Film Review: 'We're All Going to the World's Fair' Is an Intimate Coming-of-Age Horror Story

Director Jane Schoenbrun's latest feature, "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma," is currently performing well in theaters, prompting a critic to revisit the filmmaker's debut, "We're All Going to the World's Fair," first seen at Sundance in 2021.

The film follows Casey, a teenage girl who takes part in the "World's Fair Challenge," an online ritual blending elements of alternate reality games, creepypasta storytelling, and viral internet challenges. The ritual involves reciting a mantra and drawing blood, performed alone by Casey in her room while staring directly into her webcam.

A coming-of-age tale without sexualization

Participants in the challenge are meant to undergo strange changes afterward — from body parts supposedly turning to plastic to other unsettling transformations. The critic notes that at its core, the film is a coming-of-age story about a lonely girl: Casey is never shown interacting with peers her own age, and her father is heard yelling but never actually seen on screen. Unlike many other coming-of-age films, this one avoids sexualizing its young protagonist, instead focusing on her search for belonging in an online world.

The only other character with significant screen time is JLB, a lonely middle-aged man who insists Casey is in danger. His relationship with Casey adds an unsettling layer to the film, and while never stated outright, the narrative implies JLB may be attempting to groom the vulnerable teenager.

The critic acknowledges the film may not reach the surreal or campy heights of the director's other work, but describes it as a rare original entry in indie cinema that uses body horror tropes in fresh and interesting ways. "We're All Going to the World's Fair" is currently available to stream on Criterion Channel, Kanopy, and Hoopla.