A new highly acclaimed A24 horror movie seems eerily reminiscent of a chilling 15-year-old creepypasta story. Founded in 2012, A24 has been dominating the horror scene with some of the most creatively ambitious horror films, like Hereditary, The Lighthouse, Pearl, and Lamb, under its belt. Even in 2023, A24 continued its successful run when Danny and Michael Philippou’s Talk To Me not only earned rave reviews from viewers and critics but also became the distributor’s highest-grossing horror film.
Like most A24 horror movies, the distributor’s next outing in the genre is also generating a lot of hype because of its stunning visuals, creative premise, and optimistic reviews. Most details surrounding this new A24 horror project’s storyline are still under wraps. However, from what is known about it, the central idea of its plot reminds one of a popular creepypasta story.
Every A24 Movie Releasing In 2024
The industry’s leading production and distribution company A24 has several projects set to release in 2024. Which one will be the year’s next big hit?
A24’s I Saw The TV Glow’s Central Idea Is Similar To Candle Cove’s
A24’s new horror movie, I Saw the TV Glow, focuses on two teenagers, Owen and Maddy, who bond over their love for a supernatural television show. However, they soon start realizing that there is more to the show than meets the eye, revealing a supernatural world and leading Owen to question his reality. Although I Saw the TV Glow follows an original narrative, its storyline seems similar to a 15-year-old creepypasta story, Candle Cove.
The story focuses on a group of teens who connect over a forum, recalling how they often watched a children’s show called Candle Cove when they were younger. While their discussion initially focuses on the show’s fun character beats, they soon realize that it was not suitable for children when they delve into the details of its visuals. The story ends on a terrifying note when one person from the forum asks their mother about Candle Cove, who reveals that they would claim they were watching the show but sit and stare at dead static on the TV screen for 30 minutes.
I Saw The TV Glow Is Inspired By Jane Schoenbrun’s Obsession With Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Despite the similarities between Candle Cove and I Saw The TV Glow‘s central ideas, the A24 horror film is not based on the creepypasta story. As director Jane Schoenbrun revealed in an interview (via The Wrap), I Saw The TV Glow was inspired by their own obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Like them, I Saw the TV Glow‘s Owen and Maddy are obsessed with a Buffy-esque TV show because it offers them escapism from the real world. This explains why Brigette Lundy-Paine’s Maddy says, “Sometimes The Pink Opaque feels more real than real life,” in I Saw the TV Glow‘s trailer.
Trans and non-binary filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun also revealed that there is another layer to the characters’ fandom. They fall in love with the TV show because they are “not able to be present” and be themselves “in the real world.“ Schoenbrun associated the characters’ fandom with their own “queer experience of kind of looking for glimmers of a magic” that they thought could not exist in real life, art, and entertainment. This not only makes A24‘s I Saw The TV Glow much deeper than the creepypasta story but also a scintillating exploration of the LGBTQ+ horror subgenre.
I Saw the TV Glow
I Saw the TV Glow is a horror film by writer-director Jane Schoenbrun, released in 2024. A young man named Owen is introduced to a late-night TV show that reflects their reality. As the two begin to bond over the series, it suddenly is canceled, causing Owen’s view of reality to shatter.
- Director
- Jane Schoenbrun
- Release Date
- January 18, 2024
- Studio(s)
- Smudge Films , Fruit Tree
- Distributor(s)
- A24
- Writers
- Jane Schoenbrun
- Cast
- Justice Smith , Brigette Lundy-Paine , Danielle Deadwyler , Fred Durst , Helena Howard , Ian Foreman
- Runtime
- 100 Minutes
