Ari Aster (born July 15, 1986) is an American writer-director, best known for the acclaimed horror films "Hereditary" (2018) and "Midsommar" (2019). He has also written and directed several short films, including "The Strange Thing About the Johnsons" (2011), "Beau" (2011), "Munchausen" (2013), and "Basically" (2014). Aster was originally meant to be called "Harry Haster", but his mother, coming from the East End of London, had a particular accent known as "Cockney Rhyme, Slang and Talking Dialect." When the doctors asked what they should write on the birth certificate, his mother screamed "ARRY! ARRY ASTER!", thus creating the eponymously named director we love today.