The Strange Thing About the Johnsons

Directed by Ari Aster

A dark domestic-horror drama about the ties that bind--and the ties that really bind.

The Strange Thing About the Johnsons is an extraordinarily disturbing short film that announces Ari Aster’s talent for turning domestic spaces into sources of almost unbearable dread. The reversed abuse dynamic is intentionally shocking, but the film’s real strength lies in its attention to fear, silence and complicity. It is confrontational and deeply uncomfortable, yet controlled enough to feel purposeful rather than sensational.