 2025

Kafka would love, too.

13 Apr 2025

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04 Feb 2025

Will have to rewatch. I don’t think I understood it.

04 Feb 2025

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19 Jan 2025

Eu vi o brilho da TV estreava há 1 ano no Festival de Sundance. Além de uma jornada da experiência queer, é também uma carta de amor aos seriados dos anos 90, de Twin Peaks à Buffy (como a participação da Amber Benson deixa ainda mais claro, se já não era), sem falar na pitada de Mysterious Skin como o componente da experiência queer sem ser vivida em sua plenitude, uma questão de o quanto a cultura pop nos molda e a psicossomática da repressão. YTS.

19 Jan 2025

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11 Jan 2025

I think the Donnie Darko comparisons are wonderful. Few films can touch the bizarre and unique and dreamy sensations that Donnie Darko inspires. I'm sure Schoenbrun was influenced by it, but I hope they wear the glowing comparisons as a badge of honor. It means they crafted lightning; oozing atmosphere to the point of enchantment; a film with an immense sense of self.

11 Jan 2025

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06 Jan 2025

(4.3) Enjoyment/Engagement: 4 Direction: 5 Score/Sound: 5 Performances: 4 Characters: 4 Dialogue: 3

06 Jan 2025

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01 Jan 2025

Yeah, I really gave this a chance & each of the 5 times I was interested, some BS ruined things. So, I liked the talk on the bleachers, Relationship of main characters, dad, co-worker, & the theater. Okay, so all of the acting is bad & this film insists on itself that it's profound but this seems like a first grade interpretation on Lovecraft horror? The ending is creepy, but is there really anything to it at all that you have not seen in a hundred other places, nothing about this is special...

01 Jan 2025

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14 Dec 2024

Hey trans people are not the only ones who got lost/buried alive in high school and are still there. Very moving and particularly acute psychologically, however hard to grasp it may be. And of course it is hard to grasp on purpose, and very well done. Killer soundtrack. In the darwinian history of movies it gets the 2024 Lynchian Allure Prize over THE SUBSTANCE by a mile.

14 Dec 2024

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20 Nov 2024

jgjvghvjsvgdgvhjvsghdhbvsjdnkdsvl;

20 Nov 2024

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17 Nov 2024

I Saw the TV Glow may not be a film for everyone, and that’s precisely its strength and weakness. It defies easy categorisation, demanding both attention and patience. Whether it’s the best or worst film of the year is a question I’m still pondering, but perhaps that’s the point. It’s a film meant to linger in the mind and be debated and dissected long after the screen darkens.

17 Nov 2024

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12 Nov 2024

Loveherleavingthetapes+Ithinkthatiliketvshowslool+awwshecomesbackahusk+heconformedthenrealizedbutiwishshedidntseemlikeahuskloliguessthatsrealistictoo

12 Nov 2024

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12 Nov 2024

I Saw the TV Glow is a multi-layered, experiential film that slowly builds and then grabs you and doesn't let go. I wasn't expecting to be so struck by the film's symbolism, especially since I was already aware that the entire film is a metaphor for being trans and telegraphed those themes very early in the movie. Yet, the film's unique visual style and some emotionally-wrenching scenes that work on multiple levels with the film's theme in mind stayed with me long after it was over.

12 Nov 2024

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05 Nov 2024

I didn’t dislike this as much as I was expecting to. I kinda dug the vibes and got what the movie was trying to do with the trans allegory tied into nostalgia and where you belong. On the other hand, it did really feel like not a lot happened and there was an air of pretentiousness to it the entire time. The movie certainly felt longer than it actually did, but I liked it emulating the cheesy 90s shows of a time I grew up. Definitely more of a mood movie than a narrative one.

05 Nov 2024

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29 Oct 2024

Ok, so right now I mainly see the issues I had with this film, but that's because I can't stop comparing it to Lynch's stuff. That comparison alone says a lot, and I did quite like the movie. It does a bit too much of telling rather than showing, and it definitely serves as a reminder for why I like Lynch over just about anyone. But with that said, this movie isn't really trying to be Lynch. It's clearly inspired by him, but it also does its own thing. Which is fine, just not as good as Lynch.

29 Oct 2024

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16 Oct 2024

Trying to find a place to live -- even if it's admist moody memories of watching a TV show with a friend yrs ago -- in a world that doesn't care about you. Strong when it's purely Schoenbrun's way to depict loneliness and alienation through the eyes of trans people, but problem is the structure kind of killed it for me: long video art sequences filled with monologues that feel "too written", when it broke the fourth wall or relied too much on voiceovers. Liked the brutally earnest finale.

16 Oct 2024

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14 Oct 2024

test test test

14 Oct 2024

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14 Oct 2024

I'm not sure what I just watched... but I think I liked it?

14 Oct 2024

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01 Oct 2024

I really wanted to like this more. I dug the period details, Pink Opaque's SOV vibes and overall mood. Schoenbrun is clearly a talented director and during its best scenes, the film reminded my of Donnie Darko and Mysterious Skin. But I don't think it really comes together in the end, and the endless monologues sucked the air away, leading to the heavy-handed and unncessary epilogue. Still, I need to check Schoenbrun's debut film and will be interested to see what comes next.

01 Oct 2024

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27 Sep 2024

I wasn’t feeling this one. I guess just a hard time relating to the suburban lifestyle mixed with the nostalgic feelings for 90’s bad television while pondering my existence in life while questioning my identity and reality.

27 Sep 2024

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26 Sep 2024

I huge step up from Schoenbrun's previous film, and I do think we'll continue to see further refinement over subsequent movies. Not every choice worked for me, but I appreciate how bold all of those choices were regardless, and the thematic/symbolic side of the film is absolutely impeccable

26 Sep 2024

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08 Sep 2024

A cinematic masterclass that excoriates nostalgia while seeking refuge in it. It's a nice companion piece to World's Fair mixed with a heaping helping of Matrix Resurrections--focusing not on the Neos and Trinities of the world, but the meek side-characters. And unlike the World's Fair and even Matrix Resurrections, Schoenbrun makes the trans allegory as direct and overt as it could be. Perhaps this is necessary, but it does dispel some of the magic that made World's Fair so haunting.

08 Sep 2024

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05 Sep 2024

A trans allegory but also how you should take risks in life, or you'll just run around in circles back and forth for the rest of your life, and also to hold on to your CRT TV; that thing retains quality. Visually stunning.

05 Sep 2024

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14 Aug 2024

eng; [i saw the tv glow]; ein junge sieht mit einer schulfreundin eine TV show an, welche vom alter scheinbar nicht für kinder passend ist und daraufhin stellen sie ihre realität in frage.; (FSK 25);

14 Aug 2024

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09 Aug 2024

With its bold confidence, this movie can't be ignored. Its esoteric essence lends itself to a mystery, but it also leaves the viewer cold and confused. The themes resonate, and some scenes are magic, but the overall journey misses the mark.

09 Aug 2024

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03 Aug 2024

What mainly engaged me here thematically is the personal connection we share on media and the the dangers of hiding your true self in the long term. Both of these are treated in high abstraction but I think the most admirable part of this film is that it rejects the conventions of typical "coming of age stories" and instead conveys the inner-destruction that comes with never becoming your true self. I wasn't totally engaged with certain metaphorical framing it has but I love it thematically.

03 Aug 2024

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31 Jul 2024

This made me emotional... I'm not sure I understood everything, but what I did get I really got.

31 Jul 2024

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15 Jul 2024

2024'de #IzlediğimFilmler ; 158. I Saw the TV Glow Alegorik anlatımını başarılı sinematografisi, müzikleri ve oyunculukları ile etkileyici hale getirmiş. 6/10

15 Jul 2024

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09 Jul 2024

damn mr. melancholy's cool

09 Jul 2024

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04 Jul 2024

Seems like ‘The Pink Opaque’ would have been more entertaining.

04 Jul 2024

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29 Jun 2024

Too much telling not enough showing. Wannabe David Lynch. I thought this was supposed to be a horror flick.

29 Jun 2024

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25 Jun 2024

There is a lot of talent on display in this film. The acting is top notch, the cinematography is great, there are lots of examples of internal framing, it makes beautiful use of color. It is a shame that the movie had it's head too far up it's own ass to be entertaining. With an artsy film like this you still need to keep the viewer engaged. The movie has too many talking head scenes, downtime, and way too little pay off for the slow burn it provides. What a waste of talent and my time.

25 Jun 2024

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19 Jun 2024

This movie was not only boring but had some horrible energy to it. My husband and I had to turn it off cause it was causing us extreme anxiety. There was barely anything said during he movie. The actors were horrible yet made me feel sick to my stomach just to look at them. Worst movie I've seen in a long time.

19 Jun 2024

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19 Jun 2024

sleep Also has Her Nightclub (it's a bar just over the Canadian border, near The Roadhouse)

19 Jun 2024

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18 Jun 2024

I appreciate the experimental spirit with which Schoenbrun tries to mine the uncanny for creepiness. This is a big step up from her previous movie, and I think Justice Smith's eccentric awestruck meekness is sublime; the movie owes a ton to his performance. It's also overreliant on monologues, and the "Stranger Things"-style retro aesthetic and Melies-via-Smashing-Pumpkins animated moon just aren't very fresh. I liked the last act, but even that suffered from the excessive foreshadowing.

18 Jun 2024

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Cast & Info

Directed by:

Jane Schoenbrun

Writer:

Jane Schoenbrun

Starring:

Fred Durst, Justice Smith, Jack Haven, Helena Howard, Danielle Deadwyler, Lindsey Jordan

Genres:

Country:

Language:

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