In the extremely divisive film Bo is afraid, Walking Phoenix stars as a slubby

anxiety-ridden middle-aged man whose existence is an extended nightmare of guilt, shame, dread, and

paranoia.

It's the latest film from writer and director Ari Astor, and it follows Boe as he attempts

to visit his mother only to get repeatedly frustrated by a series

of deeply disturbing obstacles that may be real or may be entirely of his own making.

I'm Glenn Weldon and today we're talking about Bo Is Afraid on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.

Joining me today is NPR producer Mallory U. Hey Mallory.

Hey, Glenn.

Hey,

also joining us as Weekend Edition producer Danny Hencil. Hey Danny, hey there.

And rounding out the panel is switched on pop producer

Riana Cruz.

Welcome back, Riana.

Howdy.

All right, let's talk about this film that is going to be so fun to talk about. So Bo is afraid is the title, it's also the understatement of the damn year.

Waukeen Phoenix plays Bo, who isn't just afraid, he's racked with paralyzing feelings of guilt.

And those feelings render him docile, inarticulate, and paranoid.

They also distort his view of the world around him.

We know that because writer and director Ari Astor, whose previous films were hereditary and mid-sumer,

show us Bow's world as he sees it and as he feels it.

And Bow's world? It sucks. His downtown neighborhood is a Hellscape and he has a fraught relationship

...