Midsommar ending: Ari Aster explains what happens in closing moments of new horror film

Midsommar, the new film from Ari Aster, is currently freaking out cinemagoers around the world – not least because of its extremely bold ending.

Just like Hereditary before it, Aster’s new film goes to extreme places in its second half and leaves things on a fairly ambiguous note.

*Spoilers below for Midsommar – you have been warned*

To recap: Midsommar follows Dani Ardor (Florence Pugh) who is in a relationship with the non-committal Christian (Jack Reynor) when her sister kills their parents and then dies by suicide.

Six months on, she decides to join Christian and his less than enthusiastic friends on a trip to a remote Swedish village where a small community called Hårga take part in their own secretive midsummer festival.

After several days, people begin to disappear and it becomes clear that the rituals taking place have sinister undertones. Things reach their peak in a trippy climax that sees Dani crowned the May Queen – a chosen candidate who must select the person that will complete the human sacrifices the community are offering up (by this stage, it’s just Dani and Christian who are still alive).

Meanwhile, Christian has become the victim of a love potion that it’s earlier hinted includes a mixture of period blood and pubic hair. After being drugged, he’s lured into a ritual after being selected as the mating partner of one of the members of the Hårga.

Following her May Queen festivities, Dani sees Christian having sex with this woman. Later, when she’s given the choice between sacrificing another member of the community or her own boyfriend, she picks the latter.

The final scene shows these nine sacrifices, including a paralysed but still living Christian (now inside the carcass of a bear – don’t ask), placed inside a designated temple that’s burnt down to purge evil from the cult. As the Hårga watch on, wailing, Dani sobs – but her cries ominously turn into a smile.

Speaking to Inverse, Aster describes this moment as Dani “moving from one codependent relationship to another”.

He said: “Dani is a person who has a tendency to fall into codependency in a relationship. The [village’s] language is empathy, and Dani is a character who is in dire need of some empathy.”

It seems Dani has finally overcome the loss of her family, which we see in the film’s opening segment, and can fully detach from her emotionally manipulative boyfriend by fully embracing the Hårga as her own people.

Midsommar is in cinemas everywhere on 5 July