“Fear can affect our perception of reality,” says an inquisitive shrink about halfway through “Little Joe,” Jessica Hausner’s highbrow horticulture horror flick (say that three times fast) that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival back in May, with lead Emily Beecham winning the festival’s Best Actress award. And if that observation might be the case for the beleaguered mother at the center of this sci-fi head-trip, it is entirely the other way around when describing Hausner’s intentions.
With her English language debut, the Austrian filmmaker has channeled her perceptions of fear, taking a common reality — that which parents face when their kids reach adolescence – and refracting the myriad anxieties and uncertainties of that stage of life as a gonzo genre freak-out.