Now Streaming: Ari Aster's HEREDITARY, MIDSOMMAR, BEAU IS AFRAID

The rare auteur whose films have grown progressively longer (and progressively more weird), Ari Aster made an instant impact with his debut feature.

Born in New York City, Aster's family briefly lived in England before returning to the U.S. to live in the Western state of New Mexico, where his latest film, Eddington, due for release this week, is set. Aster is an American Film Institute (in Los Angeles) graduate, just like David Lynch and many others. He began making a series of short films in 2011, leading up to his first feature.

Hereditary (2018)
The film is now streaming on Tubi, a Free Ad-supported Streaming Television (FAST) service.

Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, the film made a huge splash, which only got bigger the more people saw it. Toni Collette stars as an artist who descends deeply into the grieving process when her mother dies. Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, and Milly Shapiro also star.

Our own J Hurtado began his review by describing it as "an emotionally devastating family thriller, a terrifying supernatural mystery, and one hell of a complex horror film.

"This is the kind of film that builds tension for every one of its one-hundred-twenty-seven minutes, and when that dam finally bursts, floods the audience with the kind of traumatic revelations that will haunt them all the way home. It's one of the best horror films in recent memory, and the kind of film that will have critics and analysts sparring for decades to come."

Midsommar (2019)
The film is not currently streaming. It is available on various Video On Demand platforms.

Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor star as a couple who travel to Sweden for a world famous festival, only to find that the festivities are not as idyllic as they appear in Aster's daylight folk horror mystery.

Our intrepid critic J Hurtado also reviewed Aster's sophomore feature, writing in part: "For fans of the subgenre, there's not a whole lot in the plot that is surprising. We're pretty sure that not everyone (maybe no one) is going to get out of this thing alive, but what makes Midsommar worth the effort is that nothing happens exactly when or how you expect it to, thanks to Aster's fondness for the short sharp shock as a pacing device."

Mr. Hurtado concluded: "Not quite a revelation, Midsommar is still a damn good film. The familiarity of the plot elements keeps it from being great, but the way in which these elements are put into play and the more shocking moments are executed definitely puts it up there with the better horror films in recent years."

Beau Is Afraid (2023)
The film is now streaming on Paramount+ Premium and is also now streaming on HBO Max.

If critics in general were divided over Aster's first two films, his third really widened the divide. Joaquin Phoenix stars as a man who just wants to get home to his mother, but his paranoia gets in the way.

Our critic Mel Valentin put his thumb up -- way, way up -- on Aster's third feature: "As brilliant, singular, and nerve-shredding as anything in Aster's earlier films, Beau is Afraid, a surrealistic black comedy, serves as confirmation -- as if any confirmation was still needed -- that Aster is one of our most talented, creative, risk-embracing filmmakers. ... Aster seems destined for a long, fruitful career as one of America's top-tier filmmakers."

Read Mr. Valentin's review in full.

Now Streaming celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal streaming services.