How Ari Astaire makes his unique films

Ari Aster is one of the most popular directors to debut in recent years. He is only 36 years old, but he has already managed to make three films, each of which has made a lot of noise. The debut "Reincarnation" showed that there is great potential in Aster, "Solstice" demonstrated his great talent, and "All Fears Bo" impressed the director with his ambitiousness. Aster is both a unique author and a representative of the next “new wave” working in the post-horror direction. We understand what features make Ari Astaire's films special.

A special form of fear

Each film by Ari Astaire is defined as a horror genre, but with a lot of reservations. The director refuses simple tools that frighten the viewer (for example, screamers) and focus on something else. First of all, on the characters. The heroes of Ari Aster are broken people. Both drama and horror grow out of their defect at the same time.

A gigantic influence on the perception of Astaire's films has surrealism, which sometimes serves as the basis, the fabric of the picture. So, in "Solstice» The scenes from the European holiday are reminiscent of the dream of the heroine - they are so strange. "All Bo's Fears" can be interpreted in any way you like, it is both a dream, and a hallucination, and a fantasy, and a trip. In "Reincarnation" surrealism penetrates the lives of the characters through loss and pain, constantly hinting at the mental imbalance of the characters.

In every scene, Ari Astaire tries to fit the feeling that something is going wrong, which escalates into paranoia. It is from this that fear is born. The screamer frightens for a few seconds and disappears, and the horror in the films of the young director penetrates the viewer drop by drop, sometimes without even reaching a critical point. As a result, it becomes not so much creepy as uncomfortable.

Playing with structure

Ari Astaire's films are characterized by heterogeneity. Two adjacent scenes can look so different, as if they happened to be in the same picture. To create contrast, the director actively uses color correction, costumes and weather conditions. Lighting, the emotions of the characters and angles. Crushing allows you to unsettle the viewer, put him in new conditions. With each work, the passion for heterogeneity grows, although it can be assumed that the author simply uses the growing budgets, embodying all his ideas.

The director not only uses visual and emotional contrast, but also often changes the speed of the narrative. He is willing to add scenes that sometimes seem redundant, just to break up the structure. After a tenacious episode, a whole adventure in the spirit of teen comedies can begin (as in "Solstice"), and after a terrible chase through the forest, Ari Astaire shows a whole fairy tale ("All Bo's Fears"). Emotional swing, visual variety and change of pace are elements inherent in each picture of the author.

Brilliant directing

Ari Astaire's scripts are easy to criticize (especially "reincarnation”, where there were many illogical episodes). But his ability to manage the filming process is at the highest level. Actors working with the author always give their best. Cameramen, lighting and, most importantly, artists also do a great job. Thanks to directing, Astaire manages to hide or slightly correct flaws in his own scripts.

Thematic limitation

In the first three films, Ari Astaire uses the same themes - for many, this can be a problem. The death of a loved one (or several, as in Solstice) becomes the starting point from which the main character will move. It is not surprising that some viewers interpret the director's paintings as a statement about the family, which is hardly meaningless.

A little less than a family, but still a lot of Astaire's films talk about betrayal. By the way, death, paradoxically, is also a form of betrayal, especially in Solstice. The director is fixated on the fragility of human relationships. Perhaps that is why his characters are so gullible - in the end they suffer because of other people. Probably, "All fears Bo” will put an end to the study of family ties, and Ari Astaire will change the subject of future films.

Non-random fashion

Over the past decade, there have been many directors who use the form of horror, but do not scare the viewer. For example, Jordan Peele (“Get Out,” “Us”) is a social critic. Zach Cregger does the same in The Barbarian, and Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse, The Witch) is passionate about mythology and folk themes. Similar processes are developing in Europe, where Pascal Laugier explores madness through hypertrophy and mental deviations, and Julie Ducournot ("Titan", "Raw") takes out from a dusty shelf body horror and rethink them.

Ari Astaire not only fits into this wave, but is also one of the most important authors of the post-horror genre. He is interested in old horror films, but he is not ready to take on their characteristic features. A director can make dozens of small visual references but ignore the scary elements.

The question may arise: why horror? Apparently, the point is in the plasticity of the genre, as well as in their metaphorical nature - it is easier to sew a message into them than into an action movie or a comedy. Given the subject matter that Astaire is interested in, he could easily make a drama about family relationships, but still does not. After all, the rejection of surrealism and toxic atmosphere will simplify the story.

Ari Aster is one of the directors who define the language and mood of modern independent cinema. Astaire can be disliked or considered overrated, but without him, the indie scene would look poorer. If you only want to get acquainted with his work, then it is better to start with "Solstice" - the author's most complete film.