While Midsommar and Hereditary are very different, and not directly connected, Ari Aster – the filmmaker responsible for both horror films – says there’s definitely a thematic connection at work. In fact, Aster goes as far as calling Midsommar a “companion piece” to Hereditary. Watch Aster explain the connection in a new Midsommar featurette below.

Midsommar Featurette

Just one year after rewriting the horror playbook with @HereditaryMovie, @AriAster is back with a dread-soaked fairytale unlike anything you’ve ever seen. #MIDSOMMAR ? — July 3! pic.twitter.com/fXJg44fy80 — Midsommar ? (@MidsommarMovie) June 11, 2019

I loved Hereditary, and I’m very excited for Midsommar, director Ari Aster’s follow-up to last year’s horror hit. Once again, Aster appears to be going for something unconventional – a move that will likely make some casual horror viewers cry out “That wasn’t a real horror movie!” as they did with Hereditary. You know I’m right – it’s just a thing that happens now anytime a horror film doesn’t rely on jump-scares.

But just how similar is Midsommar to Hereditary? According to Aster, the two movies definitely have a lot in common. “Both films are very much about family,” the director says in the video above. “And I also feel that both films deal with codependency in a way – although this film goes deeper into that. In fact, I’ve described the film as a horror movie about codependency.”

Sounds good! Also, I want to point out that Aster was sure to clearly state that Midsommar is, indeed, a “horror movie” – so please keep your claims that it’s not to yourself. Aster’s new comments reflect things he’s said about Midsommar in the past. “It’s a breakup movie, in the same way that Hereditary is a family tragedy,” the director told Vulture. “It’s less overtly a horror movie, but it’s still working in that same space. It’s very macabre. But people shouldn’t go in expecting Hereditary.”

In Midsommar, “A couple travel to Sweden to visit their friend’s rural hometown for its fabled midsummer festival, but what begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.” Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, Archie Madekwe, Ellora Torchia, and Will Poulter star.

Midsommar opens July 3, 2019.