Beau Is Afraid Review – Three Hours Of Woke Horror!

Ari Aster is a revered name in the horror genre even if he entered it just a few years back. Most of it is credit to his 2017 film Hereditary, the film had an extraordinary story to it with some amazing performances and plot twists. While his second feature was good as well, it couldn’t match the standards set by Hereditary. I’ve been his fan ever since my eyes landed on Hereditary, I’ve been looking forward to his next release with almost desperation. When I heard his next venture will be A24’s most expensive production yet starring Joaquin Phoenix, I was over the moon. These are the perfect ingredients to make the best horror film of this generation. Which is exactly why it pains to me tell you that Beau Is Afraid is not worth the hype or money. This is by far Aster’s worst film ever.

Beau Is Afraid Review: Ari Aster’s First Misfire?

Rating – ★1/2

I have many problems with Beau is Afraid but fundamentally what annoyed me was the lack of story. Aster is famously known to have a strong story in his films, however, this film looks like just an extended nightmare of Beau. There is no structure to the madness in the film. You can never understand what the story is about. I mean thematically sure but plot wise there is nothing. From the start of the film it is very clear that Beau is Afraid is about guilt but there is nothing beyond this.

The film seems like an egotistical filmmaker exploiting his position in the industry to make “art”. While I appreciate artistic filmmaking which is free of the commercial confines, I don’t like when filmmakers sell anything in the name of art. Intellectual films where everything is left to the audiences’ interpretation is bullsh*t. I watched another film last year which was similar called Men from Alex Garland. It was another case of a talented filmmaker turning intellectual and forgetting what cinema is all about.

Art house films like Amour and Happening are examples where films can still be films while representing art. The acting in the film as well was not up to the mark I feel. I don’t think it is Joaquin’s fault though. He had nothing to do. All the character was doing cry, beg, run and stammer. Oh my god, the entire film is him stammering. It just kept getting repetitive. The film explores some interesting ideas but they simply remain ideas. Even if you put all of those ideas together, you could never understand entirely what the story is about.

Now, getting to the good things. The visuals of the film were gorgeous. You could see where they $35 million went. However, the story didn’t deserve this kind of money. I’m sure it is not going to make the money back. Aster’s understanding of frames and direction haven’t wavered but unfortunately the matter on paper wasn’t strong enough to make a case for him.

Verdict – As said before Beau is Afraid is Ari Aster’s worst film and I seriously don’t hope that the filmmaker carries on with this direction for the rest of his career. I hope he makes something like Hereditary soon. I would rate Beau is Afraid 1.5 out of 5 stars.

Beau Is Afraid is currently playing in theatres near you

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