Yes! I thought that too. Felt borderline like it was parodying his previous films at times. Also love the absolutely terrifying element that every anxious or paranoid thought you have is correct; everyone is out to get you in one way or another, and you were right to never want to leave your home.
Since no one has mentioned it outright, I will say, the penis monster, despite being awesome in some ways, is the one thing that felt like a bridge too far, which I realize is an insane thing to say about this movie. But as a whole, the package is so good that I roll with it.
At the time I thought the penis monster was too much but looking back I liked it. It really hits home just how fucked up Beau is and how truly an unreliable narrator he is
Parts of this were infinitely scarier than Midsommar and potentially Hereditary to me. So much pure dread and anxiety and I hated experiencing that so deeply. Had a pretty good crowd for this, not many people but no one was screaming in anger when it ended and no one walked out. Guess for something so polarizing that’s a win. “O’Loha” got the first major laugh from me and there were too many other absurd lines/moments to list. “His mother, who was terrified of squirrels.” Patti and Nathan were perfect. Knew this thread would be all over the posters. I turned into the Leo gif when I saw PUP. Didn’t love it as deeply on first watch as his other two, but I need to see it again to delve in more. Felt even more Kaufman than I expected, which is not a bad thing. Very happy that it exists and that I was able to go into it knowing basically nothing.
The “Follow every rainbow ‘till you find your dream,” sign also killed me. Least expected Sound of Music reference I’ve seen in quite some time.
The storybook sequence already in the running for my favorite scene of the year. Reminded me of The Shivering Truth
I laughed really hard when one of the theater troupe guys was like "sorry both your parents died" and he was like "oh it's okay"
My partner and my friend whom I went with said it was too much, and boring at parts, I loved every second of it, I will forever watch any of his films, his attention to detail and symbolism poured throughout just really has me in awe of every frame, I walked out liking it but a bit confused, but as I keep thinking about it I really really loved it and I can't wait to see it again.
I think this does dream/nightmare logic better than basically anything I’ve ever seen. Lynch comes to mind of course, but Lynch feels a lot to me like watching someone else’s dream where this felt like being trapped in your own.