What Is The Song In The Beau Is Afraid Trailer?

True to form for Ari Aster, his third feature film is not what is expected. The director encountered mainstream success with "Hereditary," one of A24's best films. Full of demons and generational trauma, the Toni Collette-led movie is not for the faint of heart. His follow-up with "Midsommar" is slightly lighter fare, though still contains someone lighting their partner on fire. Both films pertained to the horror genre, focusing on resonant themes such as family and toxic relationships. But whether viewers were hoping for another socially aware horror endeavor or not, they are still going to get their world rocked.

"Beau is Afraid" is a departure from previous films that comfortably settled in horror tropes. The trailer still employs familiar humor present in "Midsommar," but seems to be in a different genre altogether. Focusing on the titular character Beau (Joaquin Phoenix), the film spans years as he overcomes his darkest fears. Though it may not seem like a fun and wild ride, the song in the "Beau is Afraid" trailer cloaks the film in nostalgia and promises this is nothing you have ever seen before.

When Ari Aster promises something, he delivers. Not letting audiences get complacent with his work, he promised the A.S. Program Board that his next film would be a "nightmare comedy." He continued: "All I know is that it's gonna be four hours long, over 17 [years of age]." Nightmare is the right word, as far as the trailer is concerned. Joaquin Phoenix's Beau appears to be a conflicted and anxiety-prone person with a twisted relationship with his mother. Quite a terrifying world to live in for four hours, but Aster's song choice in the trailer hints at moments of levity.

While Beau jumps through animated landscapes and dodges bullets, it is all to the soundtrack of Supertramp's "Goodbye Stranger." The English band formed in the late '60s and would go on to massive success with other hits such as "Dreamer" and "Give a Little Bit." The band's 1979 jam "Goodbye Stranger" employs Rick Davies' practiced hand at the Wurlitzer electric piano. With soothing instruments and forlorn lyrics, the song is the perfect choice for Aster's film. Though it evokes feelings of nostalgia for the late '70s, it also has a melancholic tone of someone saying goodbye to a lover. Like Supertramp's song, "Beau is Afraid" promises to be contradictory with terrifying visuals and hilarious antics when it premieres in April.