My quick rating – 4.5/10. I Saw the TV Glow is one of those movies that promises a hypnotic, mind-bending experience yet I was just staring at the screen, wondering, “Wait, that’s it?” The poster glows with promise, and to its credit, the movie does draw you in with an intriguing setup and some great atmosphere. But when the credits roll, I was left feeling like I had watched someone else’s dream that forgot to end properly.
At its core, it’s a coming-of-age story with a supernatural twist. Teenager Owen (Justice Smith) delivers a solid performance filled with awkward innocence as he drifts through the monotony of suburban life. Things get weird when his classmate Maddy (Jack Haven, perfectly channeling goth-curiosity energy) introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show. Soon, reality and fiction start blending, and Owen begins to question what’s real—and what’s just reruns of his own confusion.
Visually, the movie nails the vibe. The eerie television glow, the VHS-style production design, and that nostalgic static all work together to create a moody, almost dreamlike atmosphere. If this were a short film or an extended music video, it might have been brilliant. But as a feature, it drags like dial-up internet.
And then there’s the horror, if you can call it that. The scares are practically on vacation, and the tension dissolves faster than a TikTok trend. What could’ve been a haunting psychological descent ends up as a shallow pool of metaphors about identity, loneliness, and obsession that the film insists on spelling out for you in neon letters.
The symbolism is so overworked it practically waves at you. Every glance, every light flicker, every awkward silence screams “meaning!”—but instead of subtlety, it just feels like the film is trying too hard to be profound. The acting doesn’t help much, either; while everyone gives an earnest effort, emotional depth is replaced by long stares and mumbled lines that never quite land.
It’s frustrating, because I Saw the TV Glow looks great and clearly has something to say, but it never figures out how to say it. It’s like watching a beautifully shot dream sequence that refuses to wake up. The coming-of-age thread earns most of its points, but the horror elements are DOA.
In the end, I Saw the TV Glow is more style than substance—a surreal mood piece that mistakes ambiguity for depth. It’ll lure you in with its neon nostalgia and promise of psychological horror, only to leave you feeling emotionally ghosted. That is how I felt, but hey, when Fred Durst shows up, you gotta “get your hands up.”
