Ari Aster made an impact with his first two directorial projects — Hereditary and Midsommar — which are considered some of the best horror films of the modern era. And audiences couldn’t wait to see what he did next. Four years later, he is back with Beau Is Afraid starring Joaquin Phoenix, whose title character embarks on an epic journey home following his mother’s sudden death. While Aster had expressed interest in venturing outside of the horror genre, viewers who saw early screenings were left “haunted” by the “nightmare fuel.” The reviews are here, ahead of the movie’s April 21 release, so let’s find out more about Beau Is Afraid.
Alongside Joaquin Phoenix in this surreal dark comedy (Ari Aster’s third movie with A24) is an impressive supporting cast that includes Patti LuPone, Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan and Richard Kind. The critics have lots of thoughts about this three-hour flick, so we’re jumping right in with CinemaBlend’s review of Beau Is Afraid. Eric Eisenberg rates the movie 4.5 stars out of 5, warning that this is a wholly different experience than Aster’s first two films and saying it will likely go down as the most extravagantly weird film of the year. He continues:
