{"id":35588,"date":"2026-08-10T02:05:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T21:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=35588"},"modified":"2026-08-10T02:05:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T21:05:32","slug":"teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-little-deaths-bloody-one-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=35588","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma&#8217;: Little Death&#8217;s Bloody One-Take"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tWhen \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma\/\" id=\"auto-tag_teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma\" data-tag=\"teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma\">Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma<\/a>\u201d director <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/jane-schoenbrun\/\" id=\"auto-tag_jane-schoenbrun\" data-tag=\"jane-schoenbrun\">Jane Schoenbrun<\/a> described their vision for the bloody one-take sequence in which Little Death (<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/jack-haven\/\" id=\"auto-tag_jack-haven\" data-tag=\"jack-haven\">Jack Haven<\/a>) massacres an entire summer camp \u2014\u00a0all set to Counting Crows\u2019 1996 rock ballad \u201cA Long December\u201d \u2014 they said it should feel like a Michael Bay movie.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cThat\u2019s the one part of the movie where it doesn\u2019t have a filthy old print look to it,\u201d cinematographer Eric Yue tells <em>Variety<\/em>. \u201cIt should feel <em>cool<\/em> and not in another era\u2019s language, so we built upon that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIn \u201cTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,\u201d a young queer filmmaker (Hannah Einbinder) travels to the cabin of a reclusive movie star (Gillian Anderson) in order to convince her to revitalize her career with a remake of \u201cCamp Miasma,\u201d which, in the world of the film, is its own \u201cFriday the 13th\u201d-style slasher franchise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe bloody-as-hell sequence comes about halfway through the film, upending everything we\u2019ve seen before. It features a series of hidden cuts and merges three locations together from the camp shoreline to the counselor\u2019s lounge. Everything was carefully timed and choreographed to \u201cA Long December,\u201d including Little Death stabbing people every time the lyrics landed on the word \u201cHollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tSince Schoenbrun was able to secure the rights to the song early in production, the crew had a significant amount of time to coordinate the film\u2019s most ambitious sequence. Using an iPhone Steadicam to practice, the crew marked out where each of the beats needed to happen in the space.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cJane is definitely a master of pop culture recontextualizations and cool, jarring combinations with a very deep-cut cinephile thing,\u201d editor Graham Mason says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tYue, who previously worked on \u201cI Saw the TV Glow,\u201d collaborated closely with Schoenbrun to storyboard the sequence for over 100 hours. While much of it was done practically, the sequence also required heavy VFX from the North Vancouver-based agency Niche \u2014 specifically to enhance the blood and exploding bodies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cJane would describe it as a Zack Snyder \u2018300\u2019 kind of blood,\u201d Yue says. \u201cThe blood was meant to feel playful. It wasn\u2019t something that makes you gag like, \u2018Oh, this is too realistic.\u2019 Every component of this was fun, including the snow, which isn\u2019t necessarily realistic. Everything is heightened.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  size-large alignnone \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure  lrv-u-font-family-secondary u-color-medium-grey lrv-u-border-b-1 u-border-color-light-grey-tint-two u-margin-b-150 lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:1024px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-variety-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_05272025_BTS_0117_3c7c46.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_05272025_BTS_0117_3c7c46.jpg 7728w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_05272025_BTS_0117_3c7c46.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_05272025_BTS_0117_3c7c46.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_05272025_BTS_0117_3c7c46.jpg?resize=1920,1280 1920w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_05272025_BTS_0117_3c7c46.jpg?resize=1360,907 1360w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_05272025_BTS_0117_3c7c46.jpg?resize=1000,667 1000w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_05272025_BTS_0117_3c7c46.jpg?resize=910,607 910w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_05272025_BTS_0117_3c7c46.jpg?resize=681,454 681w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_05272025_BTS_0117_3c7c46.jpg?resize=450,300 450w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_05272025_BTS_0117_3c7c46.jpg?resize=250,167 250w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(min-width: 87.5rem) 1000px, (min-width: 78.75rem) 681px, (min-width: 48rem) 450px, (max-width: 48rem) 250px\" height=\"683\" width=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  \">\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe only 16mm shot of the film is of Billy (Anderson) looking directly at the camera before the film flares out and switches to the Little Death oner. The crew rented a Bolex camera to get this added \u201clift\u201d right before the big sequence, Yue explains. \u201cWe almost feel like something has been reversed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tHeavy stuntwork was required on Haven\u2019s part; they had to wear a heavy rig with a smaller 35mm camera attached while doing the dance. \u201cSo every single time we did a take, we\u2019d have to reload, and that was physically taxing on Jack,\u201d Yue says, explaining that it took around seven or eight takes to nail the ballet-like sequence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tHaven, who also starred in \u201cI Saw the TV Glow,\u201d says that Schoenbrun \u201cknew\u201d Little Death lived inside them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cThey knew that I could represent this very specific experience of a character, which is someone who lives outside of the human but is this pure expression,\u201d Haven says. \u201cJane knows that I am really transformative as a performer and I can change my body to a character. We say that I\u2019m a creature that they can morph.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe dance was choreographed by stunt coordinator Maja Aro. \u201cThe stunt performers were throwing themselves against the wall when the camera would turn, dropping to the ground. So it\u2019s this very tightly choreographed ballet,\u201d Haven says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cAnd then Jane worked in the moment [at the end] where we see Little Death\u2019s eyes and some sexy little rubbing blood on the face,\u201d Haven adds. \u201cMy god, that\u2019s his favorite thing!\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  size-large alignnone \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure  lrv-u-font-family-secondary u-color-medium-grey lrv-u-border-b-1 u-border-color-light-grey-tint-two u-margin-b-150 lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:1024px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-variety-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CAMP-MIASMA_4K_Still03_6d29b7.png?w=1024\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CAMP-MIASMA_4K_Still03_6d29b7.png 3996w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CAMP-MIASMA_4K_Still03_6d29b7.png?resize=150,81 150w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CAMP-MIASMA_4K_Still03_6d29b7.png?resize=300,162 300w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(min-width: 87.5rem) 1000px, (min-width: 78.75rem) 681px, (min-width: 48rem) 450px, (max-width: 48rem) 250px\" height=\"554\" width=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  \">\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIn addition to practicing at home with a spear to get the slasher movements just right, Haven would also send Schoenbrun videos with different Little Death walk options. \u201cAs a person, I\u2019m kind of small, so it needed to be something sort of intimidating. It ended up being a Michael Myers and \u2018Terminator\u2019 cross of stillness with an immovable force. So I had that vocabulary going into it,\u201d Haven says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,\u201d as a film, interrogates the legacy of the \u201cCamp Miasma\u201d slasher universe and how it resonates for queer viewers, mainly Kris (Einbinder). The Little Death sequence is particularly notable, then, because it suddenly forces the viewer to grapple with the perspective of the franchise villain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tYue explains: \u201cThat is a concrete example where we watch Little Death, we kind of go into his helmet, now we\u2019re becoming the POV of Little Death and then we come out of the body and watch. At the end, we almost feel like the camera is getting stabbed in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tHe commends Haven\u2019s performance, adding: \u201cDuring so much of the film, Jack\u2019s wearing their helmet and we can\u2019t see their face. But the physicality they bring to it is so unique.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThematically, the sequence is also about identifying with The Other, which is reinforced through the way the perspective evolves. \u201cThere is a component where we also feel and empathize with Little Death in a way. Sometimes the killer in these horror films, we actually don\u2019t understand their perspective,\u201d Yue says. \u201cThere\u2019s this catharsis here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAnother scene in the film with a distinctly Schoenbrun touch is the opening title sequence, set to an R.E.M. cover of \u201cNight Swimming.\u201d It lays out the entire \u201cCamp Miasma\u201d lore without a single line of expositional dialogue \u2014\u00a0from newspaper clippings, VHS tapes, DVDs to merch. And it was filmed on the last day of production.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tLike the Little Death oner, it required extensive cooperation with Schoenbrun\u2019s closest collaborators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tMason recalls that from the very beginning, Schoenbrun\u2019s script read: \u201cThis movie will have an awesome opening title sequence!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cIt tells the rise and fall of this horror movie franchise through all this ephemera,\u201d Mason says. \u201cIt\u2019s ambitious and asks a lot of the viewer right off the bat. It\u2019s sort of saying, \u2018Pay closer attention. This movie will reward your attentiveness.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tWhen testing the film, Mason and Schoenbrun realized they could plant some extra exposition. \u201cLike describing Kris as a Sundance wonderkid and showing a fake TMZ article that\u2019s saying, \u2018Billy is horror\u2019s great recluse,&#8217;\u201d Mason says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe opening title sequence, of course, is filled with plenty of Easter eggs over the course of the 45-year-old franchise, from the director listed as the original \u201cCamp Miasma\u201d director, to a board game that\u2019s actually playable, to hidden glimpses of Little Death\u2019s costume in the arcade game. Additionally, all the articles written about the old \u201cCamp Miasma\u201d films were fully fleshed-out, canonically accurate pieces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tMason says that Schoenbrun approached \u201cTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma\u201d as if they were just making a movie with some friends before bouncing those ideas off against the bigger resources of VFX and craftspeople.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tHe says of both Little Death\u2019s dance and the opening title sequence: \u201cJane wanted the film to have this handmade, DIY, almost outsider art quality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<em>\u201cTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma\u201d is currently playing in select theaters from Mubi.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When \u201cTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma\u201d director Jane Schoenbrun described their vision for the bloody one-take sequence in which Little Death (Jack Haven) massacres an entire summer camp \u2014\u00a0all set to Counting Crows\u2019 1996 rock ballad \u201cA Long December\u201d \u2014 they said it should feel like a Michael Bay movie. \u201cThat\u2019s the one&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ABDACT_061025_BTS_0042.jpg?crop=0px%2C460px%2C7728px%2C4347px&resize=1000%2C563","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}