Horror visionary Jordan Peele praised Midsommar for being “iconic” and “atrociously disturbing,” and the first reactions from audiences suggest that it’s also shockingly funny. In any event, the followup from Herditary director Ari Aster recently debuted a first trailer that previewed an American couple’s terrifying trip to a Swedish commune where disturbing, clique-y antics begin to unfold on the summer solstice, and in this followup trailer — arriving on the actual summer solstice, June 21, the longest day of the year — cult rituals rise to the surface.
Meals, games, parades, chants, and more “gross” festival happenings take place, along with a game referred to as “skin the fool.” Oh, and there are bears on the scene and some levitation. This does not bode well. From the synopsis:
Dani and Christian are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, a grieving Dani invites herself to join Christian and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree summer holiday in a land of eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when the insular villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that render the pastoral paradise increasingly unnerving and viscerally disturbing. From the visionary mind of Ari Aster comes a dread-soaked cinematic fairytale where a world of darkness unfolds in broad daylight.
Midsommar arrives in theaters on July 3.
