Overview
- Jane Schoenbrun’s film moved from the festival circuit into limited U.S. release and is scheduled to expand to more theaters starting Friday, Aug. 14.
- Critics single out Hannah Einbinder as a revelation in her first major film role for grounding the movie with a vulnerable, work‑obsessed filmmaker at its center.
- Gillian Anderson draws attention for an over‑the‑top, Southern‑tinged performance as Billy Presley, a choice she says was meant to express the character’s mix of strength and vulnerability.
- Reviewers emphasize the movie’s deliberate mix of explicit sexual material, operatic gore, oddball humor and surreal shifts that both homage and subvert 1980s slasher conventions.
- Backed by arthouse producers and practical effects work, the film continues Schoenbrun’s queer auteur throughline and may reshape how studios and creators reckon with problematic genre histories.