Midsommar

Review

Midsommar is one of the most iconic horror movies to come out in recent history. You can ask any one on the street about this movie and they’ve almost definitely heard of this movie or at least have seen Florence Pugh covered in flowers from the ending.

I have a friend who called this movie the ultimate breakup movie and honestly I think it sums up the movie pretty well. The movie starts off with Florence Pugh’s character, Dani, and her boyfriend having relationship issues, where her boyfriend, Christian, wants to break up with her but after Dani’s parents die he feels trapped in the relationship. Christian and his friends are planning on going to Sweden to work on their thesis’ in their friend, Pelle’s, commune and Christian ends up inviting Dani in order to not make things weird, not thinking she’ll come. Dani ends up joining the men and once they get to the Swedish commune they slowly become aware of the strange practices going on in the commune. As her friends begin to disappear, Dani slowly assimilates into the commune after she becomes the May Queen and the movie comes to a close as all other outsiders are ritualistically burned in a yellow pyramid.

This movie is a stylistic masterpiece and is definitely a must-watch for modern horror. Personally I don’t really understand the thriller/horror discourse so I’ll just be calling it a horror movie for the purposes of this review. This movie is really good at creating an unsettling feeling in the viewer, whether it be through the stilted visuals, the uncomfortable dialogue, or the amazing score, this movie is extremely effective in guiding the audience through the exact emotions the movie wants you to experience.

Visually this movie is extremely different to most other horror movies and it begins with how bright everything is from the moment they enter Sweden. Before Sweden the scenes are relatively dark, many of them occur at night, but everything is safe, the moment they enter Sweden the movie brightens significantly and as the brightness level rises so does the danger that the characters are in. The setting of Sweden during the Summer Solstice when the sun is out for about 22 hours of the day is so incredible and the contrast it displays with all the sunlight and the fields of flowers is so cool and I literally loved it.

One of the things that really stuck out to me as being especially good was the score and honestly the audio of the movie as a whole. The choice to use mostly diegetic folk music is so freaking cool and the use of silence throughout the film is absolutely masterful. Probably one of the most impactful things about the movie is the way that the members of the commune scream in anguish when one of their own are in pain. It truly is bone-chilling and really disturbing to watch.

This movie does a really good job letting the audience know exactly what is going to happen and all that you can do is sit horrified and watch as the characters go towards their deaths exactly as they have been predicted by the prophet.

This movie is so disturbing and creepy and it’s impossible to make it through this movie without feeling very uncomfortable.

I think one of the most interesting things about this movie is the fact that all the characters besides Dani are abrasive and mean and in the end the movie makes you feel bad for them because they don’t deserve this level of punishment, especially Christian. All the while though you support Dani until you finally realize that she’s being indoctrinated into the commune to the point where she decides to ritualistically burn her boyfriend at the commune’s suggestion.

I think that this is a movie that everyone should watch at least once, if not twice. I think a second watch of this movie is very informed and watching it a second time you get to see a lot of the intricacies in the film making.

The length of the film is probably one of the only points of contention I have with the film but I understand why it’s so long, the slow pace definitely adds to the ambience but sometimes it’s a little too much so I hesitate to see myself enjoying this movie on my own time but it’s definitely one that I would show off and share with others.

Overall, this was a fantastic film and one that really requires a second viewing to truly appreciate all the effort that was put into affecting the viewer.