Film Review - We're All Going To The World Fair (2021)

Film Review – We’re All Going To The World Fair (2021)

Loneliness is the key, alongside an early but slow building sense of dread for teen, Casey (Anna Cobb) upon participating in an online horror enigma challenge, then documenting any changes that may be happening to her along the way to the digital facade, World’s Fair.

Spending huge amounts of time at all hours on the internet is what Casey does, usually within the confides of her attic bedroom watching weird activities or hearing unique stories of other World’s Fair contestants.

One particular faceless ‘friend’ chats with her on a regular basis, JLB (Michael J. Rogers) however, his motivation is questioned.

There’s a lot of staring at screens or watching Casey stare at screens, we also see Casey sleep, providing one impactful freeze frame. Mostly, it’s all just a boring endeavour, for me anyway.

Uncomfortable moments throughout are somewhat effective, including glimpses of simple body horror illusions such as stabbing a finger constantly with a pin or pulling admission tickets out of an arm. These bizarre David Lynch style sequences are too sparse but effort and solid creativity by director, Jane Schoenbrun, is decisive.

I look forward to future projects by Jane. Low-fi imagery is one of the most significant ideals elevating the film.

Newcomer, Anna Cobb is instinctive and grounded in realism, a stirring debut as Casey. It is a hard movie to fully enjoy, I did find myself thinking about it long after so that’s a win for filmmakers.

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