A24 has released the trailer for Beau Is Afraid, the latest film by Ari Aster, for another mind-melting experience (seen below). The Hereditary and Midsommar director has teased some things in the past about what the film would be, but the footage told a story that was not quite as expected while still being trippy.
Based on what could be pieced together from the Beau Is Afraid trailer, Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) embarks on a journey to get home to visit his mother. The simple enough story unfolds as he is hit by a car and lands in a home with an ankle bracelet. From what we see, to escape, he goes through war zones to what could only be from a children’s TV show, but in this case, from the twisted mind of its director.
Beau Is Afraid trailer shows Ari Aster still has a knack for wild films
While casts were previously smaller for the director with a few big names, Phoenix is joined by a larger roster of known actors and character actors for the filmmaker’s third film. It will also star Nathan Lane (Only Murders in the Building), Patti LuPone (American Horror Story), Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone), Kylie Rogers (Yellowstone), Parker Posey (The Staircase), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Dune), Hayley Squires (The Essex Serpent), Michael Gandolfini (The Many Saints of Newark), Zoe Lister-Jones (Life in Pieces), and Richard Kind (Tick, Tick… BOOM!).
Ari Aster has built up quite the excitement for Beau Is Afraid, with a little bit of that getting released for fans with the trailer. The director’s two previous films were at A24 and were hailed by critics and horror fans. The latest – which was previously titled Disappointment. Blvd – has horror elements, but from the footage, it is hard to give it a genre with its wild nature that will only be figured out when it hits theaters.
Beau Is Afraid releases on April 21.