2024 has been an inconsistent year for Hollywood. While it has yielded nowhere near the flops that the year before did, blockbuster successes like Dune: Part Two and Deadpool & Wolverine have been few and far between.
Streaming has continued to absorb the mid-tier dramas and genre films that would have been sleeper hits in a different era. I Saw the TV Glow saw a limited theatrical release in the United States, but by and large, the film failed to connect with a mainstream audience. Fortunately, the film is now streaming on Max. And you need to see it if you haven't already.
I Saw the TV Glow is currently streaming
I Saw the TV Glow is a fascinating psychological horror film about high school students who become obsessed with their favorite childhood TV shows. By giving themselves over more and more to their shows of choice, the teens gradually lose their connection with reality.
It may sound schlocky on a certain level, and there's definitely a Blumhouse version of this premise that is, but writer/director Jane Schoenbrun offers up a sensitive, nuanced, and consequently more frightening telling.
There's a small budget charm to the film that's undeniable, but that's not to say I Saw the TV Glow needs to be graded on a curve. The visual flair that Schoenbrun and cinematographer Eric K. Yue bring to the table in inspired, as are the lead performances by Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine.
The film is the second in a planned trilogy
Much has been made about the themes of I Saw the TV Glow, with many critics pointing out its effective as a transgender allegory. It works beautifully on that level, while at the same time working as a genre piece and middle chapter in Schoenbrun's planned Screen Trilogy.
The first film in the trilogy, We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021), is also available to stream on Max. If you feel so emboldened, we suggest you line it up with I Saw the TV Glow as a mind-altering double feature.