Midsommar, Ari Aster’s follow-up to last summer’s Hereditary, contains hallucinations you might not expect in a movie about family curses; yet they play an essential part of its creeping horror.

Grieving college student Dani (Florence Pugh) joins her ambivalent wide-eyed douche boyfriend Christian and his friends on an annual trip to a remote Swedish village for Midsommar, their celebration that happens once every ninety years. But this journey does not go according to plan; tension arises among them on route due to different agendas being pursued on different days.

Psilocybin Mushrooms

Psilocybe mushrooms, commonly referred to as magic mushrooms due to their psychoactive effects, contain two hallucinogens – psilocybin and its less stable metabolite, psilocin – which bind to serotonin receptors in the brain, inhibiting their firing and leading to changes in perception, altered mood and hallucinations. Psilocybin can also have antidepressant and anxiolytic properties; although other fungi produce these chemicals; only those belonging to Psilocybe genus produce such effects.

Mushrooms of other genera can produce hallucinogenic effects as well, but purists tend to believe only mushrooms from the Psilocybe genus can truly produce magical effects. Psilocybin found in other species is usually much weaker than that found in Psilocybe; furthermore these other fungi contain psychotropic tryptamines like baeocystin and norbaeocystin that produce hallucinations effects.

Psilocybe cubensis, popularly referred to as the “pinnacle mushroom,” belongs to the Panaceae family of edible mushrooms and contains over 900 edible species; some of the more psychoactive varieties include Psilocybe cyanescens, Panaeolus melanosporus and Panaeolus sphinctrinus; other members may contain blueing properties and have psychoactive properties as well, including Psilocybe coelophylla, Panaeolus Gilbertianus and Panaeolus trivittatus.

This text offers an insightful analysis of ndi tji santo mushrooms – Mazatec terms for psilocybin mushrooms – by drawing upon multiple sources. It explores how an understanding of their inherent subjectivity may lead to new approaches towards scientific, clinical, and legal categories and frameworks that objectify or commercialise this powerful medicine.

This book by Austrian-American anthropologist Robert J. Weitlaner published in 1939 was one of the earliest historical works that documented psilocybin mushroom use in southern Oaxaca, drawing from interviews with Mazatec healers as well as pre-Hispanic calendar studies conducted at Huautla de Jimenez, Oaxaca. The text’s value lies primarily in that it attempted to describe these mushrooms from Mazatec perspectives themselves rather than via western perspectives alone.

Alcohol

Aster’s style lends itself more towards an immersive, hypnotic whole than shock factor scenes. While there may be graphic depictions of gore, taking Midsommar as a whole rather than looking at individual scenes will reveal its haunting and beautiful qualities.

Dani, a young woman recently bereaved by a car accident, is trying to cope with her grief by spending time with Christian (an ambivalent wide-eyed doucheboy boyfriend), his academic friends Josh (serious scholar) and vaping goofball Mark (vaping goofball). Christian invites Dani on an expedition to Sweden so she can attend Pelle’s home village’s midsommar celebration – she eventually accepts and goes along.

From ancient times until today, alcohol consumption was an essential element of Midsommar festivities and remains so today. Many believe that drinking more leads to more productive harvests. Midsommar also features bonfires lit on lakes and sea shores – this tradition dates back to pagan times when sacrifices were offered up in honor of Ukko the god of thunder.

Culture

No matter your interpretation, Midsommar is clear proof of Ari Aster (Director of Hereditary)’s intention to shock his audience with images and scenes which can be both unsettling and shocking. While in other films these sequences might simply act as filler material or even gross out scenes, Midsommar uses these sequences as added depth and dimension for his storyline.

Horror movie “Innkeepers” takes an introspective approach to exploring how culture is internalized, particularly through occultism. While such movies frequently explore this genre, this one focuses specifically on the way culture influences people and brings them together.

Aster’s use of color in his film is particularly striking. Set in Sweden, his movie showcases an eccentric cult’s yellow temple resembling sunflowers; when British visitor Simon asks his host Ingemar about it, Ingemar informs him it is off limits as their “sacred temple.” At festival time this place serves as an altar where human sacrifices take place (see figure 1).

Aster uses green to represent growth and rebirth subtly in his novel. On her first visit to Harga, Dani drinks tea laced with hallucinogenic mushrooms and witnesses grass growing through her hands; this begins her integration into the commune as she embraces their beliefs.

Green is also prominently utilized in this film through racial markers used by the Harga cult. Blond in Swedish is equivalent to white, and only those of European descent can join Harga community. This can be seen from their anti-immigration banner displayed above the road leading there and their exclusive right to have children with Maja; Christian had used an intimate potency that bound Christian’s menstrual blood and pubic hair together with Maja through an illegal love potion.

This film is deeply disturbing in its depiction of religion and culture as forces that shape individuals. From brutal gore to shocking deaths that take place throughout, this movie will surely keep you awake at night.