Ari Aster (born July 15, 1986) is an American filmmaker. His films are noted for their unsettling combination of dark comedy, horror, and graphic violence. After garnering some recognition for writing and directing the short horror film The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011) as part of his studies at the AFI Conservatory, he became widely known for writing and directing the horror films Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019), establishing himself in the genre of elevated horror. Aster co-founded the production company Square Peg with Danish producer Lars Knudsen in 2019. He pivoted away from horror by writing, directing, and producing the surrealist comedy-drama film Beau Is Afraid (2023) and the satirical neo-Western thriller film Eddington (2025). Both films received positive reviews but failed to recoup their budgets at the box office. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ari Aster, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 15, 1986 (40)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Producer, director and writer
- 15 on MovieCove · 34 credits in all
Known for
What are Ari Aster's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 4 · Wry 2 · Earnest 4
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 3 · Dark 5
Grounded 1 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 5
Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 7
A split, not a type: Steady 1 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 6
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 2
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 2
Casual 2 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 4
A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 6
Resolved 1 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 7
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet1
- Tragic2
- Ambiguous7
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ari Aster's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
- Hereditary (2018) · actor, director, writer · free
- Midsommar (2019) · actor, director, writer · free
- Dream Scenario (2023) · producer · free
- Beau Is Afraid (2023) · actor, director, writer, producer · free
- After Yang (2021) · thanks · free
- Janet Planet (2023) · thanks · free
- Sasquatch Sunset (2024) · producer · free
Subscription and free streaming for Ari Aster's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
34 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page; 10 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Primetime(2026)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
The Drama(2026)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Bugonia(2025)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Eddington(2025)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Death of a Unicorn(2025)
Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films
Babygirl(2024)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Rumours(2024)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Janet Planet(2023)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Sasquatch Sunset(2024)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
Dream Scenario(2023)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
The Bones (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Beau Is Afraid(2023)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
El Padre Bueno (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Crows Are White (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
After Yang(2021)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Midsommar(2019)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Hereditary(2018)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Basically (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Munchausen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Antarctica (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Bushido (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Death Stranding (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Enemies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Gummy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Hansel & Gretel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Jonty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Scapegoat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Schiller Park (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Looming (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled A24 Horror Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Sixth Ari Aster Feature Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Why Don't You Love Me? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 34 titles, 21 of them dated from 2011 to 2026.
Film career
- 2018Screen debut· Hereditary
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
2 major nominations and no wins, 2019–2025.
- Cannes award, nominated
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Feature
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Ari Aster's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 68th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 73rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th5
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
10 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser10
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 77/100 and the pacing 43/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Ari Aster's work okay for kids?
Across up to 11 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Ari Aster work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ari Aster's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Lars Knudsen shares the most, 11.
Directors
- Kristoffer BorgliShared titles: The Drama (2026), Dream Scenario (2023)See all 2 shared titles with Kristoffer Borgli
Actors
- Robert PattinsonShared titles: Primetime (2026), The Drama (2026)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Pattinson
- Emma StoneShared titles: Bugonia (2025), Eddington (2025)See all 2 shared titles with Emma Stone
- Joaquin PhoenixShared titles: Eddington (2025), Beau Is Afraid (2023)See all 2 shared titles with Joaquin Phoenix
- Will PoulterShared titles: Death of a Unicorn (2025), Midsommar (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Will Poulter
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Lucian JohnstonShared titles: Beau Is Afraid (2023), Midsommar (2019), Hereditary (2018)See all 3 shared titles with Lucian Johnston
- Pawel PogorzelskiShared titles: Beau Is Afraid (2023), Midsommar (2019), Hereditary (2018)See all 3 shared titles with Pawel Pogorzelski
- Bobby KrlicShared titles: Beau Is Afraid (2023), Midsommar (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Bobby Krlic
Producers
- Lars KnudsenShared titles: Primetime (2026), The Drama (2026), Bugonia (2025), Death of a Unicorn (2025), Eddington (2025), Rumours (2024), Sasquatch Sunset (2024), Beau Is Afraid (2023), Dream Scenario (2023), Midsommar (2019), Hereditary (2018)See all 11 shared titles with Lars Knudsen
- Tyler CampelloneShared titles: The Drama (2026), Death of a Unicorn (2025), Rumours (2024), Sasquatch Sunset (2024), Beau Is Afraid (2023), Dream Scenario (2023), Midsommar (2019), Hereditary (2018)See all 8 shared titles with Tyler Campellone
- Harrison HuffmanShared titles: Primetime (2026), Eddington (2025)See all 2 shared titles with Harrison Huffman
- Timo ArgillanderShared titles: Eddington (2025), Beau Is Afraid (2023)See all 2 shared titles with Timo Argillander
