A Reel Review: MIDSOMMAR

There is a philosophy in filmmaking that says it is better to confuse your audience for five minutes than to let them get ahead of you for one minute. In 2018, director Ari Aster took that approach with his supernatural horror film HEREDITARY, which kept us all guessing right up until the shocking end. Here in 2019, Aster returns with another horror movie, MIDSOMMAR, which takes that same approach to the extreme. 

Dani (Florence Pugh), and Christian (Jack Reynor), are two college students whose relationship is on the outs. When a terrible family tragedy happens, Jack invites Dani to come with him and his classmates/friends (William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter, Vilhelm Blomgren), to his previously planned trip to Sweden to attend a remote festival that only happens once every 90 years. 

Similar to HEREDITARY, MIDSOMMAR is a horror flick that also explores intrapersonal relationships. Where HEREDITARY looked at family dynamics, this time around Aster looks into the unraveling of a relationship. It’s all about Dani and Jack; Dani is deeply traumatized by her family tragedy and can break down hysterically at any minute, and Jack couldn’t seem to care less. The environment they find themselves in; a festival run by what seems to be a remote, nature-loving, cult-ish commune, is used to reveal the true characters of Dani and Jack. As Dani becomes more fascinated with the cult, Jack grows even further away. 

The well-constructed environment of the cult is what really drives the film. The cult members at first seem harmless; dressing in white free-flowing clothing with simple food, language, dances, and a harmony with nature. Eventually their more extreme ways come out; members who reach the age of 72 give their lives via suicide, mating is done in rooms full of naked people, drinks are passed around that cause the senses to go awry, and incest helps the commune survive the centuries on their own. As a horror film, MIDSOMMAR doesn’t rely on cheap jump-scares and loud noises, and instead builds an atmosphere of uncomfortableness. There’s always a feeling of something beingoff, and it shows off Aster’s talent for getting under our skin. 

And Aster’s talent really shines here. Pacing is a wonderful slow burn and the plot reveals itself in subtle hints. As horrific as things get, the film is very funny as our students find themselves in one awkward situation after another. The film looks gorgeous and the cult’s remote dwelling looks real and feels lived-in. The score by The Haxan Cloak is outstanding. 

Acting is tremendous. The film belongs to Florence Pugh. Here character goes through some serious trauma and she is asked to cry and wail in extreme pain…and she pulls it off marvelously. 

MIDSOMMAR is packed with WTF moments that seem to be building towards something significant, and although the ending is horrific and very well crafted, the film fails to offer any context to what the hell we just watched. No explanations, no background, and no reasoning is given to tell us why our college kids eventually find blood. After all, anyone who has ever seen a movie before knows right away that things are not going to go well for our students in this strange place, and they certainly don’t…but without any context the film ends with a “that’s it?” feeling. It’s a letdown, as the film is perfect until that point, and knocks it down a few notches from a must-see. 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it