You're Not Ready for A24's I Saw the TV Glow
The Sundance hit is about to take 2024 by storm.
It’s fitting that I Saw the TV Glow — A24’s latest thriller, and one of the most devastating portrayals of cult fandom — already has a passionate fanbase. Since premiering at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, director Jane Schoenbrun’s sophomore feature has garnered the kind of anticipation normally reserved for big-budget blockbusters.
But Glow is a much more intimate and haunting film. It’s about teen fandom and ‘90s nostalgia, but Schoenbrun twists those two themes to craft a haunting allegory about the trans experience. With knockout performances from Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine, and an original soundtrack in the vein of films like Donnie Darko, Glow is already shaping up as one of the year’s most engrossing horror stories.
For those who couldn’t catch the film at Sundance, the wait is nearly over. A24 has unveiled a first look at Schoenbrun’s upcoming film, and attached a release date for good measure. Check out the first trailer below.
Justice Smith (Generation, Dungeons & Dragons) stars as Owen, a shy, disaffected teen with a deep emotional connection to a Buffy the Vampire Slayer-esque series. The Pink Opaque serves as his escape from the monotony of his suburban life, and it’s a passion he shares with an older classmate, Maddy (Lundy-Paine). When Maddy disappears and their comfort show is abruptly canceled, Owen is forced to contend with the cracks in his own reality.
Glow takes the once-devastating concept of a TV cancellation and turns it into something much more sinister. Through Owen and Maddy’s shared obsession, writer-director Jane Schoenbrun unpacks a story of identity and dissociation. There’s likely no better place to explore that kind of story than with A24, a production company that’s established itself as a champion of chilling horror in just a few years.
Schoenbrun is also fast on their way to becoming a major player. A trans and non-binary filmmaker, their unique vision is on full display in Glow. The 2024 film marks Schoenbrun’s second narrative feature after the equally mind-blowing We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, and with word of mouth already surging for their latest effort, fans of indie horror certainly have a lot to look forward to.
