Film #28 — 3/3 Wildcard Films
By C. Ramsay
Jane Schoenbrun has a knack for capturing such a specific melancholic type of nostalgia in their films, with World’s Fair ramping it up uncomfortably high. Centered on a teenager named Casey, we quickly learn she spends most of her time in isolation in her attic bedroom with no friends to really speak of and a neglectful father who seems to find her presence a frustration. Like many kids who have found themselves in the same circumstances, Casey turns to seeking community through unsupervised Internet access, diving too deep into niche rabbit holes of horror-based subcultures and exacerbating untreated mental health struggles in the process. After taking part in the initiation process of the “World’s Fair Challenge,” we stay with Casey as she lives day by day, continuing to record videos of herself possibly experiencing post-initiation changes, and striking up a relationship with another World’s Fair participant who goes by “JLB” and happens to be a middle-aged man.
There is such a deep sadness surrounding Casey. Her depression and loneliness are palpable to viewers, especially those who can relate more explicitly to the specifics of her experiences, but all of it is rooted in empathy. The film also capitalizes on more deeply immersing the viewer through exploiting what can be accomplished via multi-sensory experiences, and the format of including videos within videos makes the audience feel involved through the sense that we’re accessing videos of Casey the way she is of others.
The set decoration is beautiful and requires more than one watch to catch all the background details, which provide a lot of extra context for characterization. Casey’s room, the main set in the film, is most vibrant in the darkness, perhaps metaphorical for the current state of her personality. Her brand of uniqueness is visually evident, and it’s upsetting to realize almost immediately that her room is a space she uses to shrink away from others rather than a space she feels comfortable inviting people into. Her decor is meant for familiarity and comfort for herself, not to be expressive to friends and family.
Though many people seem to argue this is not a horror film, its horror is relative to the experiences of the viewer. What adds to the scariness is the efficacy of the precise combination of unexpected, inexplicable, and simple visuals. There’s one shot in this film in particular that is absolutely terrifying, and though it might be inconsequential to some, for the right people it will be nightmare-inducing. Schoenbrun’s specialty is in crafting a series of little horrors that compile into a whole that’s indescribably disturbing, and that won’t release a subset of its audience easily. For those who relate to Casey on a personal level that goes beyond empathy, the sadness conveyed feels like the soreness of scar tissue irritated under the right circumstances. The first step in getting Casey the help she needs would be to pop the bubble of isolation that her online activities intensify, something that could so easily be accomplished through any sort of communication, care, friendship, and parenting from a source outside of other World’s Fair participants. Where she’s failed, entrenching herself more deeply in her struggles as time goes on, is that she has absolutely nobody willing to give that to her.
Star rating (/5): ★★★★½
Recommend?: Yes