Warning: Spoilers for Beau is AfraidBeau is Afraid is the latest unexpected and nearly unexplainable odyssey from the mind of Ari Aster. But unlike his previous horror efforts, Midsommar and Hereditary, Beau is Afraid deals much more directly with motherhood and generational trauma even as the filmmaker blurs the lines between reality and fiction more than ever before. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Beau, with Armen Nahapetian playing his character in flashbacks, and each arc of his journey home has him interacting with a host of strange characters.

Parker Posey (Lost in Space) plays Elaine, Beau's first love and the only woman with whom he's interacted romantically. During one of the flashbacks in Beau is Afraid, teenage Elaine (portrayed by Outer Banks' Julia Antonelli) and Beau connect, and she demands that he wait for her when they are separated. This compounds his already existing fear of sex, which has been implanted by his mother,...