To be clear: Eighth Grade is not a horror film—not in any conventional sense, anyway. What it is is the directorial debut of comedian Bo Burnham, a sensitively observed indie drama about a week in the life of 13-year-old Kayla (Elsie Fisher) as she prepares to transition from junior high to high school. In the film, Burnham comments on popularity, sexuality, family, and the relationship between teens and technology in a way that’s understated and surprisingly realistic, avoiding obvious coming-of-age clichés in search of deeper emotional truths. In short, it’s a great and profoundly empathetic film, and we’re partnering with A24 to give our readers in 17 U.S. cities the opportunity to see it early and for free.
If you live in—deep breath—Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, or Washington, DC and want to check out an advance screening of Eighth Grade, just follow this link, select your city, click the “RSVP” button, and enter some basic information to claim an admit-two pass. Rach city has its own screening date and time, but these will all be taking place at the end of next week.
Just be sure to arrive early, as advance screenings are intentionally overbooked, and you don’t want to get turned away, or you might die of embarrassment. A24 has also created a yearbook for the film where you can add your own memories of this uniquely mortifying time in a young person’s life; you can find that at EighthGradeYearbook.com.