Ari Aster, the director of acclaimed horror films Hereditary and Midsommar, has premiered his latest movie, Beau is Afraid.

The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as the main character, who is described as “paranoid” and embarks on a journey to return home to his mother, played by Patti LuPone.

The movie was shown unexpectedly to those who had purchased tickets to the director’s cut of Aster’s previous film, Midsommar, in Brooklyn, New York.

The film, which has a running time of three hours, has been labelled a “nightmare comedy” and received positive first reactions from the audience in attendance.

Emma Stone led a Q&A session with Aster after the screening.

During this conversation, Aster shared that one scene was so “intense” that Phoenix fainted midway through.

“There was a scene that was very intense for Patti and it was a shot that was on Patti – it was not on him – and all of a sudden, he fell out of frame,” Aster explained.

“I was really pissed ’cause it was a really good take.”

Aster continued to explain that Phoenix was so committed to the scene that he fainted while helping his fellow actors in their shots.

“He wasn’t on camera and he was helping them – he was in it for them to the point where he collapsed.

It’s very poetic that he collapsed in somebody else’s shot.”

Deadline reported that Aster said he went around the corner after Phoenix fainted and found him collapsed with people attending to him.

“I knew it was bad because he was letting people touch him and people were tending to him and he was allowing it,” Aster said during the Q&A.

When asked if the fainting was planned or staged, Aster confirmed that it was not.

“It felt confusing, so I went around the corner, and he was collapsed,” he said.

“The point is that he fainted in somebody else’s take.”

Aster’s previous films have received critical acclaim, with both Hereditary and Midsommar being praised for their unique take on horror.

With Beau is Afraid being labelled as a “nightmare comedy”, it is clear that Aster’s latest offering is set to continue his trend of combining different genres.

The film’s lead actor, Joaquin Phoenix, is known for his dedication to his roles.

He won the Academy Award for Best Actor earlier this year for his portrayal of the Joker in the movie of the same name.

Phoenix is also set to star in the upcoming film C’mon C’mon, directed by Mike Mills.

Beau is Afraid has not yet been given a release date, but it is expected to be distributed by A24, the same company that distributed Hereditary and Midsommar.