We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, 2022.
Written and Directed by Jane Schoenbrun.
Starring Anna Cobb, Michael J Rogers, May Leitz, Theo Anthony, Evan Santiago, Turner Greaves, Holly Anne Frink, Slight Sounds ASMR, Marc Santiago, Karen Cavanaugh, David Buzen, Ilan Barnoon, and Carlos Zozaya.
SYNOPSIS:
Alone in her attic bedroom, teenager Casey becomes immersed in an online role-playing horror game, wherein she begins to document the changes that may or may not be happening to her.
Late at night, inside her glow-in-the-dark attic bedroom, Casey (an undeniably striking acting debut from Anna Cobb) decides she’s going to the titular World’s Fair. It’s described as horror LARPing, with Casey mentioning she loves scary movies and has always wanted to live one out. Those who enter the World’s Fair also start to take on general creepy and disturbing personality changes. There’s a guy that seems to no longer feel physical pain, a woman under the impression she is a plastic doll, and in one of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair most uneasy segments, a body horror moment involving a man extracting amusement park tickets from inside his skin that also appear to be covered in moss.
What’s instantaneously compelling here is the combination of endless loneliness (the opening credits take a minute or two to give an idea of how desolate and empty this town is) all over Casey’s body language and the Creepy-pasta reminiscent intrigue coming from the details of this online game. To Casey, it’s a weirdly fascinating coping mechanism for that loneliness, but to us, it feels like a recognition that real life is so dull that one will hand over whatever is left to a digital space. It could also be taken as a parallel for behavioral changes the further one centers their identity around online interactions, detaching themselves from reality. There’s not much traditional horror within We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, but it is terrifying to ponder and acknowledge what kind of damage leading an extremely online life can do to a person.
Following Casey taking the challenge (as bizarre a ritual as everything else here, involving some finger-pricking and flashing lights), she sets out to observe whatever changes occur within her personality, which is also a form of role-playing. Across this, some gaps are subtly filled in, such as the loss of a loving mother and currently having no familial bonds (her father is rarely around, and whenever he is, he scolds her for making noise at night). A line also begins to blur regarding performance art for the game and what speaks to legitimately crumbling mental health (At one point, she talks about what it would be like to kill her father with a shotgun she comes across early in the movie).
Throughout all this, she is contacted by an unknown older man also a part of the game (a similarly devastating performance from Michael J. Rogers), who notices that Casey’s reactions to the game are different and that she may genuinely require help. They share Skype conversations, somewhat uncomfortably developing a friendship. However, writer and director Jane Schoenbrun doesn’t necessarily take this dynamic in the apparent trajectory that could come across as cheap storytelling in this instance. These characters are hurting, wearing pain and depression all over their facial expressions. It can take a bit more digging and re-watching key scenes to grasp better this outsider (who also has someone occasionally walking around his house in the background, credited as “????,” adding to the mystery).
Admittedly, sometimes We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is too slow-paced or spends too much time on one scene making a point, and some of its connective tissue doesn’t feel organic, but it is mainly hypnotic due to Anna Cobb’s measured performance. There is a point in the movie where Casey is singing a made-up catchy song, breaking out into hysterical screaming during the middle of the lyrics, promptly returning to normal. It’s a challenging scene that’s nailed with a precision that makes one eager to see what an actor does next. The same applies to Jane Schoenbrun, who offers much to dissect before following up this transfixing debut, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
