10 Recent Horror Movies Which Broke The Fourth Wall To Scare You
6. Beau Is Afraid
Ari Aster has made a name for himself as a director whose works are both challenging and draining, and his 2023 absurdist character piece is no different. What sets it apart from Midsommar and Hereditary is its unexpected sense of (very bleak) humour, as well as its unashamed embrace of surrealist tropes and visual language as it explores its titular character's grief, neuroses and maternal issues.
Admittedly, it is not a traditional horror movie in the vein of Aster's previous work but its third act's exploration of Beau's disturbing relationship with his mother is both terrifying and meta in its approach.
After Mona (Patti LuPone) decides to tell the truth to Beau (Joaquin Phoenix), Beau's therapist (the wonderful Stephen McKinley Henderson) slyly and directly looks at the camera in a manner that implies the viewers are in for a rather unsightly sequence of events.
The fourth wall break itself is not spine-chilling but the imagery and implications surrounding Beau's father make for a truly horrifying exploration of guilt, parental abuse and guilt-driven anxiety.