‘Midsommar’ Trailer: A new horror movie from the dude who fucked you up with ‘Hereditary’
After Hereditary, I’m ready to follow Ari Aster wherever the fuck he goes.
/Film:
Hereditary director Ari Aster is back with yet another tale of terror: Midsommar. The film follows a couple visiting a friend in Sweden during the traditional mid-summer festivities. The trip turns from idyllic to terrifying, though, when a pagan cult enters the scene. I always hate what that happens to me on vacation, too.
After Hereditary, I’m ready to watch whatever movie Ari Aster wants to make. Thankfully for me, his next movie is Midsommar, another horror film – but one that looks much different than Hereditary. In this film, which looks partially inspired by The Wicker Man (the original movie, not the on with Nicolas Cage and the bees), “a couple travels to Sweden to visit their friend’s rural hometown for its fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.”
Midsommar stars Jack Reynor, Florence Pugh, Will Poulter, Vilhem Blomgren, William Jackson Harper, Ellora Torchia and Archie Madekwe, and has been described by Aster as “Scandinavian folk horror” and “an apocalyptic breakup movie.” I like the sound of all of this. The only downside: Aster also said that Midsommer “is the only other horror movie” he has in him for now, and that he’s “pretty sure that’s going to be it for a long time.” That’s a bit of a bummer – I’d love it if he stuck with the genre longer. But at least he was able to knock Midsommar out before he moved on to other things.
I know Hereditary had a lot of hype last year, and some felt it didn’t live up to that hype. I wasn’t one of those people, though – I thought the movie was even better than its reputation suggested. It was a smart, well-crafted and, most of all, creepy movie that got the job done. The fact that it was Aster’s feature debut made it all the more extraordinary. Still, I’m sure Midsommar is going to end up puzzling casual horror fans the way Hereditary did. That seems to be par for the course with the horror films that A24 puts out. As for me, I’ll be first in line to see whatever Aster has cooked up this time.