The open air on a beautiful day. Festivities with smiling strangers enjoying everything nature has to offer. A lighthearted romp through the woods without a care in the world. Classic rituals passed down from generation to generation. And under all of it a nightmare so terrible it will stay with you for the rest of your life. It’ll haunt you whether you close your eyes or squint into the sun. No, we’re not talking about Ari Aster’s new horror film Midsommar, we’re talking about going to summer camp. However, as this fantastic movie mashup with the classic comedy Wet Hot American Summer shows, the two have a lot more in common than you’d think.
This video, which seamlessly combines the new folk tale horror film Midsommar with the absurdist humor of Wet Hot American Summer, comes from Nerdist‘s very own editing wiz Matt Caron. You’ve seen plenty of Matt’s work before with our series Nerdist Remix, where he’s crossed Big Bird and Birdbox , Aquaman with Finding Nemo, and all of the live-action Spider-Mans into one mega-multiverse. This time he’s sending Dani and her friends to a mysterious camp to learn all about “a new way”. And if there’s anything more fiendish than bloodthirsty pagans, it’s Michael Ian Black wearing short shorts.
Considering how much we are still scarred by Ari Aster’s first film, Hereditary, this might be as close as some people are willing to see Midsommar, and we get it. It’s bad enough horror movies make us terrified of the dark; we’d also prefer not to be wary of people dancing around a pole during a beautiful day too. (Well, no more wary than we already are.)
But if nothing else, this gave us a great excuse to re-watch Wet Hot American Summer. It’s the only version of summer camp that didn’t also do some lasting damage to us.
Featured Image: A24/USA Films/Matt Caron
