Beau is Afraid (Ari Aster, 2023) • Page 8

Seems like this is a dark, unsettling comedy more than a horror, but either way I’m so stoked

 

This will make 0 dollars at the box office but the people that love it.... will LOVE IT. It's A24's new most expensive film. A true blank check in the modern era

 

I haven’t been sure what to make of all this, and kinda still don’t. That talk around it has shifted me from slightly apprehensive curiosity to genuine excitement, though! Could still see it going either way for me, but feels super promising at the moment.

 

Based on the old script (and based on what I've read it sounds like it's the same with some stuff added that doesn't sound like horror) I would be surprised if it ends up as outright scary as midsommar or hereditary (definitely nowhere near as scary as hereditary). If anything it's just super light body horror

 

also new trailer

 

Yeah, okay, I'm in.

 

This is definitely not a horror film. Aster's been specific in calling it a "nightmare comedy" for years now, and it's a very apt description.

Far more tonally aligned with his shorts (Munchausen, Beau, The Strange Thing About the Johnsons, Basically, C'est La Vie) than w/ Hereditary or Midsommar.

 

Real meets real

 

Jealous as fuck

 

I’m excited for it. I dig weird and mind-bendy, but I also hope it’s got enough grounding to keep it steady. A lot of the pre-release hype reminds me of what I read about Mother! and I honestly despise that movie.

 

welp looks like this isn't playing at my closest AMC. I guess this is more of a Mafia Mamma area

 

Damnnnn I am really about to try and double feature this with Evil Dead Rise next week

 

Somehow didn’t know this was out wide next week. Sick.

 

This isn't playing near me yet :(

 

Hyped

 

Yesss

 

So this is going to be that good huh

 

Not really a spoiler (at least per my friend who saw it), but it seems this thing that was in the OG script is one of the subplots that got cut entirely (it's replacement is mentioned in a lot of reviews)

the theater troupe that reviews mention was basically a cult of kids that ran away from home and basically hypnotize and train new recruits to be assassin to kill celebrities. They get hypnotized to think the celebrities are their parents (including Yo Yo Ma and Bruce "Springstein") and then kill the celebrities. Beau (who is black in the original script) specifically they try to get to kill Michelle Obama

Anyone, not a fan of assuming things about people based on their creative output but god, ari aster is fucked up lol

 

Anyway this movie feels like a test of how successful the A24 brand can be for non horror movies. I feel like that's really the appeal for most and I've seen a lot of reviews just flat out call it an art film lol. Which isn't gonna be the end of the world, feels similar to Synecdoche, NY and Charlie Kauffman still kinda makes movies

 

Everyone I follow on Letterboxd that has seen this has given it either 5 stars or 1 star. I cannot wait

 

gonna try to go to an early screening on Tuesday, otherwise, it's edibles and a 420 screening