Hereditarywas nothing short of a horror phenomenon when it arrived early last year, propelling director Ari Aster to a best director win at Fangoria’s Chainsaw Awards. Now the new horror wunderkind is back with his latest terrifying offering. We have the first trailer forMidsommar. Let the Summer festivities begin.
The story revolves around a crazy 9 day festival that only happens every 90 years. No official synopsis is being released for the movie at this time, but we can tell that things aren’t quite right at this big outdoor fair, with its bright shinning lights and the summer breeze wafting offFlorence Pughas she makes her way to the clearing. Everything is flowers and sunshine. Which sets a unique vibe for a horror movie, with the genre usually drenched in darkness.
We’re quickly introduced to the festival, with young smiling girls wearing flower crowns. We see the main characters getting pulled into a cult ritual, drugged, as horrible things begin happening in broad day light. ‘You’re going to love it.’ Says the master of ceremonies. And there is an unnerving sense that not all is right on this higher plateau.
Midsommarstars Florence Pugh,Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgran, Archie Madekwe, Ellora Torchia, andWill Poulter. Ari Aster wrote and directed the movie, which will be in theaters this summer. The thriller will follow the couple we see in this first footage as they travel to Sweden, visiting a friend’s rural hometown for its fabled mid-summer festival. It appears to be an idyllic retreat, but things quickly devolve into an intensely violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
Ari Asterbegan his film career working in short films. He directed seven from 2011 though 2016, honing his craft until it came time for his first feature,Hereditary. That movie proved to be a huge hit at the box office, and was a smash with critics, though it does have its detractors. The movie made $79.3 million woking off a very small budget. It went onto be a huge hit on home video and streaming, where it has only grown in cult status.
Aster is going back to his roots inScandinavian folk horrorforMidsommar, which has a very traditional look and feel, which is something that isn’t often explored in modern horror fare. Films that inspired this monstrous summer offering includeBlack Narcissus(1947),Hard to Be a God(2013),Macbeth(1971), andTess(1979).
You can check out the terror that awaits in the first trailer, which arrives direct from A24. It may not be what you were expecting as the follow-up to something as dark and brooding asHereditary. But it’s also so compelling, I dare you not to look away before being completely consumed by the horrors within.
