Midsommar is streaming now on Netflix UK and Ireland.
And if you're planning to watch it again,
here are nine things you probably missed
the first time around.
-Welcome. -Hi.
-Welcome home. -Oh.
The tapestry shown in the opening
tells you everything that's going to happen.
Although without context, you'd never comprehend it.
You can see Dani,
her sister and her parents entwined with tubes
next to a representation of death.
You can see Christian consoling Dani
while Pelle watches on, sketching what he sees.
You can even see the group
being led to the Hårga by Pelle,
this time playing the role of Pied Piper.
Mark is even wearing a jester hat,
marking him as the fool,
something the film plays on,
and we'll come back to in a bit.
But the tapestry is significant
in another way.
When the film begins,
it parts like a stage curtain,
giving us a sense of theatre.
This is referenced again
when the group enters the village.
They think they're the audience,
here to passively observe an alien culture.
But watch this moment again
and you'll clearly see, they're the players,
entering the stage for the entertainment of the Hårga.
This is a quick one.
But it's hugely important
giving the ending of the film.
Look at the framed picture of Dani by her parents' bed
and you'll see it's adorned with a flower crown,
foreshadowing what will eventually happen to her.
Some people take this as proof
that Pelle has somehow been orchestrating
the entire ritual,
and he's responsible for the death of Dani's family.
Watch closely during Dani's crowning ceremony
and you'll notice three villagers
who stay in shot slightly longer than the others.
And if we look again at the chilling opening sequence,
we can see that they're actually
Dani's parents and sister.
There's some debate over what this means.
Some people think
it's a symptom of the drugs she's been given.
Others take it as proof they're actually there.
Either way, it's still a powerful way of reinforcing
the significance of this moment.
Hints at Christian's fate
are present throughout the movie.
There's a painting in Dani's house
by Swedish artist John Bauer
which shows a queen and a bear,
representing Dani
and Christian's respective fates.
And when Christian
is waiting to speak to a Hårga elder,
he's sat directly in front of a picture
of a burning bear,
explicitly telling us what lies in wait for him.
There are other more meta-textual references too.
When the bear is killed
and has its entrails removed,
it forms a somewhat suggestive image
which we see again in the recipe for the love potion
the Hårga use to drug Christian,
leading to his betrayal of Dani,
and ultimately, her revenge.
Everything that happens to Mark is preordained.
The Hårga children are playing a game
of Skin the Fool during the festivities.
Something that Simon asks about,
which at the time
doesn't seem to have any special significance.
What are the kids playing?
Skin the Fool.
-Skin the Fool? -Yeah.
Precious.
But it's clear that Mark is said fool.
He urinates on the ancestral tree,
and generally seems to be the clown of the group.
And things fall eerily into place when he disappears,
only to end up worn as a dead skin suit.
There are even fans who believe
he was made into a pair of nábrók,
quite literally - "corpse britches."
The fact that he's the fool is further cemented
by his representation in the tapestry at the start,
and the jangling jester's hat he wears
when his scarecrow
is brought to the sacrificial temple
at the end of the film.
See?
You could be getting that girl pregnant right now.
Audio plays a huge part
in the effectiveness of Midsommar.
There's the muted intro where Dani's sobs
literally become part of the soundtrack.
And there's an unnerving sense of claustrophobia
and stillness when they reach the Hårga village
that comes from the reduction
of ambient sound in certain scenes,
such as insect noises and birdsong.
Welcome to Hårga.
And happy midsommar.
Audio pans are meticulously matched
to camera movement.
But there are other more well-hidden audio tricks
you can listen for.
It's hard to parse
but you hear the same scream from Connie
followed by a faint splash
three times from three different perspectives.
Once by Josh while he's talking to an elder...
Once by Dani in the kitchen...
And, finally, by Mark
in front of the sacrificial temple.
And when Connie is brought in the wheelbarrow
at the end of the film,
you can see she's in a weighted dress,
confirming she was drowned,
something hinted at, but never shown.
Watch Midsommar closely,
and you'll see that there are mirrors everywhere.
In the opening scene,
we first glimpse Dani's parents
in their bedroom mirror.
A crucial conversation with Christian
is framed using a mirror.
Even the table during the midsommar feast
is reflective.
And we see Dani's sister glimpsed in a mirror
in one of the film's most effective jump scares.
But there are other more subtle examples.
The entire frame flips
as the group drives towards the village,
representing them entering an alternate world.
Many of the layouts and runes in the Hårga village
are reflected symmetrically.
And then there's the behaviour of the Hårga.
They literally mirror
the emotions of people in the community -
weeping along with Dani,
and screaming as fellow villagers burn.
Aster leaves the meaning of all this
intentionally vague.
It could be Dani finally finding herself,
or it could be an exercise
in large-scale emotional manipulation
by the Hårga.
Keep an eye out for triangles.
There are obvious ones
such as the sacrificial temple,
and striking declarations that surround the village.
But there are other
more subtle examples throughout the film -
the shadow cast by Dani's light
in the first scene,
the angle formed by the finishing mallet,
the way Simon's body is framed
when he's turned into a blood eagle.
Even the shape of Dani's May Queen outfit
is a triangle.
So why the triangle?
Probably because it feels magical.
It's a symbol with numerous meanings and interpretations
across different belief systems.
It's a Masonic image,
representing the Eye of Providence,
serving as a reminder
that humanity's thoughts and deeds
are always observed by God.
The Wiccan Cone of Power
can be represented as a triangle.
And the image has historic associations
with witchcraft.
And it has provenance in German Paganism.
The valknut,
a symbol consisting of three interlocking triangles,
is associated with Odin.
And that conjunction of three times three
takes us to our final point.
For our ninth and final entry,
we have the number nine itself.
Start to look for it,
and you'll see this everywhere in Midsommar.
Nine people are sacrificed.
Dani is drugged nine times.
The festival is nine days long,
and it's held every ninety years.
It's no coincidence that the name,
Midsommar, even has nine letters.
The Hårga lifecycles are also multiples of nine.
The spring season, representing childhood,
includes people up to 18 years old.
Summer is ages 18 to 36.
People aged up to 54
are considered to be in the autumn of their life.
And as we know, the cycle ends with winter
at age 72.
This also means that Dani, being in her mid-twenties,
is literally in her midsommar.
So why is it so important?
Well, the number nine is sacred in Norse Paganism,
representing the completion of important cycles.
The Norse universe has nine worlds.
Niflheim, Muspelheim, Asgard, Midgard,
Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim
and Helheim.
Odin spends nine days
hanging from the world tree, Yggdrasil,
to gain knowledge of secret runes.
Thor takes nine steps and dies
after his final battle at Ragnarök.
There are loads more instances in both the film
and the Norse mythology,
another example of how layered
and well-researched Midsommar is.
Did you spot any references or secrets in Midsommar
you want to share?
Pop them in the comments below.
And remember to subscribe to Netflix UK
for more deep dives into your favourite shows
and movies.