I Saw the TV Glow filming locations reveal New Jersey schools, fields, and venues behind its haunting queer cult classic.

In the grand tradition of A24 movies that make viewers feel like they've been personally haunted by a neon-lit VHS tape, I Saw the TV Glow remains a 2026 cult obsession. Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, the film follows Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine), two suburban outsiders who bond over a supernatural TV series called The Pink Opaque. On paper, it's about fandom. In practice, it's about identity, queerness, and the quiet horror of conforming. And somehow, the most unsettling thing about the movie isn't the surreal imagery — it's the fact that most of it was filmed in perfectly ordinary New Jersey locations. Talk about a vibe check from the Garden State. 🎥

The first half of the movie unfolds at Void High School — yes, that's really what it's called in the film. For shooting, Schoenbrun's crew used Verona High School and Cedar Grove High School, two public campuses in Essex County, New Jersey. It's here that Maddy and Owen's friendship takes root, from a bleacher conversation that feels like a secret handshake to the vending-machine glow where they first bond over an episode guide for The Pink Opaque. Nothing says 'deeply repressed teen angst' like fluorescent lights and linoleum floors. The school setting is so crucial that it practically becomes a character, and not the fun kind — more like the one that silently judges your lunch tray.

Later, when Maddy returns after a long absence, she and Owen head to the high school football field. Both football field sequences were shot at Verona High. The field is where Owen once wore a dress for the first time, embracing a buried part of their transness. In the present, Maddy tries to remind Owen of that fleeting freedom. It's a scene that hits like a truck, and the fact that it takes place on a generic field under New Jersey sky? Chef's kiss. 🏈

One of the film's standout sets is a bar-meets-music venue that perfectly revives the Roadhouse energy from Twin Peaks. Maddy takes Owen there, and the audience gets full-length performances from real-life musicians King Woman, Sloppy Jane, and Phoebe Bridgers. The venue is The Saint, an iconic stage in Asbury Park, New Jersey. If you're going to have an existential crisis, you might as well have a phenomenal soundtrack. Schoenbrun curated the music, and the result is as atmospheric as the locations themselves. No cap.

One of the movie's most memorable sequences is its ending, where Owen chooses a hollow life instead of embracing their true self. Owen never leaves the fictional New Jersey town. They grow disillusioned with The Pink Opaque and try so hard to hide who they are that they begin to deteriorate physically and mentally. Owen spends their days in an arcade, deeply upset while everyone around them celebrates. That arcade is the Funplex in East Hanover, New Jersey. Imagine being miserable inside a Funplex. That's not just irony — that's a whole Greek tragedy with a side of Skee-Ball. 🕹️

Other New Jersey locations round out the film's quietly menacing map. Early on, Owen attends a carnival with their chronically ill mother, Brenda (Danielle Deadwyler). Keansburg Amusement Park provides an eerie backdrop as Brenda tries to connect before she passes, while Owen remains closed off. Later, an adult Owen drifts through a vast, empty grocery store — actually located on Berdan Avenue in Wayne, New Jersey. The supermarket feels like a crossroads between what's real and what isn't, between the life Owen could have and the one they'll allow themself to have. Spooky? You bet.

For The Pink Opaque's summer camp in the pilot, the crew shot at Camp Lewis in Rockaway Township. The Morris County camp, with its lake and dock, is normally a place where kids learn to swim. In the film, it becomes another layer of the surreal. Other sequences — both in Owen and Maddy's town and in The Pink Opaque — were filmed in the suburbs of Bergen, New Jersey.

Location	Real-World Spot	What Happens There
Void High School	Verona High School & Cedar Grove High School, Essex County	Maddy and Owen bond over The Pink Opaque
Football field	Verona High School	Owen wears a dress; adult Maddy returns
Music venue	The Saint, Asbury Park	Phoebe Bridgers, Sloppy Jane, King Woman perform
Arcade	Funplex, East Hanover	Adult Owen numbly spends days
Carnival	Keansburg Amusement Park	Owen and Brenda's uneasy outing
Grocery store	Berdan Avenue, Wayne	Maddy finds adult Owen
Summer camp	Camp Lewis, Rockaway Township	The Pink Opaque pilot
Suburban streets	Bergen, New Jersey	Various town and Pink Opaque scenes

Released on May 3, 2024, I Saw the TV Glow runs 100 minutes and is rated PG-13. It stars Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Danielle Deadwyler, Helena Howard, Lindsey Jordan, and — wait for it — Fred Durst. Yes, the Limp Bizkit frontman shows up. As of 2026, the film remains a touchstone for fans of haunting, identity-driven horror. Its IMDb rating sits around 5.9/10, but ratings rarely capture a movie that feels like a secret handshake for anyone who's ever felt out of place in suburbia.

The genius of I Saw the TV Glow is that it doesn't need a haunted house or a creepy forest. It uses New Jersey public schools, a local music venue, an amusement park, a grocery store, and an arcade. The horror is in the mundane. The menace is in the everyday. And the emotional gut punch is in the way Owen and Maddy's story unfolds against all those ordinary backdrops. So if you're planning a rewatch in 2026, keep an eye on the locations. You might just recognize your own hometown — and that's the scariest part of all. 😱