Hello again from the darkness! Ari Aster’s highly anticipated third feature film Dissapointment Blvd. (2023), will expand on the short story Beau from 2011, which is available on YouTube. So what can we expect from the third feature of Aster?
What does it take to become a pioneering voice in the horror genre?
Ari Aster knows the answer.
The filmmaker has taken the film world by storm with his directorial debut, Hereditary (2018), and cemented the position of a gifted storyteller in Midsommar (2019).
His secret sauce? Instead of over-the-top, jump-scare-based revels, both of Aster’s films weigh heavily, wading through the mud of familial trauma and grief. On top of that, the director likes to pack layers to unravel. Uncovering the secret symbolism of Midsommar (2019), as well as Hereditary (2018), secured the cult status for both films.
Before being crowned one of the most influential horror filmmakers of the century, Aster developed several short movies. And following the path that numerous filmmakers chose – turning a short feature into a full-length film – Ari Aster takes one of his shorts, Beau (2011), as the baseline for Dissapointment Blvd. (2023).
Interestingly, the recently updated logline of Dissapointment Blvd. (2023) says, “a decades-spanning portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time.” This sounds to be far from what Beau (2011) shows. Aster’s third feature has been shrouded with mystery too. Apart from the stellar cast led by Joaquin Phoenix, we still know very little about the plot. The movie went from being called “a zonky nightmare comedy, “a big, sickly domestic melodrama” to a psychological study and even Aster’s romance with The Wizard of Oz.
Packed into just about several minutes, this short reveals Aster’s knack for blending horror and drama together. The story finds a man who spirals into psychotic paranoia, fueled – or perhaps caused – by his mother.
Beau (2011)
Aster released The Strange Thing About The Johnsons (2011) just a few months earlier, a shockingly disturbing film about a manipulative son who maintains a destructively abusive relationship with his father. Under the veneer layer of smiles, family photos, and New Year celebrations, Ari Aster uncovers a horrid nightmare, which hits just as hard as his feature films.
The Strange Thing About The Johnsons (2011)
If Disappointment Blvd. (2023) is related to either of the two shorts, we’re all in for another nerve-racking masterpiece.
So, are you hyped for Dissapointment Blvd. (2023)?
Let us know in the comments!