Writer and director Jane Schoenbrun is back with their new horror film, I Saw the TV Glow, and its new trailer looks fantastic.
According to the film’s official synopsis, Justice Smith stars as a teenager named Owen, who’s “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.”
In the trailer, we learn a tiny bit more about that TV show—and Owen’s relationship with his classmate Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine).
In the trailer, Owen reconnects with Maddy after having befriended her as a child. The two of them talk about a horror show they used to watch called The Pink Opaque. The Pink Opaque, it seems, wasn’t just a show that was way too scary for kids. It’s a phenomenon that bleeds into reality, leading to Maddy’s disappearance.
Along with the horror elements of the trailer, we get to see some of Owen’s relationship with his classmate, who tells him that she’s gay and asks if he likes girls. It looks like this film will have an emotional core that’s as strong as its horror story. The trailer also boasts a strong, moody atmosphere, with marks on the teens’ necks that light up, strange visual effects, and startling monsters.
I Saw the TV Glow premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2024, which took place last month in Utah. Critics are already praising the film, which currently has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Although Jane Schoenbrum has produced numerous films, they made waves when they wrote and directed the 2021 feature film We’re all Going to the World’s Fair, which centers on a girl who accepts an internet challenge and begins to post increasingly disturbing videos.
I Saw the TV Glow comes out in theaters on May 3.
