I Saw the TV Glow (USA, 2024)

I started this month off with Jane Schoenbrun’s debut feature, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. Not only had I been wanting to catch up with, but I thought it might be fun to bookend the month’s reviews with their second film. So here we are.

The trailers for I Saw the TV Glow made it look like an interesting take on the analogue horror subgenre. After playing a short campaign of Jason Cordova’s marvellous Public Access tabletop RPG last year, I was hoping this might give me a similar kick. I Saw the TV Glow turned out to be something quite different than what I was expecting, however. It also may be my favourite film of the month.

I Saw the TV Glow is currently available for digital rental in the UK.

Synopsis

Owen is a socially awkward teenager with a troubled home life. When he sees Maddy, a girl at his high school, reading an episode guide for a TV show called The Pink Opaque, Owen hesitantly asks her about it. She explains that it is a teen supernatural drama about two girls who use their psychic connection to fight monstrous threats, masterminded by the sinister Mr Melancholy.

Maddy and Owen strike up an unlikely friendship, with Owen sneaking out to watch episodes of The Pink Opaque at Maddy’s house. The show airs late at night, and Owen’s domineering father refuses to let him stay up for it, needling Owen that it’s a show for girls. These secret visits go on for two years, until Maddy runs away from home to escape her abusive stepfather. She asks Owen to go with her, saying they can create new lives for themselves elsewhere, but Owen is too afraid. Shortly afterwards, The Pink Opaque is cancelled.

Many years later, Maddy reappears in Owen’s life, sharing bizarre revelations about The Pink Opaque. Was it just a TV show or something far stranger? Is Owen really who he thinks he is? And does he have the courage to follow his friend into the unknown this time?

General Thoughts

I tend to make copious notes while reviewing films so I can capture my thoughts before they flit away. My notes while watching I Saw the TV Glow are sparse, simply because I was so caught up in the story that I forgot to write anything down. This hasn’t happened with any other film this month.

There is such a deep implied history to The Pink Opaque that it feels like a real TV show. It’s similar to the trick Schoenbrun pulled in their last film, providing just enough detail about the World’s Fair challenge for the audience to bring it to life in their imaginations. The bits of the show we see absolutely capture the ’90s nostalgia vibe Schoenbrun is aiming for.

Music is a huge part of this film, especially in the scene where the adult Maddy takes Owen to a bar to share revelations about The Pink Opaque. There are live bands playing, and Schoenbrun uses this as an excuse to pretty much make music videos for a couple of their favourite artists. While the songs were fine, stepping away from the narrative at such a crucial point felt like a needless distraction. This doesn’t ruin the film at all, but it was the only part I didn’t like.

Verdict

I Saw the TV Glow is far from the scariest thing I watched in October, and I could come up with arguments for not even calling it horror, but I am still happy to name it my film of the month. It is a beautiful, weird, and harrowing piece of work. The presentation is hypnotic, drawing us in with its rich colours, dreamy music, and weird designs. This is just the candy coating around a far darker centre, however.

The emotional impact of any film is obviously a subjective thing. I suspect this will be even more the case with I Saw the TV Glow, however. What starts off as a fairly gentle tale of two teenage misfits bonding over a TV show turns into a devastating exploration of how we can be destroyed by pretending we are something we are not. It is quite openly an allegory for the experiences a lot of transgender people go through, but I believe it applies to anyone who has questioned their identity in any way. I still wonder whether cisgender people will find this as devastating a film as trans people do.

The conclusion of I Saw the TV Glow is strange and uncomfortable. I had to sit quietly and let the pieces come together in my head before the full impact hit me. At first blush, it feels inconclusive, but it is anything but that. This is an ending that will haunt me for some time.

So, yes, my strongest possible recommendation for I Saw the TV Glow. If you enjoy the weirder end of horror, or just want to have your emotions ravaged for 90 minutes, you should make a point of tuning in.

The October Horror Movie Challenge

Please do join in and share your own thoughts with us about this or any other films as the month goes on. You can usually find us on Twitter, BlueSky, Reddit, Discord, or lurking in the dark corners of your home.

If you would like to play along at home, my provisional selections are:

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (USA, 2021)
Tales That Witness Madness (UK, 1973)
When Evil Lurks (Argentina, 2023)
Under Paris (France, 2024)
In a Violent Nature (Canada, 2024)
Torso (Italy, 1973)
Titane (France, 2021)
Rorschach (USA, 2015)
The Coffee Table (Spain, 2024)
Dr Caligari (USA, 1989)
Bit (USA, 2020)
The Guard From Underground (Japan, 1992)
Oddity (Ireland, 2024)
Speak No Evil (Denmark/Netherlands, 2022)
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (USA, 1982)
Grave Torture (Indonesia, 2024)
Bedlam (USA, 1946)
The Innsmouth School For Girls (USA, 2023)
Daddy’s Head (UK, 2024)
All You Need Is Death (Ireland, 2024)
Eight Eyes (USA/Serbia, 2021)
Poor Things (Ireland/UK/USA, 2023)
Seven Deaths in the Cat’s Eye (Italy, 1973)
Longlegs (USA, 2024)
Night of Fear (Australia, 1973)
Stopmotion (UK, 2024)
Terrifier (USA, 2016)
Azrael (USA, 2024)
Faust (Germany, 1926)
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (Hong Kong, 1991)
I Saw the TV Glow (USA, 2024)

A Final Note

If you have been enticed here by these posts, please do look around at some of our other film reviews. We also have a podcast, called The Good Friends of Jackson Elias, which occasionally covers horror films. If this appeals, you might want to check out some of the following episodes.