Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma takes pains to deliver a slasher fan’s dream

So the designers essentially winged it, scouring old film books and blogs for any kind of direction. To create the otherworldly shots, they painted ethereal backdrops on glass, leaving some parts of the canvas blank so the actors could be positioned to appear as if they were walking through them. The process was anxiety-inducing, the designers said, since they wouldn’t know whether it would work until the director lined up the glass with the camera lens and the actors moved through the empty spaces. But the attention to detail paid off, allowing the designers to be much more playful with the scene art. For moviegoers, it’s a reason to lean in close to the screen rather than duck for cover from the next jump scare. While inspired by psychosexual slashers, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is ultimately about exploring every angle of humanity’s irresistible urge to spook and be spooked—anyone who’s ever shouted “Boo!” in a giggling baby’s face can understand. And that’s clear from the moment Kris gets to Billy’s home in the abandoned camp set.