There are effectively no jump scares in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. While the film draws heavily from classic horror and 1980s slasher movies, it is far more interested in surrealist imagery, some absurd humor, and meta commentary on the genre than in delivering conventional scares. The movie does feature plenty of blood and some schlocky, gnarly kills, but these moments tend to feel more like exaggerated homages to old-school slashers than attempts to make the audience jump out of their seats.
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In fact, the movie openly acknowledges its lack of jump scares at one point when Hannah Einbinder’s character, Kris, breaks the fourth wall and says, “I feel like there should be a jump scare here.” The moment perfectly captures the film’s approach to horror. Rather than following the expected rules of the genre, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma recognizes those conventions and plays around with them. Even when a scene seems like it is building toward a traditional scare, the movie is often more interested in subverting the expectation than actually delivering one.
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There are certainly elements of horror throughout the film, particularly in its ’80s slasher influences and deliberately over-the-top violence. However, the overall experience can feel surprisingly relaxed and playful, with stretches that might resemble a stoner hangout movie as much as a traditional horror film. For modern horror fans wondering if they need to worry about sudden scares, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is about as far from The Conjuring or Insidious as you can get. The film uses the imagery and language of horror, but jump scares are essentially not part of its toolkit.
