I Saw the TV Glow

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I Saw the TV Glow
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJane Schoenbrun
Written byJane Schoenbrun
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyEric K. Yue
Edited bySofi Marshall
Music byAlex G
Production
companies
Distributed byA24
Release dates
  • January 18, 2024 (2024-01-18) (Sundance)
  • May 3, 2024 (2024-05-03) (United States)
Running time
100 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[2]
Box office$367,765[3][4]

I Saw the TV Glow is a 2024 American psychological horror-drama film written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun. It stars Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine, with Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, Fred Durst and Danielle Deadwyler in supporting roles. The film follows two troubled young friends whose reality begins to spiral when the TV show they bonded over gets cancelled. Emma Stone and Dave McCary serve as producers under their Fruit Tree banner.

The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2024. It was given a limited release by A24 in the United States on May 3, 2024, with a nationwide release on May 17, and received positive reviews from critics.

Plot[edit]

In 1996, isolated seventh grader Owen meets ninth grader Maddy when he notices her reading an episode guide for young adult show The Pink Opaque, which follow teenagers Isabel and Tara as they fight monsters using their psychic connection. Under the pretext of sleeping over at a classmate's house, Owen sneaks over to Maddy's to watch a new episode with her and her friend Amanda, finding himself captivated by it.

Two years later, Owen's mother Brenda is terminally ill and Maddy has been ostracized by the school after a rumor circulates that she grabbed Amanda's breast. With Owen unable to watch the show live due to his parents' strict curfew, Maddy tapes the episodes for him to watch later. Owen comes to her house to watch a new episode, where she draws the symbol that connects Isabel and Tara on the back of his neck. She resolves to run away to escape her abusive stepfather and asks Owen to come with her, which he commits to but later backs out of. Brenda dies later that year and Maddy vanishes a few weeks later, while The Pink Opaque is cancelled after five seasons.

Now 2006, Owen still lives with his intimidating father Frank and works at a movie theater. Maddy reappears one night and takes Owen to a bar on the outside of town first mentioned as a location in The Pink Opaque. As the double bill of bands perform, Maddy insists that she has been in the world of the television show. Owen flashes back to watching her tape of the show's finale for the first time. In the episode, Isabel and Tara have their hearts removed by the show's main antagonist, Mr. Melancholy, are fed his poisonous "luna juice," and are buried alive. The episode implies that Isabel has been unconsciously living Owen's life, causing him to panic and shove his head into the screen. Frank pulls him out and forces him to wash himself as he screams that he is not living his real life and vomits luna juice.

Back in the present, Maddy explains to Owen that after leaving, the feelings of isolation and falsehood she felt at home followed her, so she paid a man to bury her alive. After eventually suffocating, she woke in The Pink Opaque as Tara, claiming that their hometown is Mr. Melancholy's "midnight realm", where people are sent after drinking the luna juice. She pleads with Owen to bury himself with her and start season six as Isabel before he suffocates from being buried in the show, and he panics and runs home. Owen waits for Maddy to return and force him to bury himself, but he never sees her again.

Frank dies a few years later and Owen stays in his house, settling down and starting an unseen family. The theater closes and he takes a job at a family entertainment center. He rediscovers The Pink Opaque on a streaming service, but finds it to be of lower quality than he remembers. Twenty years later, Owen still works at the center and suffers from a severe case of asthma. During a birthday party at the center, he breaks down, screams that he is dying, and begs for his mother to save him before locking himself in the bathroom. He cuts his chest open and sees a TV screen inside playing distorted footage of The Pink Opaque. He returns to the party, apologizing to the uncaring guests for his breakdown.

Cast[edit]

Appearing as themselves in the film are Haley Dahl, Phoebe Bridgers and their band Sloppy Jane, as well as Kristina Esfandiari and her band King Woman.

Production[edit]

In October 2021, it was announced Jane Schoenbrun would direct the film, from a screenplay they wrote, with Emma Stone set to produce under her Fruit Tree banner, with A24 producing, financing, and distributing.[6] In August 2022, it was announced Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Helena Howard, Danielle Deadwyler, Amber Benson, Ian Foreman, Michael Maronna, Conner O'Malley, Emma Portner, Danny Tamberelli, Phoebe Bridgers, Lindsey Jordan, Fred Durst, Haley Dahl, Jonathan Chacko, and Kristina Esfandiari had joined the cast of the film.[7][8]

Principal photography took place in New Jersey from July to August 2022.[9][10][11] Shooting took place at Verona High School, Cedar Grove High School and Keansburg Amusement Park. Other notable locations were the music venue The Saint and Camp Lewis.[11]

Music[edit]

Further information: I Saw the TV Glow (soundtrack)

The film's original score was composed by Alex G. The film features an original soundtrack that includes songs from Caroline Polachek, Sloppy Jane, Phoebe Bridgers, Kristina Esfandiari, Florist, yeule, and Drab Majesty among others. The soundtrack was released on May 10, 2024.[12]

Release[edit]

I Saw the TV Glow premiered in the Midnight section at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2024.[13] It also screened at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in the Panorama section on February 20, 2024[14] and South by Southwest on March 10, 2024.[15][16] It was released in limited theaters on May 3, 2024, playing in New York and Los Angeles,[17] before a nationwide expansion on May 17.[18]

Reception[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 100 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "With a distinctive visual aesthetic that enhances its emotionally resonant narrative, I Saw the TV Glow further establishes writer-director Jane Schoenbrun as a rising talent."[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[20]

Guy Lodge of Variety wrote, "This is both promising psychodrama fodder on its own terms, and of a piece with the particular fixations Schoenbrun has established across their small oeuvre thus far".[21] David Ehrlich of IndieWire wrote, "Schoenbrun's astonishing second feature manages to retain the seductive fear of their micro-budget debut and deepen its thrilling wounds of discovery even while examining them at a much larger scale".[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  2. ^ Wiliam Earl (January 19, 2024). "I Saw the TV Glow' Is Director Jane Schoenbrun's Honest, Surreal Exploration of Trans Identity — And A24's Boldest Horror Movie Yet". Variety. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved May 12, 2024.Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  5. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". A24 Press. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  6. ^ Kroll, Justin (October 7, 2021). "A24 And Emma Stone's Fruit Tree Banner Reunite On Jane Schoenbrun's I Saw The TV Glow". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  7. ^ Kit, Borys (August 24, 2022). "Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine Starring in A24 Horror Thriller I Saw the TV Glow (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  8. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (August 24, 2022). "Phoebe Bridgers and Helena Howard Join Jane Schoenbrun's I Saw the TV Glow at A24". IndieWire. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  9. ^ Schoenbrun, Jane (July 12, 2022). "It's real!! We are making an @A24 movie this summer!!". Twitter. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  10. ^ Schoenbrun, Jane (August 17, 2022). "That's a wrap :-)". Twitter. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Kuperinsky, Amy (February 28, 2024). "See trailer for I Saw the TV Glow, an A24 horror movie filmed in N.J." NJ.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  12. ^ Keates, Emma (April 25, 2024). "A24 shares new song from stellar I Saw The TV Glow soundtrack". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 6, 2023). "Sundance Unveils Packed 2024 Lineup That Includes A.I., Pedro Pascal, Kristen Stewart, Satan, Devo & Steven Yeun". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  14. ^ Ntim, Zac (December 14, 2023). "Berlin: Saoirse Ronan, Danielle Deadwyler & Paapa Essiedu Titles Set For Panorama Sidebar". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  15. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". South by Southwest. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  16. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 7, 2024). "SXSW 2024 Second Wave Includes Pics With Sydney Sweeney, Nicolas Cage, Camila Mendes & 'Monkey Man'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  17. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (February 28, 2024). "'I Saw the TV Glow' Trailer: Jane Schoenbrun Channels David Lynch and Late-Night Cable Nightmares for A24 Horror Movie". IndieWire. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  18. ^ I Saw The TV Glow [@tvglowmovie] (April 19, 2024). "Follow the glow 📺 Jane Schoenbrun's groundbreaking horror #ISawTheTVGlow opens in NY/LA theaters May 3, nationwide May 17. Get tickets now" (Tweet). Retrieved April 19, 2024 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 6, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  20. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  21. ^ Lodge, Guy (January 19, 2024). "I Saw the TV Glow Review: Jane Schoenbrun's Eerie Ode to Adolescent Television Obsessions". Variety. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  22. ^ Ehrlich, David (January 19, 2024). "I Saw the TV Glow Review: Jane Schoenbrun's Second Feature Is a Haunting Look at What We See in Our Media". IndieWire. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

External links[edit]

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