Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A suburban father gets trapped in a one-sided incestuous relationship with his abusive son.
Ari Aster's debut short is a genuinely shocking and transgressive piece of filmmaking that inverts the typical abuse dynamic in a deeply uncomfortable way. The plot is audaciously conceived — a suburban father trapped in an incestuous, abusive relationship with his son — executed with deadpan domestic realism that makes it all the more disturbing. Novelty is extremely high; the role-reversal premise is utterly singular and unmistakably Aster in its willingness to go where no one else would. Acting is competent and grounded given the material, keeping the film from feeling exploitative. Cinematography is functional and deliberately mundane, which serves the concept but isn't visually ambitious. The ending is grim and fitting but not especially surprising given the film's trajectory.