A24 and We’re All Going to the World’s Fair director Jane Schoenbrun teamed up for a horror movie called I Saw the TV Glow, which received a theatrical release in May and is now available to watch at home (you can check it out HERE). JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray had the chance to see at the Sundance Film Festival at the start of this year and he wasn’t particularly impressed by it at the time; you can read his 5/10 review at THIS LINK. Someone who was impressed by the film was legendary director and cinematic gatekeeper Martin Scorsese, who recommended I Saw the TV Glow while speaking with the Associated Press.
Written and directed by Schoenbrun, I Saw the TV Glow tells the story of two teenage outcasts who bond over their shared love of a scary television show. However, the boundary between TV and reality begins to blur after it is mysteriously canceled.
Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Dominion) and Brigette Lundy-Paine (Bill & Ted Face the Music) play the teenage outcasts and are joined in the cast by Helena Howard (The Wilds), Danielle Deadwyler (The Harder They Fall), Amber Benson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Ian Foreman (The Holiday Switch), Michael C. Maronna (The Adventures of Pete & Pete), Conner O’Malley (Palm Springs), Emma Portner (Ghostbusters: Afterlife), and Danny Tamberelli (also of The Adventures of Pete & Pete).
I Saw the TV Glow was produced by Emma Stone through her company Fruit Tree, along with her Fruit Tree partners Dave McCary and Ali Herting. Sam Intili and Smudge Films’ Sarah Winshall produced as well. A24 handled the financing and the worldwide distribution.
Bumbray said in his review that the film is “so experimental that it feels like a half-baked attempt at a genre version of Inland Empire-era David Lynch.” Which, I have to admit, definitely lowered my interest in this one.
When asked if he has watched anything that he liked recently, Scorsese told the Associated Press, “Some older ones I’ve been watching. There was one film I liked a great deal I saw two weeks ago called I Saw the TV Glow. It really was emotionally and psychologically powerful and very moving. It builds on you, in a way. I didn’t know who made it. It’s this Jane Schoenbrun.” As for the older movies he mentioned, “People should see A Face in the Crowd over and over again. I think that’d be important.“
Will you be taking Martin Scorsese’s recommendation and watching I Saw the TV Glow? Let us know by leaving a comment below.