Midsommar: 15 Hidden Details Everyone Completely Missed

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 took her own life 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's hidden details within its rich and terrifying imagery, which often hold a deeper meaning or foreshadow important plot points.

15 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. Interestingly, both of these moments come in the first act of the film and signal a turning point in the story when things take a dark turn. In the case of Midsommar, it is the first indication of the brutality of this festival and that Dani and her friends may have gotten more than they bargained for.

14 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 and the possibility that they are on him. 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 that type of person. He would wear at least two pairs of socks while walking in places known for ticks to try and keep them from latching on to him. Mark's fear adds to the tension of the movie that there is something foreboding around them. However, it also speaks to how out of their element these characters are, highlighting that they are outsiders who don't belong.

13 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. Simon disappears from the movie shortly after the group witnesses the brutal deaths of some of the cult members. The locals insist he left (without his girlfriend) and caught a train. However, Christian later finds his body among the other slain visitors.

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. Simon's method of death was based on a real Norse execution ritual known as the Blood Eagle, hinting at the long history this cult has and the disturbing traditions that go back centuries. It's made even more terrifying because Simon was alive while it happened and was still alive when Christian found him.

12 Mark Becomes A Victim Of A Midsommar Game

Mark Being Skinned Was Secretly Foreshadowed In Midsommar

It can be easy to miss what happens to Mark on the first watch-through of Midsommar as he is another character to suddenly disappear only for his body to be found later. 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. By the end of the movie, it becomes clear that all of the visitors were marked for death as soon as they arrived, save for Dani. However, the gruesome nature of Mark's demise suggests that they sought to punish him in a special way for his transgressions.

11 The Midsommar Trailer Teased The Final Scene

The Marketing For Midsommar Managed To Reveal The Finale Without Spoilers

This is one of Midsommar's hidden details in the trailer and not the movie itself, but in it, 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. While there are a lot of movie trailers that give away too much, this clever edit avoided spoiling the end of the movie while also giving a subtle hint about what is to come by adding some new footage.

10 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. It could be that this was meant to be something the community made themselves as a depiction of the ceremony and its sacrifices. It could also be that it is something created after the festival as a way of celebrating. In any case, it is a creepy way to begin the movie with the fates of the characters spelled out.

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. Interestingly, these moments and the reflections come earlier in the movie when Dani is still trying to escape her grief. The more she gets away from society and enters this isolated community, the more distance she gets from this self-reflecting. She is able to escape the inner turmoil that he consuming her.

8 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 theories. 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.

Once this was spotted by fans, it led to strong theories that Dani's parents were killed by the community at the center of the Swedish festival as a way to lure her to them. While it is certainly an eerie thought, it also robs the movie of a lot of important elements of the opening scene, such as Dani being concerned for her sister and Christian dismissing those concerns only for her sister to apparently kill herself and her parents. It is possible the crown was simply included as a foreboding detail for fans to catch.

7 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. The scene comes as Christian and the others are enjoying a meal with the community only for him to find a pubic hair in his food. He shakes off the moment by taking a drink of his juice with the camera lingering on it as the red-tinted drink stands out next to the others' orange drink.

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.

The Drug Sequences In Midsommar Contain Many Visual Hints

There are a lot of drugs taken by the Midsommar characters. As soon as they arrive at the lush and isolated location, they decide to take some edibles. The drugs trigger Dani's anxiety, but it also kicks off a somewhat psychedelic feel that is maintained throughout the rest of the movie. Of course, this is 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 hidden details as a result of the drugs. In one sequence, an entire forest takes on the shape of a glaring face. Some have claimed it is the face of Dani's sister which suggests these visual oddities are seen through her perspective. When viewers watch it again, more and more hidden images suddenly become noticeable.

5 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 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' 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. This detail becomes even more compelling in Dani's case throughout the movie. While she is largely in the same position as the others for much of the runtime, as she is dancing with the other girls in the community during the May Queen ceremony, she suddenly finds that she can speak their language.

4 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. It is a small detail that adds to the disorienting nature of the movie. The audience is once again made to experience the same confusion and unease as the main characters.

3 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. This could be a sign of the longevity of this community and their belief that these rituals and sacrifices will allow them to continue on indefinitely.

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 when 8 and 9 are multiplied, and the ceremony happens once every 90 years. 9 is also the number of deaths that is required from the community as part of their ancient ceremony which is likely why it is such a key number for them.

2 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. However, there are other Midsommar hidden details placed throughout the movie 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. Similar to the language barrier in the movie, the lack of answers when it comes to the symbols is purposeful and adds to tension for the characters. There is a threatening quality that these might be clues and warnings staring the characters in the face but they just don't know what they mean.

1 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, Dani's own journey in Midsommar is marked by two instances of death; 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. The horrific loss of her failing sends Dani spiraling with grief and anxiety. While the unforgettable scene in Midsommar's final moments in which Dani is seen smiling as Christian burns has been debated endlessly, it does appear as though she has found some sort of peace, suggesting that she has been reborn in a way.

The Midsommar Easter Eggs Makes Repeat Viewings Special

While it isn't an easy movie to watch once, Midsommar is one of those horror movies that often almost demand second viewings. Not only does it offer fresh looks at what happens with a new set of eyes, one that knows the secrets ahead of time, but it also provides a little bit of fun thanks to the Midsommar Easter eggs spread throughout the film. The symbolism and images involving the pagan rituals and beliefs alone were worth revisiting without the burden of the intense dread permeating in the movie.

Of course, some of the Easter eggs are nothing more than trivia about why some moments are in the movie. With that said, others take an an entirely different meaning with context. An example is Simon's death. While it was a horrific and brutal scene when viewed for the first time, when learning more about the Viking ritual on which it is based, the entire setup and grotesque imagery take on a different feel, knowing the history of the moment.

An even bigger thing to do on the rewatch that makes it special is to stop and look at the opening tapestry while pausing throughout. Knowing the story and the plot beats of the story, it is fun to watch through this part of the film again and see the moments as they play out on the artwork here. This is the kind of Easter egg that makes rewatching a movie like Midsommar invaluable and provides entertainment that would not otherwise be possible in a horror movie like this.