We're All Going To The World's Fair (2021)

The main thing to bear in mind when you start watching We’re All Going To The World’s Fair is that it may well not be the film you want it to be. That isn’t the fault of the film, especially when some people have been discussing it in horror genre terms. There are ways in which this could be viewed as an interesting, and experimental, horror movie, but there are so many other ways in which this isn’t a horror movie, at least not in the traditional sense.

Anna Cobb plays Casey, the lead character, a young woman who wants to join in with people who have been attempting to play a game entitled “We’re All Going To The World’s Fair”. The game seems to be a gateway to a world of creeping madness and unnerving horrors, but things start to change slowly and insidiously. Recording herself, attempting to show any transformation, Casey connects online with someone named JLB (Michael J Rogers), someone with knowledge of the game and a serious concern for her well-being.

Written and directed by Jane Schoenburn, it’s unsurprising to find that this film really homes in on subtle changes and a growing discomfort that the central character keeps trying to process. Showing herself to the world, via her computer, allows others to observe and comment, perhaps viewing her very different from how she views herself. Schoenburn is a trans woman, and she has impressively packaged the experience of confusion, determination, and transition into a thought-provoking work of art.

Having said that, unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan. Although it works in some ways, particularly when you mull it over after it is all over, I didn’t think that it worked, crucially, in the moment. Disjointed scenes are slammed together without any real narrative flow, and the more impressive moments of strangeness are offset by the moments that just deliver a few minutes of tedium.

Cobb is very good in the main role. She is the focus of  nearly every scene, even when she isn’t actually there, and she certainly has a great presence that helps the movie a lot, making it more bearable than it otherwise would be. Rogers has a much smaller role, and he does okay, but it is a shame that his character is left to tie up some loose ends as things wind down towards the very end.

I am not sure what I would have preferred here, whether it would be improved as a more straightforward drama or a more overt horror, but I think that We’re All Going To The World’s Fair really suffers from trying to be an unsatisfying blend of different film styles. Some people could have made this work, but Schoenburn cannot manage it. Moving forward though, I wouldn’t be averse to see her next film being a remake, reworking, or continuation of this material.

A lot of people really enjoyed this, and there is good stuff to unpack. It just didn’t work for me. It’s a love or hate kind of film that I didn’t love.

3/10

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