If you are looking for a movie that will explain everything to you, I Saw the TV Glow, now in theaters, is not that movie. The film, from writer-director Jane Schoenbrun, is effective because it keeps its characters—and the audience—from being certain where fantasy ends and reality begins.
The film is a follow-up to their 2021 psychological horror movie We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. That movie used vlogging culture and online challenges to explore loneliness, identity, and the power of screens.