‘Midsommar’ Trailer From ‘Hereditary’ Director Released

One of last year’s most terrifying experiences was Hereditary, an exhausting journey in which a family dealt with the emotional ramifications of the loss of family members, made all the more bizarre when the supernatural got involved. The first trailer for writer/director Ari Aster‘s follow-up film, Midsommar, has debuted, which you can watch above. Midsommar lands in theaters on August 9th.

In the film, Pugh and Reynor will play a couple that 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, Will Poulter, and Florence Pugh with Vilhem Blomgren, William Jackson Harper, Ellora Torchia, and Archie Madekwe.

The new film’s ties to rituals will likely excite genre fans who enjoyed The Wicker Man, Kill List, or, Apostle, with Aster likely embracing the genre’s roots while also delivering an unexpected narrative.

Recent years have seen films like Hereditary, Get Out, The Witch, and The Babadook challenge the preconceived notion of genre film and demonstrated how horror films can deliver much more than buckets of blood. Initial responses to this Midsommar trailer hint that we can expect a similar experience with the new film, with star of Hereditary Alex Wolffe previously revealing how proud he was to be involved with such an ambitious endeavor under the guidance of Aster.

“We’re in a really good age of horror, where, as the movie went along, and as it came out, and people were so disturbed by it, I just swore myself over to it. I was like, no, this is a horror movie,” Wolff admitted to ComicBook.com. “This is a really, really good horror movie, and it’s possible to make amazing horror movies.”

He added, “Movies like The Witch, and movies like The Babadook, and movies like that really are proving that you can [push boundaries]. Killing of a Sacred Deer is technically a horror movie, and it’s amazing. I just think we’re in a really good generation of horror movies, aside from the same run of the mill stuff that comes out. There is a really good movement of horror going on, I think.”

Fans can check out Midsommar when it lands in theaters on August 9th.

What do you think of this first trailer? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

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