I Saw the TV Glow

More deeply haunting than outright scary, this experimental horror movie explores identity in general—and queer identity specifically—in ways that are both tender and uncomfortable. The follow-up to nonbinary writer-director Jane Schoenbrun's remarkable feature debut We're All Going to the World's Fair, I Saw the TV Glow begins with its fictitious TV show, The Pink Opaque (a name that seems meant to suggest gender fluidity). But, like its probable inspiration Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the show-within-the-movie also suggests comfort, nostalgia, escape, and more. It's a blanket to protect and hide under, but it's also a way to avoid reality. Indeed, Owen doesn't quite know who he is and can't express himself. Maddy explains that she's into girls, while Owen replies, "I think that I like TV shows." He lives with his adoring but terminally ill mother (Danielle Deadwyler) and distant, stern father (Fred Durst), who grumbles, "Isn't that a show for girls?"

The movie's point becomes more graspable the less tangible it is. The more things start to blur and disconnect, the better we understand Owen's inner struggle. Schoenbrun offers many striking images, including one in which a group of children gleefully play under a puffed-up parachute, while young Owen gets up and walks around the perimeter, touching the various colors. A final sequence, set at Owen's job at an arcade, is heartbreakingly brutal, offering the idea that Owen has spent so much time being afraid of life that he has almost ceased to exist. I Saw the TV Glow will likely disappoint those expecting a traditional shocker with a logical explanation, but for many viewers, it could be a landmark moviegoing experience.