‘Midsommar’: Ari Aster Calls His ‘Hereditary’ Follow-Up ‘Wizard of Oz for Perverts’

Little is known about “Midsommar,” which is by design. Ari Aster became one of last year’s breakout filmmakers with his feature directorial debut “Hereditary,” and so anticipation is naturally high for his follow-up — not that he’s revealing much about it. Speaking to Vulture, the writer-director described his forthcoming cult thriller as “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,’” Aster added. When asked what they should expect and whether there’s any one film he would compare it to, he couldn’t come up with an answer; then, when “Mamma Mia” was mentioned as a reference point, the filmmaker replied, “Yeah, sure, I’d say so,” with a laugh. “It’s a ‘Wizard of Oz’ for perverts.”

Aster has previously described “Midsommar” as both “Scandinavian folk horror” and “an apocalyptic breakup movie” in which the “recent death of the main character’s parents casts a sense of dread over the proceedings.” Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, and Will Poulter lead the cast, and Aster has said the film is “the only other horror movie I have, and I’m pretty sure that’s going to be it for a long time.” He’s working on several other genre scripts.

And in case you were wondering, Aster also agrees that Toni Collette should have been honored by the Academy for her performance in “Hereditary.” “Of course, she was snubbed!” he said. “It’s a horror film — and those are kind of traditionally maligned by the industry.”

A24, which also distributed “Hereditary,” will release “Midsommar” in theaters this summer.