Midsommar

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After suffering the tragic loss of her parents and sister, Dani (Florence Pugh) decides to tag along on a trip to Sweden planned by her boyfriend (Jack Reynor) and his roommates. They are attending the Midsommar festival in a tiny northern town, a nine day celebration involving white robes and dance circles. On the surface, the festival appears to be harmless hippie nature worship but even from the start there are signs that something dark lurks just underneath. Then, one by one, the visitors start going missing.

midsommar4.0When Jay is not feeling well, I have this awful habit of subjecting her to movies she would not watch in her own. Star Wars and Indiana Jones come to mind as films I have foisted on her. Today I decided to add Midsommar to the list, and it actually went pretty well!

Midsommar is deliberately slow paced, and quite beautiful to watch as it unfolds and devolves into a creepy mess. There is a simple lesson here: when invited to a cult meeting, do not drink the Kool-Aid. And if your friends start disappearing, don’t just brush it off, get the hell out of there. Because if you don’t, odds are you’re going to be an unwilling part of the ceremony.

Midsommar is an unsettling movie and most definitely a horror film, but it’s not reliant on jump scares at all, so Jay isn’t even that mad at me for making her watch it. Rather than relying on cheap tricks, Midsommar aims to disturb, to creep you out, and to teach you to never, ever visit Sweden. Ever. It succeeds on all counts.

 

 

21 thoughts on “Midsommar”

    1. Sean Post author

      I would go visit Sweden, I was just being facetious because Midsommar gives off bad vibes all around. Though apparently the movie was filmed in Budapest even the location isn’t representative of Sweden.

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    1. Sean Post author

      I’m sure this movie is no more representative of Sweden than are Hollywood films about Canada. I have always heard good things about Sweden, other than what I saw in Midsommar of course!

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    1. Sean Post author

      Yes, that’s probably a better takeaway, because this sort of thing probably happens in Norway as well 😉 !

      Jay’s had a bit of a rough time lately but hopefully is on the mend now. Thanks for your good thoughts!

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  12. steveforthedeaf

    This was my favourite film of last year. An absolute riot of beautiful cinematography and wtf plot points. Ari Aster is a cheeky fella and The Wicker Man is one of my all time favourites so this was all win. Sweden is great though. Been a few times. Don’t be put off. Hope the Lady is feeling better.

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  14. Jay

    I have always wanted to see Midsommar because I’ve heard such good things. And I try to make exceptions to my no-horror rule for the truly great. I thought this qualified, but I still needed some courage. Or, you know, to have my defenses be ultra-low when sick.
    This is the kind of horror I can watch no problem: there’s an actual story. It’s not about the violence. And it’s not trying to scare you, it’s trying to freak you out. It does so well, with authority, but also beauty.
    I want very much to go as the May Queen for Halloween.

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