Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019)

On this episode of Fear of the Dark, Stacey and Matthew talk about Midsommar, the 2021 broad-daylight horror film directed by Ari Aster that came out six years ago this month. The film stars Florence Pugh as Dani, a young woman who has just tragically lost her immediate family and decides to join her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), and a handful of other doctoral students on an extended stay at a small commune in Sweden over the summer. Join us as we talk about the representations of Black knowledge in academia through the character of Josh (William Jackson Harper) and the ecological horrors of whiteness in the film. (Production note: this episode was recorded in November 2024.)

Film: Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019) Intro Music: “The Army of You” (Library of Congress Free Music Archive) Outro Music: “Late Night Indigo” (written and performed by Stacey Baran)

Fear of the Dark is a film podcast about race and horror, hosted by Matthew Vernon and Stacey Baran. Episode edited by Matthew Vernon. Mixdown and mastering by Stacey Baran.