I SAW THE TV GLOW *UPDATED*

Much of the focus on Jane Schoenrbrun’s I Saw The TV Glow is about the pivotal moment where a young queer person transitions. But the film is much more than that. It's certainly shot from a queer lens/perspective but isn't exclusive. Quite the opposite. In my personal opinion, I Saw The TV Glow is just as much about the comfort of slightly weird childhood/teenage nostalgia as it is about identity & transitioning. I use the word comfort because there’s something nice about another person or small group of folks that are in to the same weird niche stuff you’re in to. There's no better feeling than finding your people. There's comfort in someone making you a copy of some underground music or those 6 hour blank VHS tapes with 3 random movies on them that have no connection or correlation with each other (if you went through my Dad's VHS collection in 1991 you’d find maxell tapes with Lifeforce, School Daze & Death Wish all on the same tape). Having specific similar odd interests matter. Those kinds of things can make unbreakable lifelong friendships and can transcend different cultures, races, backgrounds, etc (I still have friendships that span over 30 years that are rooted in a love off the same "non-traditional" things). This applies to music, art, film, or, in the case of I Saw The Tv Glow – television. An important part of this film is about the bond our two young characters make over their love of the same television programming that is a clear homage to shows like Pete & Pete, Eerie Indiana, You Can’t Do That On Television, Encyclopedia Brown, etc (it should be noted that Pete & Pete’s Mike Maronna & Danny Tamberelli make a cameo in the film). 

Old children’s programming from the late 80’s through the early 90’s, specifically Nickelodeon, was certainly accessible but it was also kind of weird (especially when compared to children’s programming in 2024). You watch shows like Pete & Pete or You Can’t Do That On Television and there’s something intentionally “off” with the overall tone of those shows. It’s like PG-rated dark humor with a nice pinch of surreality. There was a sweet spot where a lot of the shows we had as kids where weird, informative & different but also easy to access. I hate to sound like an old grump but a lot of today’s programming for young people is very safe & homogeneous.

Pete & Pete / I Saw The TV Glow

Because this film is rooted in nostalgia, there are plenty of intentional & unintentional nods to the works of other filmmakers. This isn’t a bad thing in my book. Nostalgia can sometimes be seen as insufferable but in the case of I Saw The TV Glow that’s the point. Nostalgia is a key ingredient to the film so if that’s not something that interest you - it’s probably best to just not even watch it. It’s important to note that the nostalgia in this movie isn’t associated with happy memories. The characters in this film are antisocial outcasts with rough personal lives. Schoenbrun also shows that some of the things we loved as kids/teenagers are kind of dated & disappointing when we revisit them as adults.

This isn’t a movie for everyone but anyone who appreciates Lynch, Cronenberg, TV Carnage & weird youtube algorithms will find something interesting buried in here.

 
Schoenbrun has always been open about her influences (click here to read my thoughts about previous film) and her latest film is no exception. A lot of the older movies that are subconsciously referenced by Schoenbrun were/are a safe space and/or comfort for outcasts & outsiders...

I just find the glow of a screen to be appealing. It's something that I very naturally gravitate toward, in the way that David Cronenberg gravitates toward body horror - Jane Schoebrun, The Hollywood Reporter

Videodrome / I Saw The TV Glow

Videodrome / I Saw The TV Glow

Videodrome / I Saw The TV Glow

Videodrome / I Saw The TV Glow

Between when I was a kid and watched Twin Peaks for the first time and when the show got rebooted in 2017, I just had recurring nightmares about it- Jane Schoenbrun, Inverse.com

Twin Peaks: Season 1 / I Saw The TV Glow

Twin Peaks: Season 2 / I Saw The TV Glow

Twin Peaks: The Return / I Saw The TV Glow

I’m a big fan of thinking of a film as infinitely deep. I think I got that from [David] Lynch - jane schoenbrun, Letterboxd

Mulholland Drive / I Saw The TV Glow

Eraserhead / I Saw The TV Glow

I’m a big fan of thinking of a film as infinitely deep. I think I got that from [David] Lynch - Jane Schoenbrun, Letterboxd

Inland Empire / I Saw The TV Glow

Inland Empire / I Saw The TV Glow

I don’t mean to put one film down to prop up another but I Saw The TV Glow feels like a more successful attempt at doing what Flying Lotus tried to do with his Kuso which was a cosmic slop/mixtape of surreality, nostalgia & body horror.

I personally enjoyed this overall but there’s only a specific list of folks that I would actually recommend this to which keeps with the theme of the film. Maybe in 30 years Schoenbrun’s sophomore feature will be that discovery that bonds a group of outcasts.

IN A VIOLENT NATURE

Elephant / Elephant / In A Violent Nature

However you may feel about Chris Nash’s In A Violent Nature, there’s no denying that the film draws from some cool unexpected sources. This is hardly the first slow burn horror movie director to pull from “unexpected”/outside lanes of cinema, but I can’t think of too many that mention the likes of Terrence Malick, Gus Van Sant & Alan Clarke as references.

Now… Nash does not deny his more obvious sources like Friday The 13th and Fincher’s Zodiac..

I would say FRIDAY THE 13th is intrinsic to the existence of this film because it built the framework. We’re not reinventing the wheel, but we are looking at the wheel from a different side - Chris Nash, Dreadcentral.com

Friday The 13th Part VI / In A Violent Nature

Friday The 13th Part II / In A Violent Nature

Friday The 13th / In A Violent Nature

Friday The 13th Part II / In A Violent Nature

Friday The 13th / In A Violent Nature

Friday The 13th / In A Violent Nature

Friday The 13th Part 5 / In A Violent Nature

Friday The 13th Part 4 / In A Violent Nature

Friday The 13th Part VII / In A Violent Nature

The Raft segment in Creepshow 2 had an indelible affect on me - Chris Nash, Flickering Myth

Creepshow 2 / In A Violent Nature

I can watch Zodiac anytime as soon as it's on. It just puts me in a mood. It puts me in a vibe. It's that same kind of calculated feel that I like where I'm just thinking, 'Oh, this is a plan' - Chris Nash, Indiewire

Zodiac / In A Violent Nature

And without needing any pull quotes, you can imagine this is the type of film to pay homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. TCM has the kind of impact where it can influence someone who isn’t even familiar with Tobe Hooper’s work.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre / In A Violent Nature

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre / In A Violent Nature

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre / In A Violent Nature

But what drew me to this films were the homages to the likes of non-horror/thriller directors like Van Sant, Clarke, and Malick…

Well, I came to the idea just inspired a lot by Gus Van Sant's trilogy, of GERRY, ELEPHANT, and LAST DAYS. I just love those films - Chris Nash, dreadcentral

Last Days / In A Violent Nature

Elephant / In A Violent Nature

Gerry / In A Violent Nature

Because Gus Van Sant's Gerry/Elephant/Last Days trilogy was inspired by Bela Tarr, Nash was sort of indirectly influenced by Tarr as well...

Satantango / In A Violent Nature

Werckmeister Harmonies/ In A Violent Nature

So just, especially the Van Sant films, focusing so much on the nature or the environment of where the characters are and how they're interacting and where they’re walking through - Chris Nah, Nofilmschool.com

The Sea Of Trees / In A Violent Nature

I thought this would be a pretty cool approach to just follow the slasher around and just treat it like one of those Van Sant films - Chris Nash, Nofilmschool.com

Paranoid Park / In A Violent Nature

The other directors we looked at were, yes, Malick - Chris Nash, thirdcoastreview.com

The Tree Of Life / In A Violent Nature

The Tree Of Life / In A Violent Nature

The Tree Of Life / In A Violent Nature

The Tree Of Life / In A Violent Nature

Badlands / In A Violent Nature

Badlands / In A Violent Nature

The Tree Of Life / In A Violent Nature

They showed me Gerald Kargl's 'Angst' and Alan Clarke's Elephant, just to give me an idea of what the feel was going to be - Ry Barrett, Indiewire

Angst / In A Violent Nature

Angst / In A Violent Nature

Angst / In A Violent Nature

Angst / In A Violent Nature

Elephant / In A Violent Nature

Angst went on to influence Gaspar Noe’s work so it’s not off-base that Nash would also find inspiration from other films from the school of Angst…

For me, I was thinking of Irréversible too, just the way the viewer is an onlooker for the whole thing - Ry Barrett, Indiewire

Irreversible / In A Violent Nature

Irreversible / In A Violent Nature

I haven't found any hard evidence of Nash being influenced by the likes of James Benning or the Dardennes but his film definitely invokes their work on a surface level as well...

13 Lakes / In A Violent Nature

Rosetta / In A Violent Nature