// THE VERGE — SALUTE
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is an intimate coming-of-age horror film
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With Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma out in theaters, now is the perfect time to revisit Jane Schoenbrun’s first film.
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Jane Schoenbrun’s latest film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, is making a splash in theaters right now. So it seems like the perfect time to revisit their first film, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. I fell in love with this film when I first saw it at Sundance in 2021.
We are immediately introduced to our protagonist, Casey, as she engages in the World’s Fair Challenge, a sort of ARG creepypasta meets ice bucket challenge. There’s a creepy mantra, some bloodletting, and a mysterious video — basically a speedrun of horror movie tropes. But having them all delivered by this young girl alone in her room who just stares directly into her webcam the whole time is unsettling. And I actually physically recoiled when she jabbed herself repeatedly with a pin to draw blood.
The idea is that people perform the ritual and then they’re supposed to change in some sort of nebulous way. It’s set up as some sort of “game” where people are supposed to report their symptoms, as they turn into plastic or their guts and become Tetris pieces.
Ultimately, World’s Fair is a coming-of-age story about a lonely young girl. She’s never shown talking to kids her own age. Her father is never seen, only heard, and does nothing but yell. She desperately attempts to connect with others by uploading videos documenting the changes she experiences after performing the challenge.