A24You remember Hereditary? You know the one: the twisted, emotional and disturbing horror film that was scientifically proven as the scariest film of 2018. Yep, there you go.
Well, the trailer for a new psychological horror has been released and it looks just as traumatising as Hereditary – and it’s even produced by the same production company and directed by the one and the same Ari Aster.
Midsommar probably couldn’t, on first look, seem any further away from the dark and supernatural depths of Hereditary, but you’d better believe it looks terrifying in an altogether different way.
Take a look at the trailer below, if you dare:
While Hereditary was full of darkness (both literally and figuratively), exploring the demons within us in a – quite frankly – horrifying way, the trailer for Midsommar is light and colourful.
Following a group of Americans as they travel to Sweden for a flower-strewn festival that takes place just once every 90 years, the film quickly descends into ‘an apocalyptic breakup movie,’ as director Aster described it to Film Comment.
The film follows a woman who reluctantly joins her boyfriend and his group of friends as they visit an isolated Swedish village, but what initially appears to be an idyllic retreat soon turns into a violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult. Yikes.
A24While we haven’t been given many hints as to what we can expect from the film’s plot, the trailer does offer glimpses of the horror to come – including a bear being disemboweled and a woman dragging her blood-stained hands down a stone full of mysterious carvings.
Aster warns that you shouldn’t go into the film expecting Hereditary 2.0 though, explaining that although it’s ‘very macabre,’ it’s on a different wavelength.
Speaking to Slash Film, the director said:
It’s a breakup movie, in the same way that Hereditary is a family tragedy. It’s less overtly a horror movie, but it’s still working in that same space. It’s very macabre. But people shouldn’t go in expecting Hereditary.
Advising what we can expect, Aster said the film is like ‘a Wizard of Oz for perverts’. Which has intrigued me enough that I’m definitely going to watch it.
A24The film stars Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Will Poulter (The Maze Runner), Vilhem Blomgren, William Jackson Harper (The Good Place), Ellora Torchia and Archie Madekwe.
If it’s anywhere near as terrifying as Hereditary, I reckon we already have a contender for the film of the summer.
Midsommar hits cinema screens on July 3.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).