Director Ari Aster has been thinking about what is now Beau Is Afraid for 10 years. “I feel great responsibility to deliver something amazing,” says the acclaimed horror creator.
The upcoming A24 film — which Aster describes as “epic” and “jumbo” — stars Joaquin Phoenix on a tumultuous journey to see his mother. A simple enough premise, sure, but as we can surmise from the behind-the-scenes footage, nothing is at it seems.
The BTS video gives a well-needed glimpse into an otherwise genre-defying, surrealist piece of work. Plus you get to hear Aster quips like, “If you pumped a 10-year-old full of Zoloft and had him get your groceries, that’s like this movie.”
Whatever that means, it seems to run close to the official synopsis of the film: “ingeniously depraved.” We can see why.
Beau is Afraid hits theaters April 21.
