Summary

• Ari Aster's use of gory head trauma shots in his films, including Midsommar, is rooted in his own childhood fears, and he has no plans to stop using them.
• Many of the fears and phobias depicted in Midsommar, such as Mark's fear of ticks, are inspired by Ari Aster's own real-life fears.
• Midsommar includes hidden details, such as Simon's death being based on a real Viking execution ritual, and the trailer teasing a different version of the final scene, showcasing Ari Aster's attention to intricate storytelling.

Ari Aster is a master of elevated horror, providing a ton of unseen Midsommar Easter eggs throughout the film. Dubbed "folk horror," Midsommar is unique as there isn't any physical darkness to be found throughout the technicolor journey. However, Aster's tale is no less frightening as he unfurls unflinchingly gory scenes of loss, betrayal, and ritualistic violence. Midsommar sees grad student Christian (Jack Reynor) reluctantly take his girlfriend Dani (Florence Pugh) on an educational trip to Sweden to observe the customs and practices of Pelle's (Vilhelm Blomgren) home commune for their mid-summer festival.

Dani has recently suffered a tragic loss, as her parents were killed by her younger sister who committed suicide shortly after. As Dani, Christian, and the rest of the group visiting the Hårga ingratiate themselves into cult practices with the help of hallucinogenics, rituals grow shockingly strange and violent. Upon rewatching Aster's self-proclaimed "break-up" film, audiences will notice a string of Midsommar Easter eggs that were previously missed upon initial viewing. There are a number of Midsommar hidden details within its rich and terrifying imagery, which often hold a deeper meaning or foreshadow important plot points.

Aster's Famous Head Trauma Close-Ups Come From Childhood Fears

Midsommar Contains One Of The Horror Director's Classic Tropes

Fans of movie director Ari Aster may have noticed a trend of seeing gruesome head trauma close-ups. In Hereditary, one of the most disturbing and shocking scenes depicted Charlie getting her head lopped off by a telephone pole when she stuck it out the window. In Midsommar, viewers see the aftermath of the ritual suicide scene and several grisly closeups of a smashed head.

These Midsommar Easter eggs are actually rooted in Aster's own childhood fears. According to an article from Esquire, Aster likes to use images that terrorized him as a child. He also stated that he will never stop using gory head trauma shots in his movies.

Mark's Tick Phobia Is Aster's Real-Life Fear

Head Trauma Isn't The Only Personal Touch From The Midsommar Director

More interesting Midsommar Easter eggs have further roots in Aster's real-life fears. In the film, Mark (Will Poulter) freaks out about ticks. Several of the other characters tease him about this, but it is based on Ari Aster's real-life fear of ticks. As previously mentioned, Aster loves to base elements of his stories on his own life.

Some people cope with trauma and their fears by using them in their art, and Aster is definitely that type of person. He would also wear at least two pairs of socks while walking in places known for ticks to try and keep them from latching on to him.

Simon's Death Is Based On A Real Viking Ritual

One Of Midsommar's Most Brutal Deaths Is Drawn From History

Each character gets a shocking death in Midsommar, but Simon (Archie Madekwe) has by far the most brutal looking. Not many people may have understood what was going on during Simon's death scene. His body was shown flayed alive, his lungs extended like wings in an extremely visceral and gory way.

The film only gives viewers a brief look. Adding to the list of Midsommar hidden details is that Simon's method of death was based on a real Norse execution ritual known as the Blood Eagle. It's made even more terrifying because Simon was alive while it happened and was still alive when Christian found him.

Mark Becomes A Victim Of A Midsommar Game

Mark Being Skinned Was Secretly Forshadowed In Midsommar

It can be easy to miss what happens to Mark on the first watch-through of Midsommar. However, Mark's death is teased earlier in one of the Midsommar Easter eggs. During one of the scariest Midsommar scenes where Josh (William Jackson Harper) sneaks out at night to take a forbidden photo of the cult's hidden book, he's confronted by someone wearing a terrifying mask.

However, what audiences might have missed is that the mask being worn is made from Mark's skin. Earlier in the film, a group of people was playing a game called "skin the fool." Mark literally becomes the skinned fool after he pees on the sacred tree branch and gets lured away to his fate.

The Midsommar Trailer Teased The Final Scene

The Marketing For Midsommar Managed To Reveal The Finale Without Spoilers

This is one of the Midsommar hidden details in the trailer and not the movie itself, but during the official trailer for Midsommar, the editors gave viewers a little fakeout. During the trailer, audiences get a glimpse at the infamous final scene of the movie, where bodies are filed into the temple and set on fire. Except, as viewers can see, the trailer version is very different from the real one.

Eagle-eyed fans in the YouTube comments and other online forums spotted this detail. Instead of seeing the bear or the weird bodily arrangements of the other Americans, viewers are shown big hazmat-like suits, making it seem less sinister than the real scene.

The Opening Tapestry Foreshadows Midsommar's Story

Characters And Events From Midsommar Are Teased Before The Movie's Even Started

Midsommar opens with a decidedly creepy tapestry marking the changes between winter and summer. At first, it appears that the tapestry is depicting the passing of the seasons, with some viewers suggesting that Midsommar's deaths represent the four elements, featuring two scary faces marking the middle of winter and summer. However, upon closer inspection, characters from the film appear in each stage of the tapestry, acting out what they will do at various points. Before the plot has even begun, audiences are given Midsommar Easter eggs and a sense that everything has been pre-planned.

Mirrors Are A Metaphor In Midsommar

Reflective Surfaces Are A Pivotal Visual Element

As Midsommar is, at its core, a break-up movie, it naturally requires its lead, Dani, to engage in a lot of self-reflection. One of the most effective ways the movie does this is through the use of mirrors, one of the more interesting Midsommar hidden details. Viewers first learn of her parents' deaths by seeing their bodies reflected in a mirror. Also, the closest Midsommar gets to a traditional jump scare is when Dani sees the shadow of someone reflected in a mirror. It seems that Aster uses mirrors as a way to reveal reflections, not of the characters themselves, but of their inner thoughts and fears.

The Flower Crown In Dani's Parents' Death Scene

A Brief Glimpse Of Dani's Iconic Headwear Appears Far Earlier In Midsommar

On the first viewing, it's not immediately clear that the main characters may not be in control of their actions, giving way to many Midsommar Easter eggs. After all, Dani only really wants to come on the trip because the loss of her parents has left her feeling alone and vulnerable. That is until eagle-eyed viewers spotted a flower crown next to Dani's dead parents.

It's shown early enough in the movie that the audience doesn't get the context, and placed subtly enough that they may forget about it by the time Dani gets to Sweden. However, it strongly implies that Dani's loss may not have been an accident.

Christian's Drink Signaled His Fate In Midsommar

The Hair In Christian's Food Was Also Clever Foreshadowing

Many people will have noticed one of the most obvious Midsommar Easter eggs, that Christian's drink in the last act was a different color from everyone else's. And in hindsight, it couldn't be clearer why — he'd been selected for the traditional mating ritual. However, on second viewing, the dark red color of the drink has different meanings. A lot of the rituals in Midsommar revolve around fertility and the menstrual cycle. When Christian found a pubic hair in his food, it was a more obvious warning than what now must clearly be seen as the blood mixed into his drink.

Midsommar Has Psychadelic Hidden Imagery

The Drug Sequences In Midsommar Contain Many Visual Hints

There are a lot of drugs taken by the Midsommar cast. Of course, they are part of the process of seeing the "true" nature of the world, but, even so, the main characters do spend a lot of their time hallucinating. Director Ari Aster shows the effects of the drugs by having the plants and flowers move as though breathing and forming impossible shapes.

However, as the movie progresses, the screen is filled with Midsommar hidden details as a result of the drugs. In one sequence, an entire forest takes on the shape of a glaring face. When viewers watch it again, more and more hidden images suddenly become noticeable.

Midsommar's Lack Of Subtitles Was Deliberate

The Language Barrier Was Used To Create A Sense Of Isolation

Although it's set in Sweden, most of Midsommar is in the English language. Some of the characters, however, do speak Swedish, but, interestingly, their lines are not subtitled. This is one of the deliberate Midsommar Easter eggs that serves to further isolate the Americans from their European hosts, but it also has an interesting effect on the audience.

Viewers are made to feel as isolated as the main characters, and any hope audiences may have of gaining some knowledge about the hosts' suspicion grows is taken away by the lack of subtitles. Viewers are trapped, forced to watch the events unfold as they happen without any means of protecting themselves.

Midsommar Uses Camera Tricks To Play With Time

The Uncertainty Of Events Is Heightened For The Audience Through Subtle Techniques

In one Midsommar sequence, the camera pans from right to left as the main characters explore their surroundings. The shot ends as it passes over a series of tapestries depicting a ritual. The tapestries each depict one aspect of the ritual playing out as though in a comic book. However, they are also hung and therefore presented in right-to-left reading order, suggesting that the perception of time's passage may be skewed.

The guests in Midsommar are already confused by how late the sun stays out, and effects like this are just one of many ways the film plays with a non-linear perspective of time.

Numbers Have A Big Role In Midsommar

Midsommar Is Rife With Numerological Themes

Another way Midsommar Easter eggs create a sense of the preordained and non-linear time is through repeated use of the numbers 8 and 9. Flipped on its side, the number 8 resembled the symbol for infinity and is present in much of the architecture in the Swedish village.

Also, in a brief moment of explanation, one of the hosts details elements of their culture, particularly the idea that they see their lives split into four main sections which are made up of a number of years that are all multiples of 8. Death comes to the villagers at 72, the number gotten when 8 and 9 are multiplied, and the ceremony happens once every 90 years.

The Cult's Symbols Are Never Explained

Midsommar's Hårga Iconography Is Kept Deliberately Ambiguous

The most obviously repeated symbols in Midsommar are the numbers, as previously mentioned. But there are other Midsommar hidden details, and they each have the same effect. They have to mean something, but viewers are given no clue as to what. Instead, audiences are forced to come up with their own explanations, using these hidden details to explain others they've spotted. It's a highly effective trick for keeping audiences' brains engaged with the guesswork, but viewers are still in the dark when it comes to what might happen next.

Midsommar Explores Dying Twice

Ari Aster Viewing Midsommar As A Break-Up Movie Is Incredibly Important

Aster has described Midsommar as a break-up movie, and usually, that means watching someone live through a breakup and come out changed on the other side. The way this works is very on par with pagan attitudes to a liminal death. This was basically the idea that once someone dies, their body must be prepared for their new life in the society of the dead.

Essentially, they die twice. Taking in the whole structure of the film, viewers see these Midsommar Easter eggs played out in two very different deaths; the violent death of Dani's family, and the ceremonial deaths of her friends, which mark the beginning and end of a change in Dani's life.