Stars At Noon is currently in theaters and delivers one more immersive story from A24. Divisive and controversial as other movies from the company in 2022, it's igniting a series of discussions on how A24 has a style of its own, especially when it comes to horror.
A24 has gained brand status due to the distinctiveness of its movies, and truth be told, most of its horror films share a similar approach. That's why they have been attracting a legion of fans interested in getting a new horror experience each time.
Ambiguity
If there's one thing all A24 horror movies have in common is the tendency to never provide viewers with easy answers. Sometimes, viewers are left with no idea of what's going on in the film at all, such is the case of The Killing Of The Sacred Deer, where things just happen to escalate in a terrifying fashion without an explanation of what's behind the story disturbing events.
The ambiguity factor is often at its best when it comes to these movies' endings. A24 wants fans to chew on what they just saw, and reflect on the various symbolism and hidden clues, leading up to a great post-watch experience as things gradually begin to fall into place according to one's own interpretation.
Bleak Atmosphere
Regardless of the A24 movie, each one of them has a distinctive atmosphere to offer. Often cold, eerie, and mystifying, the ambiance feels almost like a character in the story, from the chilling house of Hereditary to the mysterious island in The Lighthouse. The setting and the atmosphere it conveys manipulate the characters to act the way they do, as if they're impulsed by exterior forces they can't quite comprehend.
Instead of resorting to cheap jumpscares, A24 horror movies lean toward their bleak atmosphere; liminal spaces and empty farmlands that harbor terrifying secrets. Even in Midsommar, a movie set entirely during the daytime, it stands out as one of the most effective horror elements of the film.
Realistic Character Drama
The unknown in A24 horror movies represents a mere narrative device in the arcs of their characters, something inherently linked to their psyche or a chilling discovery that adds one more layer of drama to a well-established story. In Midsommar, for example, the protagonist's actions can be understood because of the emphasis on her painful past.
Another great example is Lamb, a typical A24 movie in which most of the story is focused on the noxious relationships between its three characters, bonded by the main couple's lamb-human hybrid. The only reason why the movie hits so hard once it starts to get weird is because of the gripping family drama that drives the story to a point of no return, providing viewers with not only a scary conclusion but also a melancholic, revolting ending.
Strong Lead Performances
The first thing that pops up in the mind of the fans when asked about an A24 horror film will probably be a face. There's a tradition in the horror genre of not focusing too much on strong performances and rather paying attention to the overall atmosphere of the movie or the scares, but that doesn't apply to A24 movies.
Instead of being reduced to mere scream queens, the lead performances in movies such as Hereditary, Midsommar, and Pearl have a distinctive character psychology to adhere to and certain mannerisms that could only be effectively delivered onscreen when conducted by legendary actors such as Toni Collette, Florence Pugh, and Mia Goth.
Disruptive Formulas
A24 movies usually aren't genre niched and reject the horror formula in favor of their own original approach. A good example is one of the best and most original villains of 2022.
Men, which was released earlier this year, is one of the strangest A24 horror movies as it ends in a completely different spot from where it started. The way the story goes from a slow-burn thriller to a ghastly body horror movie is just as shocking as it is fascinating, showcasing a great genre modulation from A24.
Psychological Dilemmas
A24 horror movies have a tendency to lean on evil. The yin and yang concept applies to pretty much all of their movies with not a single character that is inherently evil or completely good. There's always a clever dilemma, a controversial decision, and in the end, fans shouldn't be surprised if evil triumphs.
Movies such as Under The Skin and The Witch offer chilling character studies on the other side of the coin; where religious restraints are damnation and a life of sin means freedom. Moreover, fans can't really judge those characters because regardless of how controversial their psychological dilemmas are, their cleverly constructed psyche justifies most of their questionable actions.
Metaphors
The horror genre is known to be a genre centered around the graphic, horrific, or exploitative. A24 rejects all these obvious horror elements in favor of a bone-chilling narrative made of suggestive details, symbolism, and metaphors about the human condition that often make their horror movies not look like one.
The metaphors are crucial for the kind of discussions these movies try to give rise to. What does the lighthouse represent? Is the Green Man from Men the embodiment of the protagonist's repressed desires or the haunting presence of guilt that consumes her? A24 metaphors aren't simply thrown there -- they are the crucial elements that divide the surface of the narrative from its suggestive horror elements.
Style Over Substance
Fans may ask themselves, "Is the black-and-white cinematography of The Lighthouse truly necessary?" or "How much of X's exploitative scenes did we actually need?" but these movies simply wouldn't be the same without the stylish choices that make them so different from other modern horror movies.
For some, choosing style over substance can easily backfire, causing distraction and shying away from the movie's main plot, which explains the divisive reactions towards Men and It Comes At Night, but these are also the very reasons fans of these films love them particularly.
Outbursts Of Violence
The most dangerous characters in A24 movies are those who look harmless on the surface but are clearly on edge. A24's tendency to lean on psychological horror is a clever choice to carry on an engaging build-up to their characters; they seem ordinary but are gradually overtaken by madness, guilt, or shame.
A24's way to deal with these extreme emotions always leads up to impulsive outbursts of violence that knock viewers off their comfort zone as the movies remind them this is a horror film. At the moment, the characters turn into something completely unreliable, the narrative reaches its peak of tension. Instead of using non-stop violence, A24 horror movies casually insert violent instances as a way to reach the climax of each of their characters.
Horror As A Vehicle
There's always someone that will look at a recently announced A24 horror film and question whether it will "actually" be a horror movie this time. such as "post-horror" or "elevated horror" are truly harmful to the genre, but the great majority of A24 horror films aren't straight-up horror films. In these films, horror is the common force that keeps characters together or brutally draws them apart.
Horror is merely a narrative tool -- a vehicle to get to the point without taking the easy route. Truth is, A24 can insert horror elements in any kind of narrative, from Bodies Bodies Bodies' quirky satirical style to High Life's dreadful analysis of human behavior. There's always a gap to explore, a chance to turn a seemingly innocent plot such as a punk rock gig in Green Room into a nightmarish struggle to survive.
