---
name: "Ari Aster"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ari-aster"
fi1m_id: "ari-aster"
imdb_id: "nm4170048"
tmdb_id: 1145520
wikidata_id: "Q54864392"
roles: ["Director","Producer","Writer"]
born: "15 July 1986"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 8
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_as: "director"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-22T02:52:35.163245+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ari Aster

## Identity

Ari Aster

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ari-aster
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ari-aster
- **IMDb ID:** nm4170048
- **TMDB ID:** 1145520
- **Wikidata ID:** Q54864392
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ari_Aster, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q54864392, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4170048/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1145520

Director and producer. Born 15 July 1986 in New York City, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer, Writer
- **Born:** 15 July 1986, New York City, New York, USA
- **Active:** 2018–present
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 8: 4 directing, 4 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [Lars Knudsen](https://film.one/person/lars-knudsen.md), [Joaquin Phoenix](https://film.one/person/joaquin-phoenix.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as director, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 81 (2), 2020s 65 (6)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 72 to 74 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 2, Horror 2, Mystery 2, Adventure 1, Crime 1, Drama 1
- **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $162m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ari_Aster, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q54864392, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4170048/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1145520

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Hereditary*](https://film.one/film/hereditary.md) (83), [*Midsommar*](https://film.one/film/midsommar.md) (79), [*The Drama*](https://film.one/film/the-drama.md) (65), [*Eddington*](https://film.one/film/eddington.md) (64)
- **Tubi:** [*Beau Is Afraid*](https://film.one/film/beau-is-afraid.md) (60)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Ari Aster

> Ari Aster makes family distress frightening and finds jokes in people struggling to cope. We rate *Hereditary* highly; his later films have fine performances and passages of sharp comedy, but struggle to know when to stop.

In the shop scene in *Eddington* (2025), a boy tells Joaquin Phoenix's sheriff that he could order online. We laughed hard, then felt uneasy, because Aster shoots the argument so that nobody gets to feel superior. He knows how quickly a small humiliation can make a person unreasonable. The problem with his later films is that he keeps adding scenes after he has made the point.

*Hereditary* (2018), his feature debut, remains our strongest recommendation because Toni Collette makes the family's distress matter as much as the scares. Aster spends enough time with these people for their suffering to trouble us, though some passages are slow. When he starts explaining what has been happening, he reduces the fear. *Midsommar* (2019) followed with daylight folk horror. His subsequent move towards comedy makes sense: the jokes were already there, alongside the dread.

The first hour of *Beau Is Afraid* (2023) is among Aster's funniest and most frightening. Phoenix is persuasive as the frightened middle-aged man trying to get from his flat to his mother's house. But the three-hour film cannot sustain that beginning, and its repeated insistence on the same point becomes exhausting. The editing lets the sections run too long, while the score works better as a nervous city hum than when its strings ask us to be moved.

*Eddington* is at its best when Aster stays with the household. Louise speaks softly and rarely, while Dawn's laptop-fed pronouncements are delivered with no hint of irony. Both benefit from Aster leaving room for us to work out what is wrong. The patient first hour gives way to a middle stretch crowded with people and incidents that never take shape. Start with *Hereditary*; with the later films, be prepared for the opening hour to be the strongest.

## Biography

Ari Aster is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He was born on 15 July 1986 in New York City.

Aster studied at the AFI Conservatory. He first gained recognition for the 2011 short film *The Strange Thing About the Johnsons*. His feature films include *Hereditary* (2018) and *Midsommar* (2019), both of which he wrote and directed.

In 2019 he co-founded the production company Square Peg with Lars Knudsen. He wrote, directed and produced *Beau Is Afraid* (2023) and *Eddington* (2025), and served as producer on *The Drama* (2026).

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (8)

### Directed (4) — the average rests on these

- *Eddington* (2025), Fi1m 64, as Radio Journalist (voice) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/eddington.md)
- *Beau Is Afraid* (2023), Fi1m 60, Producer, Director, Writer, Original Film Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/beau-is-afraid.md)
- *Midsommar* (2019), Fi1m 79, as Podcast on Mark's Phone (voice) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/midsommar.md)
- *Hereditary* (2018), Fi1m 83, as Archer Gallery Representative (voice) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/hereditary.md)

### Produced (4)

- *Primetime* (2026), Fi1m 61, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/primetime.md)
- *The Drama* (2026), Fi1m 65, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-drama.md)
- *Bugonia* (2025), Fi1m 72, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/bugonia.md)
- *Dream Scenario* (2023), Fi1m 70, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/dream-scenario.md)

## Complete filmography (34)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Primetime* (2026), Producer — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/primetime.md)
- *Crows Are White* (2026), Executive Producer
- *The Drama* (2026), Producer — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/the-drama.md)
- *Bugonia* (2025), Producer — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/bugonia.md)
- *Eddington* (2025), as Radio Journalist (voice) (uncredited) · Producer, Director, Writer — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/eddington.md)
- *Death of a Unicorn* (2025), Executive Producer
- *Babygirl* (2024), Thanks — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/babygirl.md)
- *Rumours* (2024), Executive Producer
- *Janet Planet* (2024), Thanks
- *Sasquatch Sunset* (2024), Executive Producer
- *Dream Scenario* (2023), Producer — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/dream-scenario.md)
- *The Bones* (2023), Executive Producer
- *Beau Is Afraid* (2023), as A Neighbor of Beau's (uncredited) · Director, Producer, Writer, Original Film Writer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/beau-is-afraid.md)
- *El Padre Bueno* (2023), Executive Producer
- *After Yang* (2022), Thanks
- *The Most Beautiful Boy in the World* (2021), Thanks
- *Midsommar* (2019), as Podcast on Mark's Phone (voice) (uncredited) · Writer, Director — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/midsommar.md)
- *Hereditary* (2018), as Archer Gallery Representative (voice) (uncredited) · Writer, Director — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/hereditary.md)
- *Basically* (2014), Director, Producer, Writer
- *Munchausen* (2013), Writer, Director
- *The Strange Thing About the Johnsons* (2011), Director, Writer
- *Gummy*, Producer
- *Antarctica*, Producer
- *The Looming*, Producer
- *Hansel & Gretel*, Executive Producer
- *Why Don't You Love Me?*, Producer
- *Death Stranding*, Producer
- *Jonty*, Producer
- *Bushido*, Producer
- *Enemies*, Producer
- *Untitled A24 Horror Film*, Executive Producer
- *Schiller Park*, Producer
- *Scapegoat*, Director, Producer, Writer
- *TDF Really Works*, Director, Writer, Editor

## Gallery

- ![Ari Aster during a photocall for the film "Eddington" at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival](https://film.one/media/person/6941/gallery-f6fc6372cc8e.jpg) Ari Aster during a photocall for the film "Eddington" at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival — Gabriel Hutchinson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Ari_Aster_at_the_2025_Cannes_Film_Festival_01.jpg/1280px-Ari_Aster_at_the_2025_Cannes_Film_Festival_01.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Ari Aster](https://film.one/media/person/6941/gallery-d7adc97146f0.jpg) Ari Aster — Gabriel Hutchinson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Ari_Aster_at_the_2025_Cannes_Film_Festival_02.jpg/1280px-Ari_Aster_at_the_2025_Cannes_Film_Festival_02.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Ari Aster during a photocall for the film Eddington at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival](https://film.one/media/person/6941/gallery-8a78c3b5256f.jpg) Ari Aster during a photocall for the film Eddington at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival — Gabriel Hutchinson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Ari_Aster_at_the_2025_Cannes_Film_Festival_02_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Ari_Aster_at_the_2025_Cannes_Film_Festival_02_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Hereditary director Ari Aster with Toni Collette at Sundance London UK (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/6941/gallery-e48a49413fba.jpg) Hereditary director Ari Aster with Toni Collette at Sundance London UK (2018) — PunkToad, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Hereditary_Director_Ari_Aster_with_Toni_Collette.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Ari Aster](https://film.one/media/person/6941/gallery-03800abfce7e.jpg) Ari Aster — Image via TMDB
- ![Ari Aster](https://film.one/media/person/6941/gallery-63a4a60501a6.jpg) Ari Aster — Image via TMDB
- ![Ari Aster](https://film.one/media/person/6941/gallery-2bcda0e49387.jpg) Ari Aster — Image via TMDB
- ![Hereditary director Ari Aster with Toni Collette at Sundance London UK (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/6941/gallery-33fb5d2c078c.jpg) Hereditary director Ari Aster with Toni Collette at Sundance London UK (2018) — PunkToad, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Hereditary_Director_Ari_Aster_with_Toni_Collette_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Ari Aster](https://film.one/media/person/6941/gallery-6939f6b92e5e.jpg) Ari Aster — Image via TMDB
- ![Ari Aster](https://film.one/media/person/6941/gallery-f9ad6a5f86a2.jpg) Ari Aster — Image via TMDB
- ![Ari Aster](https://film.one/media/person/6941/gallery-62466836b5f6.jpg) Ari Aster — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ari-aster