The Strange Thing About the Johnsons

The Strange Thing About the Johnsons is a short drama with horror elements about a well-off suburban family whose outward respectability hides a long-running abuse. Sidney, a celebrated poet, has molested his son Isaiah since the boy was twelve. Now an adult and newly married, Isaiah remains entangled with his father, while Sidney has written a memoir describing the relationship in detail. The question of whether that manuscript will ever be published hangs over the household, and Isaiah may have his own say in the matter.

Ari Aster wrote and directed the film, his first credited directorial work, released in 2011 while he was studying at the American Film Institute, which produced it with the AFI Conservatory. Alejandro de Leon produced. The cast includes Billy Mayo as Sidney, Brandon Greenhouse as Isaiah, Angela Bullock as Joan, Carlon Jeffery as the younger Isaiah, Connie Jackson and Danièle Watts. It runs thirty minutes.

Aster went on to direct Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid and Eddington. The short holds a rating of 7 out of 10 on IMDb from around 13,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.8 from roughly 400 votes, a narrower and warmer response than the larger IMDb sample.