Things were easier back in my day.  It used to be all one had to do to get dismembered was to say “Bloody Mary” in a bathroom mirror three times and turn the lights off and on. 

But that’s not good enough for these kids nowadays.  They have to do all kinds of shit online to meet a Slender Man.  Or they have to go to a certain website, say “I want to go to the world’s fair” three times, prick their finger and smear the blood on the monitor.  And that’s just the beginning of what they have to do.  No wonder the youth of today think they don’t get enough respect from those older than them.

Anywho, now you basically know the premise of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, a low, low budget mumblecore horror film that has divided audiences largely into two vocal extremes.  I have seen many reviews claiming the movie is brilliant, and many others saying the exact opposite.

Now having seen it, I don’t think World’s Fair warrants either hyperbole.  What it boils down to is a young woman who may have emotional issues begins the World’s Fair challenge, though we don’t know what that involves.  There are hints it unleashes a curse that will end in either suicide or murder.  Simply put, aside from the initiation ceremony, we’re not told the rules of the game.

Much of what we do see is through various short web videos.  I suspect these are the work of the filmmaker’s friends, and we’re essentially watching a compilation of their work in the guise of a feature film.  Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but the approach feels lazy.

There are only two characters in this movie, with Anna Cobb doing the heavy lifting.  I thought her performance was alright, but it is hard to judge when the bar is set pretty low.  For the overwhelming majority of the picture, we see her only as she presents herself on her web videos.  So, she’s convincing as a teenager doing web videos but that…well, it isn’t much of a stretch, is it?

The opening credits introduce her as “Anna Cobb in her feature film debut”.  I have never seen such a credit before and its odd how it raised my hackles.  Is this a suggestion we should be more generous in our assessment of her performance, as this is her first time in a movie?  Carrying that logic one step further, does that mean they think her acting is bad?

I’ll admit I didn’t foresee the ending, though it is highly ambiguous.  There will be a second character introduced roughly halfway through the picture, and there will be an unexpected shift to their perspective.  In the end, this character delivers a long monologue which is as likely to be true as not.  I accepted this lack of closure, though I can see how it will annoy others.

I think it’s funny how much trouble people in Worlds Fair go through to intentionally begin a horrific experience.  Watching the film, on the other hand, isn’t terrifying.  In fact, it isn’t much of anything.  Really, one could have a better time with just a bathroom mirror and an overactive imagination.

Dir: Jane Schoenbrun

Starring: Anna Cobb, Michael J. Rogers

Watched on Shudder