Interviews
Ari Aster Explains the Meta-Joke Behind ‘Midsommar’s Murals [SPOILERS]
You don’t have to be especially eagle-eyed to notice there are a LOT of murals in Ari Aster’s new folk horror movie Midsommar (read my review). The film, about a group of anthropology students who travel to Sweden to study a creepy cult, features dense production design, full of detailed pictures, posters and tapestries and don’t just hint at what’s about to happen… they practically tell you outright in storyboard format.
And that’s just the way Ari Aster wanted it.
In a new interview with Bloody-Disgusting, Aster explained that the film’s pervasive and meticulous visual foreshadowing wasn’t just an effort to immerse the audience in his fictional cult society, but also a fun metatextual commentary on the audience’s expectations of the film.
[SPOILERS AHEAD.]
“First of all I’m working in the folk horror subgenre,” Aster said. “Anybody who knows the genre at all, if you’ve even HEARD of The Wicker Man or Blood on Satan’s Claw, any of these films, you know exactly where we’re going. You know what we’re doing. These Americans are going to be sacrificed.”
“So for me, that’s the least interesting thing about this movie. It’s the thing that’s inevitable. It’s going to happen. So I’m going to treat it that way. From the very beginning, the movie is agreeing to go there. If we didn’t go there it would be probably dissatisfying,” Aster explained.
“So we’re going there. We’re agreeing to go there, and we’re treating it as a given,” Aster said. “So that attitude finds its way into the production design, where there are images strewn through the film that are prophetic in one way or another, and that are – I hope – encouraging a more active audience engagement.”
“That said, and this is a bit of a spoiler, but for me, the film is not about where we’re going. That’s already been written. It’s about what it feels like when we get there, and what the movie actually reveals itself to be once we get there,” Aster added.
“So for the men in the movie, for the American visitors, and for the British visitors, this is a folk horror movie. For our main character, this is a fairy tale.”
Of course, the problem with having that much foreshadowing is that it can make the characters look stupid for not noticing all the obvious red flags, and getting the hell out of danger early in the story. Ari Aster thought of that and he decided to embrace it.
“That’s something where I tried to have fun with that,” Aster revealed. “For me, half the fun was in having these guys be anthropology PhD’s who, the worse it gets, the more exciting it is because they’re going to make this their thesis. And so like, the more grotesque and the more spectacular things become, the more promising this trip proves to be.”
Can you pick up on all the hints in Midsommar? The film is in theaters now!
As the inaugural season of Apple TV+’s stellar new series “Widow’s Bay” barrels toward its finale in two weeks, the latest episode gives Kate O’Flynn the spotlight as her character revisits her trauma with the Boogeyman.
“Your Baggage“, directed by Andrew DeYoung (Friendship), sees O’Flynn’s scene-stealing Patricia once again renew her fight with the Michael Myers-like stalker that slaughtered her peers during her adolescence. Thrillingly, it makes for one extended chase sequence that sees Patricia trying to warn others, while evading the undead killer.
In short, this episode’s incredible riff on Halloween and the slasher subgenre transformed Patricia into a fierce Final Girl.
“Well, that felt like a bucket list that I didn’t know was on my bucket list until I did it, but when I did it, I just lapped up every minute,” O’Flynn tells Bloody Disgusting of her triumphant turn this episode. “It felt fantastic for her to get that moment where she is becoming a badass. That was amazing.”
The actress turned to a few notable references for her performance. “Horror-wise, I go back to my youth, which was referenced in some of the episodes: Wicker Man, Carrie, and Rosemary’s Baby, that sort of thing is my kind of vibe.”
O’Flynn also notes how the series’ unique tone allows for so much creative freedom to make bold swings. “There’s something very freeing about it. Every moment is up for grabs, so it’s like we don’t have to totally land in one direction or another. It keeps it alive.“
Patricia is the eccentric assistant to Matthew Rhys‘ Mayor Tom Loftis, who’s at the forefront of trying to solve the island’s pesky curse predicament. Rhys felt the same about “Widow’s Bay” and its rare ability to make you laugh and scream in equal measure, stemming from series creator Katie Dippold.
“The mandate was, ‘It’s a real world with real people. You play for real.’ There’s no playing for comedy or horror,” Rhys echoes O’Flynn’s sentiments on how freeing the series’ tone has been.
New episodes will release every Wednesday through June 17 only on Apple TV+.
Kate O’Flynn in “Widow’s Bay,” now streaming on Apple TV.
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