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We're All Going to the World's Fair

Play trailer 1:53 Poster for We're All Going to the World's Fair Released Apr 15, 2022 1h 26m Horror Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
91% Tomatometer 123 Reviews 28% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Late on a cold night somewhere in the U.S., teenage Casey (Anna Cobb in her feature debut) sits alone in her attic bedroom, scrolling the internet under the glow-in-the-dark stars and black-light posters that blanket the ceiling. She has finally decided to take the World's Fair Challenge, an online role-playing horror game, and embrace the uncertainty it promises. After the initiation, she documents the changes that may or may not be happening to her, adding her experiences to the shuffle of online clips available for the world to see. As she begins to lose herself between dream and reality, a mysterious figure reaches out, claiming to see something special in her uploads.
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We're All Going to the World's Fair

We're All Going to the World's Fair

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Critics Consensus

Narratively challenging and visually haunting, We're All Going to the World's Fair adds a uniquely ambitious and unsettling entry to the crowded coming-of-age genre.

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Critics Reviews

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Christina Newland iNews.co.uk Jane Schoenbrun’s debut is a brilliantly eerie study of a lonely teenager who takes part in a viral challenge. Rated: 4/5 Sep 18, 2024 Full Review Ty Burr Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack) I feel like I absorbed "We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” at a subcutaneous level and will be feeling its effects for some time to come. Rated: 3/4 Dec 9, 2022 Full Review Tom Shone The Times (UK) It’s thinly sketched and a bit too arty, but Cobb, in her first feature, is harrowing. Rated: 3/5 Aug 24, 2022 Full Review William Stottor Flick Feast For the most part, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is a suitably creepy journey with some memorable imagery, and by the end it warps into something beautiful about acceptance, both of oneself and of others. Rated: 3/5 Sep 3, 2024 Full Review Daniel Allen Loud and Clear Reviews We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is an effective and disturbing horror film. With their DIY digital style, Jane Schoenbrun creates a film that is deliberately paced and unsettling in equal measure. Rated: 4/5 Jul 25, 2024 Full Review Carla Hay Culture Mix It’s not really a horror movie but more like a psychological drama about the effects of a mysterious online video challenge. Anna Cobb gives a compelling performance in this slow-paced movie. May 3, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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EMILY If you were into the creepypasta scene as a kid, it brings back a lot of elements of growing up in that world online. Its subtle in the best of ways while being genuinely scary at some points. Either way it's an interesting watch that brings you back to 2013 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/23/22 Full Review Mason M Ever since I watched Jane Schoenbrun's second film, I Saw the TV Glow, which I absolutely adored and became one of my favorite films ever, I've really been meaning to watch this film. Though I didn't expect all too much from this very quiet and independent film, it blew my expectations way out of the park and shot them all the way to a better park. We're All Going to the World's Fair was a surprisingly riveting and horrifying ambient film. Schoenbrun's filmmaking is surprisingly skilled for a newcomer. They always new exactly the right shot, exactly the right camera movements, and exactly the right cut to keep everything terrifying. And this film is terrifying. The perfectly slug-like pace builds an impressive amount of dread, and it kept me scared throughout literally any time something happened in a shot. The dancing scene may have been one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen. Also, growing up as a teenage guy in this era, I can say firsthand that this is probably the most accurate depiction of growing up in the modern day. The two leads were both incredible and Alex G's score was another highlight. But where Schoenbrun's genius shines through is that there's this sense of hope and appreciation for the suburban life it depicts underneath it all. Schoenbrun can see that beauty in the mundane, the color in our life that keeps us going along. To put it simply, We're All Going to the World's Fair is what all independent films are trying to be. It's terrifying in its simplicity, while also containing deep and interesting themes about isolation and growing up, and yet is also a fully accurate depiction of being a teenager in the modern day. I am lucky to be living in the same time as one of the best image composers and abstract storytellers ever, who has the potential to be one of the filmmaking greats. I'm looking forward to whatever they put out next. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/09/25 Full Review Keith H Horrible, no words to describe it. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 07/29/25 Full Review Lindsay B It started good. (I was excited) It could have been amazing. But it just wasn’t. It dies an extremely slow death After stumbling upon this movie I was hoping for another Donnie Darko, but the crash and burn is epic, making it a must see just for that fact. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/23/25 Full Review Adam B As far as horror goes, "We're All Going to the World's Fair" might be just what I've been looking for for years. A small scale character study about extreme teenage loneliness and depression, with few characters and a central protagonist that I can relate with regarding my experiences in life. Definitely not a must watch for the average horror fan, as it is fairly lacking in anything regarding action. Its rewatch value is also rather low. But if you enjoy the very strange and very ambiguous horror, this one should bring what you want. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/17/25 Full Review acsdoug D Oof, what a snoozer. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen. It never did. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/12/25 Full Review Read all reviews
We're All Going to the World's Fair

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Movie Info

Synopsis Late on a cold night somewhere in the U.S., teenage Casey (Anna Cobb in her feature debut) sits alone in her attic bedroom, scrolling the internet under the glow-in-the-dark stars and black-light posters that blanket the ceiling. She has finally decided to take the World's Fair Challenge, an online role-playing horror game, and embrace the uncertainty it promises. After the initiation, she documents the changes that may or may not be happening to her, adding her experiences to the shuffle of online clips available for the world to see. As she begins to lose herself between dream and reality, a mysterious figure reaches out, claiming to see something special in her uploads.
Director
Jane Schoenbrun
Producer
Sarah Winshall, Carlos Zozaya, Abby Harri
Screenwriter
Jane Schoenbrun
Distributor
Utopia
Production Co
Flies Collective, Dweck Productions
Genre
Horror, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 15, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 22, 2022
Box Office (Gross USA)
$45.0K
Runtime
1h 26m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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