The Babble Bruh Reviews

Came for an A24 Horror Thriller, stayed for the existential crisis experience.

I Saw The TV Glow is one of the newest A24 movies to come out in 2024, and it’s an experience for sure. Made by the lady who did We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, the trailer and ads sold this film as a horror thriller where some mysterious retro television show is causing people to disappear. The premise is cool and immediately reminded me of Candle Cove. For the uninitiated, Candle Cove is a pretty old copypasta story about a fictional kids’ show. A group of people can remember it vaguely from their youth, but when they look into it, they can’t find any proof that it exists. As they dig further into the mystery, chaos and some cool monster stuff happens. It’s totally worth a read and made my excitement for this movie peak.

So you’d find me surprised when I discovered this movie is not really a horror movie at all—well, not in the sense of monsters and evil television shows. It’s more of a slice-of-life movie about being your true self and the toll that can be taken on you physically and mentally when you don’t accept it. The plot centers around two teenagers bonding over a show called The Pink Opaque, a very tongue-in-cheek reference to old “monster of the week” shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The two teens watch their weekly episodes together, and the plot follows them as they each grow up and eventually separate from each other. Years later, when they meet back up and talk about their childhood, one of the characters mentions the show and asks, “What do you remember about that show exactly… did anything seem off to you?” and chaos ensues.

To avoid spoilers, I won’t go into exactly what happens, but what I will tell you is the movie is really weird and engaging in a cool way. For the majority of the experience, you’ll be wondering what’s real and what’s actually happening, and that feeling of pure unknowing really kept me interested. Again, the movie is not horror in the sense of monster jump scares or super scary imagery (for the most part—there is one scene with a moon man that you’re just going to have to see). The best way I could explain it is existential life dread, which, depending on the day and your sanity levels, could be the best type of horror. If you’ve ever seen this director’s last movie, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, you’ll get very similar vibes.

All in all, if you’re looking for a well-shot movie with some chill music to make you question what you’re doing with your life, then I’d recommend I Saw The TV Glow with a solid 7/10. The soundtrack has some bangers also.