WE'RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD'S FAIR

The coming-of-age genre is one that is really hard to stand out in, the past decade featuring a number of high quality films that tell compelling stories while sometimes blending with other genres. We're All Going to the World's Fair is one that blends with horror to try and unsettle its audience, whether it works is another thing all together. 

Alone in her attic bedroom, teenager Casey (Anna Cobb) becomes immersed in an online role-playing horror game, wherein she begins to document the changes that may or may not be happening to her.

This is a really interesting film from Jane Schoenbrun, the idea of obsession coming to the fore as Casey finally plucks up the courage to take part in the online game. Utilising the shots from within Casey's computer, Schoenbrun openly brings the audiences into her subject's world, a small room for a girl with a seemingly big imagination. It really does feel like a horror version of Eighth Grade, as if that film didn't depict horrors itself mind. 

Sadly, as much as the approach from Schoenbrun is to be admired, she doesn't do enough with it to make We're All Going to the World's Fair live long in the memory. The film actually ends up feeling far too long when you consider it's less than ninety-minutes and there's not enough going on to provide any real scares or atmosphere.

It's Anna Cobb who truly makes the film as she carries it on her shoulders for the majority of the runtime. The further the film goes on, the more her performance slowly manages to unnerve the audience. Cobb is one to look out for in the future that's for sure. 

We're All Going to the World's Fair may not set the world alight by any means yet it is certainly watchable for Cobb's performance and Schoenbrun's potential as a filmmaker alone.

Verdict: ★★½