Defined by its haunting atmosphere and ’90s nostalgia, I Saw the TV Glow has viewers wondering where the A24 movie was filmed. Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair), I Saw the TV Glow centers on teenagers Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine), outsiders who bond over their love of a cult classic supernatural TV series, The Pink Opaque. As they navigate the crushing conformity of suburbia, Owen and Maddy find refuge in the weekly stories of The Pink Opaque and its psychically connected leads, Isabel (Helena Howard) and Tara (Lindsey Jordan).
Although I Saw the TV Glow‘s cast of characters is slight, Owen and Maddy’s stories carry huge emotional weight. On the surface, the movie might be about the two teens’ pop-cultural obsession, but, through the TV series, they are able to understand their identities and queerness. With a searing-yet-hopeful ending, I Saw the TV Glow is an unforgettable ride. Despite its surreal imagery and blatant horror elements, much of I Saw the TV Glow‘s quiet menace stems from its mundane filming locations, making the A24 horror movie perfect for Twin Peaks fans in more ways than one.
Two New Jersey Schools Served As The Backdrop For Void High School
I Saw The TV Glow Filmed At Verona High School & Cedar Grove High School
The aptly titled Void High School (VHS) serves as the backdrop for the first half of I Saw the TV Glow. At Void, Maddy and Owen cement their friendship by bonding over the lore of The Pink Opaque. In order to capture Schoenbrun’s singular vision, the production filmed at Verona High School and Cedar Grove High School, two public campuses located in Essex County, New Jersey. From Maddy and Owen’s telling conversation on the bleachers to the first time they connect over The Pink Opaque episode guide in the glow of a vending machine, the school setting is crucial.
I Saw the TV Glow
is now streaming on Max.
Later on, when Owen and Maddy are adults, they reconnect when Maddy returns to town for a night. Maddy reveals her theory: The Pink Opaque is what’s real and their mundane, suffocating lives are stories they need to escape. To remind Owen of how free they felt while believing in The Pink Opaque, Maddy suggests they head to the high school football field. Years ago, Owen embraced an aspect of their long-buried transness and wore a dress for the first time. Both football field sequences were shot at Verona High.
The Saint Served As I Saw The TV Glow’s Otherworldly Music Venue
Phoebe Bridgers & Other Artists Perform At The Saint During The Film
Curated by Schoenbrun, I Saw the TV Glow‘s soundtrack is just as atmospheric as the movie’s filming locations, so it makes sense that one of the stand-out sets is a real-life music venue. When Maddy returns to town after a years-long absence, she takes Owen to a bar-meets-music venue. The A24 movie perfectly revives Twin Peaks‘ Roadhouse by featuring full-length musical performances by real-life musicians King Woman, Sloppy Jane, and Phoebe Bridgers. The music venue that serves as the backdrop is The Saint, an enduring and iconic stage in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
The Final Sequence Was Shot At East Hanover’s Funplex
The Funplex Figures Into I Saw The TV Glow’s Harrowing-Yet-Hopeful Ending
One of the movie’s most memorable sequences is I Saw the TV Glow‘s ending. Instead of embracing their true self, Owen decides to live a hollow life. Unlike Maddy, Owen never leaves the fictional New Jersey town. Instead, Owen grows disillusioned with The Pink Opaque and tries so hard to hide their true self that they start to deteriorate physically and mentally. Although Owen no longer works at a movie theater, they do spend their days in an arcade, feeling deeply upset while everyone around them celebrates. The arcade in question is East Hanover, New Jersey’s Funplex.
Other Key Locations In I Saw The TV Glow Were Filmed At Sites In New Jersey
Keansburg Amusement Park & A Garden State Grocery Store Appear In The Movie
A few other New Jersey-based filming locations stand out in I Saw the TV Glow. Early in the movie, Owen attends a carnival with their chronically ill mother, Brenda (Danielle Deadwyler). While Brenda tries desperately to connect with her child before she passes, Owen is already closed off. It’s clear that Owen has realized something about their identity — deep down — and tried to bury it. As Owen walks listlessly with Brenda, Keansburg Amusement Park provides a perfectly eerie backdrop.
Much later, an adult Owen drifts aimlessly through a grocery store. There’s nothing all that unique about the location, though it is unusually vast and empty. Against all odds, Maddy finds Owen at the grocery store, which is actually located on Berdan Avenue in Wayne, New Jersey. There’s definitely something off about the supermarket, as it serves as a crossroads of sorts between what’s real and what isn’t — between a life Owen could have and what Owen will allow themself to have.
Camp Lewis & Bergen, New Jersey Helped Flesh Out I Saw The TV Glow’s World
The NJ Locations Helped Craft Jane Schoenbrun’s Haunting Suburbia
A handful of other New Jersey-based spots round out I Saw the TV Glow‘s filming locations. In order to bring the summer camp in The Pink Opaque‘s pilot to life, Schoenbrun and their crew shot on location at Camp Lewis in Rockaway Township. The Morris County camp, with its beautiful lake and dock, is a place where kids can learn to swim in the summer. Finally, other sequences — both those in Owen and Maddy’s town and that of The Pink Opaque — were filmed on location in the suburbs of Bergen, New Jersey.
