How’s this for a summer vacation? The first trailer for “Midsommar,” director Ari Aster’s horror film follow-up to 2018’s breakout hit “Hereditary,” shows a sunny and glistening, yet unsettling gathering in the fields before things get bloody and bizarre.
In the film, a young woman accompanies her boyfriend to a festival in Sweden that only takes place once every 90 years. The breezy, white outfits and colorful carriages and wall paintings, along with some strange seasonal rituals, are only a facade for some much more sinister practices.
“You can’t speak, you can’t move, but this opens you up to the influence, and it breaks down your defenses,” a woman says calmly. “Trust me, alright?”
The trailer’s heavy, ritualistic breathing and intense close-ups of smiling camp counselors looking directly into your eyes makes for an unnerving sight, and not unlike some of the real-world terrors that made “Hereditary” so engrossing.
Florence Pugh, Jack Raynor, William Jackson Harper and Will Poulter star in the film that’s being released by A24, which also had success releasing “Hereditary” last summer after it earned $79.3 million worldwide.
“Midsommar” opens Aug. 9, 2019.
Watch the first teaser trailer for the film above.