In a small town, a shy and isolated teenage girl becomes immersed in an online role-playing game.
Casey (Anna Cobb) is sitting at her desk in an attic that’s been converted into a bedroom. Its ceilings are covered in glow in the dark stars. After eating a package of string cheese, she logs on to her steaming channel and states, “I’m ready to take the World’s Fair challenge.” Wielding the sharp end of a safety pin attached to a holographic button, she pricks her finger and smears blood on the monitor, and the game begins. All of this is shot in an unbroken take on a webcam, capturing an array of magnificent colors and pulsing strobe lights bouncing off her face.
Speaking from experience, I briefly lived in a small town where the only attractions were mountains, strip malls, and some quiet Main Streets. These limited options can make a teenager feel stifled. Casey’s school is closed for winter break, her parents are absent, and the feeling of loneliness mixed with a lack of supervision causes an obsession over the mysterious game.
After feeling a bit off, Casey researches “the world’s fair symptoms,” which results in a series of testimonials by previous gamers revealing bizarre side effects. In one disturbing video, a man claims he’s unable to feel his body and films himself endlessly running on a treadmill slapping himself over and over to no effect.
Later that night with a lantern in hand, Casey heads across her snowy yard towards a locked garage. Carefully entering the combination she enters and unzips a camouflaged case containing a large assault rifle. After watching a recording of herself, made to help her fall asleep, she wakes up to a startling message. The screen projector displays “you are in trouble” over a picture of her face which distorts into a haunting image. The messenger introduces himself as JLB (Michael J. Rogers) and offers to help her safely finish the game. They begin to chat over Skype but he hides his identity under a crudely drawn avatar that’s part troll/face part nightmare. Their unclear motives kept me intrigued throughout.
Anna Cobb’s debut role is impressive for such a young actor. Appearing in nearly every frame, her presence holds the fractured narrative together. Casting agents should take notice, this is a performer to keep in mind.
The score by Alex G. teeters between shoe-gaze and dreamy electronica with jangling guitar melodies, indiscernible lyrics, and expansive soundscapes, I can’t wait for the album to be released, there are quite a few enjoyable tracks.
Written, edited, and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, the screenplay was inspired by her youth spent writing horror stories and engaging with strangers on AOL instant messenger. It made me recall my younger days stumbling upon random chat rooms and the occasional ensuing private conversations with anonymous users. Living online can be a welcome escape but generational paranoia can lead to horror.
Schoenbrun jettisons standard cameras, opting instead for the use of iPhones and webcams, utilizing long takes and stagnant angles that surprisingly cast tension and confusion within shifting aspect ratios. At times, she seems to draw some visual inspiration from Cronenberg and Japanese horror films from the late ’90s and early 2000s. Themes of confronting identity and artistic expression are blatantly explored but still effective. Even though the third act gets a bit cryptic, I’m looking forward to more from this creative filmmaker.
“We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, January 31st
