Not even Ari Aster knows what genre ‘Beau Is Afraid’ is

If you’ve found the time to head out and check out Ari Aster’s lengthy third feature film Beau is Afraid, you’ll know that it has certainly turned out to be… something. While the internet is hard at work breaking down all of the film’s messaging, both blatant and subliminal, it turns out that the man in the director’s chair isn’t so sure himself of what exactly he ended up creating. 

Many folks who have seen the film would argue that Beau is Afraid arrives somewhere at the crossroads between horror and dark comedy. Aster himself somewhat shares that line of thinking – albeit in slightly different words. When asked for his thoughts on what the genre of the films, Aster told A.Frame: 

“I don’t know what it is. I think if it belongs to a tradition, I guess it’s that of the picaresque. I wanted to make something that was funny and sad, how’s that?”

Funny and sad turns out to be a pretty apt description, albeit a simplification of the story being told from the perspective of Beau, the unreliable narrator and protagonist of the three-hour epic as played by Joaquin Phoenix. While the film contains plenty of absurdities to chuckle at, at the core of the story lies an extremely unhealthy and borderline depressing relationship between Beau and his objectively awful mother, Mona (Patti LuPone). 

If you left your screening of Beau is Afraid utterly bewildered and scratching your head as to what in the world you’ve just witnessed, you’re most certainly not alone. To possibly add insult to your mental injury, Aster is relishing in the fact that his latest film is leaving so many people confused. 

For the horror averse among us who are thinking of checking out Beau is Afraid, we’ve also shared some thoughts on exactly how scary the film is – and whether it can be considered a horror film.