Ahead of its release next month, we confirm if Ari Aster’s new film, Beau is Afriad, is a horror movie or not and introduce you to the cast.
Beau is Afraid will be a somewhat refreshing addition to the releases this year, after we survived the battle of the bears horror: Cocaine Bear and Winnie the Pooh: Blood & Honey.
Directed, written, and co-produced by Ari Aster for A24, Beau is Afraid follows the life of the titular anxious man as we navigate his relationship with his parents that is also expected to take some supernatural turns.
Is Beau is Afraid a horror movie?
Yes, Beau is Afraid is considered to be a horror movie, however, it will also have comical elements.
The movie is being labelled as a “black comedy horror” or a “decades-spanning surrealist horror film set in an alternate present.”
Ari Aster has already cemented himself in the horror genre, following his debut Herediatary – which is considered to be one of the scariest films of all time – and Midsommar. While Herediatary was a straight horror movie, Midsommar had certain moments that sparked comedy through its uncomfortable scenes and character reactions.
Even Midsommar lead, Florence Pugh, has called Aster a “a stand-up comedian at heart” quoted by the New York Times.
Even though Beau is Afraid will likely make you laugh, Aster’s past credits have made audiences well aware of the scares that await in this feature also.
Ari Aster wanted to make something “strange”
In an interview with GQ, Aster explained how he wanted to make something “strange”, prior to concocting Beau is Afraid:
“I just really wanted to make something strange. “I think this is going to be a misquote, but Harold Bloom said something like, ‘The prime criterion for aesthetic merit is strangeness. I’m afraid of how you’re going to use that because I’m not saying that there is any aesthetic merit to this film.”
While it may be Aster’s strangest film to date – which is a statement following his past two accolades – the director also had a bigger budget to play with this time around.
Beau is Afraid has a budget of $35 million, which is approximately a $25 million increase from his previous two movies.
Meet the cast of Beau is Afraid
Joaquin Phoenix is the main star of the show, playing the titular Beau, while the spotlight is also on the actor for currently filming Joker 2.
Amy Ryan of The Office fame and Parker Posey from Netflix’s Lost in Space are also some of the talent joining this weird and wonderful story.
Below, we have included the full cast list for Beau is Afraid:
- Joaquin Phoenix – Beau Wassermann
- Armen Nahapetian – teen Beau
- Patti LuPone – Mona Wassermann
- Zoe Lister-Jones – young Mona
- Amy Ryan – Grace
- Nathan Lane – Roger
- Kylie Rogers – Toni
- Denis Ménochet – Jeeves
- Parker Posey – Elaine Bray
- Julia Antonelli – teen Elaine
- Stephen McKinley Henderson – the therapist
- Richard Kind – Dr. Cohen
- Hayley Squires – Penelope
- Michael Gandolfini – one of Beau’s sons
By Jo Craig – [email protected]
Beau is Afraid releases in theatres on April 21, 2023.
Related Topics
Gaming Trailers
More Like This
Chernobylite | Console Release Trailer
Latest Trailers
