“Let the festivities begin!”
Someone grab me my flower crown and a stiff drink, so I can fully prepare myself to talk about Midsommar.
I don’t know what I expected from this movie, but now I feel like I have a solid grasp on what director Ari Aster has to offer. And, honestly, you should too if you plan on seeing this.
Midsommar is the newest drama/mystery/thriller from production company A24, and the sophomore film from director Ari Aster. After his directorial debut with 2018’s most talked about film Hereditary, Aster immediately jumped into production for Midsommar once his debut wrapped.
“In a lot of ways, Midsommar and Hereditary are both existential horror movies. They’re dealing with fears that have no real remedy; questions about death and whether you can really know the people closest to you.” via Hollywood Reporter
The film follows a couple who travel to Sweden with friends to visit a rural hometown’s fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent (emphasis on violent) and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
That’s all I’ll say about the plot of this movie, because you really should go in completely blind like I did. But, don’t say I didn’t warn you of it’s intensity.
What I love most about Midsommar is how I couldn’t stop talking about it once the credits rolled. I was ultimately confused, disturbed and wanting to learn more about what I just saw. Not to sound pretentious, but I think this is a movie created by a mega film lover for film lovers. If you’re going to see this to be entertained, you might be disappointed. Because of that, this movie is going to receive severely mixed reviews, but it’s going to have everyone talking.
To cut this down to size, let’s cover the basics about what’s being said already. “The Wizard of Oz for perverts” is one of my favorites. “Pure traumatizing art – easily the most bizarre film ever”, and “I can’t breathe, I can’t move” pretty much sum this movie up perfectly.
According to Aster, this film was meant to be his first horror movie since Hereditary was intended to be a “family drama.” Aster has also said that he credits Midsommar as a dark comedy. LOL, okay. Now that we’ve established that, let’s move on.
When it comes to what influenced Aster, there’s a lot. “Among the ‘Hereditary’ director’s references for the film (a lot of directors and artists I’m unfamiliar with) was the work of photographer Joel-Peter Witkin, who frequently uses real corpses in his art.” What the fuck, right?
It’s almost impossible to pinpoint precisely who or what deserves the highest acclaim in this film, because everyone came to play, and they played very well. From semi-newcomer Florence Pugh, to the magnificent cinematography, even to every last supporting actor in the cult, I can’t choose a favorite.
Rated R for disturbing ritualistic violence, grisly images (I repeat…grisly images), strong sexual content and graphic nudity (to name the top tier), this is not a movie for your average film-goer, but don’t let me deter you from seeing this. I didn’t find Hereditary incredibly scary, but Midsommar messed me up. As long as you go knowing what you know now, you’ll be fine. Sort of.
On the Screen Reviews 
I’m very excited for this and I can’t wait to see it. I really thought Hereditary, despite being a lot of strange in one sitting, was great. I hope this will be just as wonderful!
I liked Hereditary too! But this one stuck with me a lot more than Hereditary did. Let me know what you think when you see it!
Loved it. I like both movies for different reasons, so not sure which one is my favourite. I’m trying to read and reread all the Midsommar reviews before sitting down to write my own. There’s a lot to process and I’m aiming for a thorough review. 😀
I’m so glad you liked it! I really hope the film delivers and I’m sure it will bring a lot of anger among the male audience, they are so fragile after all 😀
Hahaha girl you right for that comment.
Seeing it Friday. Fourth of July obligations kinda killed my original plans. Anxious to see where I land. Trying to keep expectations tempered.
Tempered indeed. I had no idea it opened last night until someone told me! Enjoy and you’ve been warned!
I hope to see it sometime this month as I have other things to deal with right now. I haven’t seen Hereditary but I am interested about this film.
I was actually surprised that I caught it when I did! Don’t skip this one!
Ahhh – I was excited enough for this but now I’m really hyped! Hereditary last year got me into the horror genre and I’ll always in be for whatever Ari Aster has his name on 😀
Go see it! Send me your review too!!
I will! Fingers crossed I’m seeing it on Tuesday 😀
Thanks for making it spoiler free! I’m really looking forward to this, I’ve been trying to go in as blind as possible.
This sounds really, really weird. I lost it at ‘frequently uses real corpses in his art’ — what the f–k?!! But I’m definitely interested — I’ll just have to find someone to watch it with me cos I just can’t do horror. Thanks for the rec haha!
Definitely don’t watch it alone, but also don’t see it with a date and/or your family!!
You are so lucky. I had to skim most of your review cos I wanna go in blind like I did for Hereditary. But it sounds like its gonna be good. 4/5 ain’t bad. On the 8th of August I’ll finally get to see it! Damned release dates… I swear this is one reason why piracy exists. If a crisp copy of this movie hit the internet, of course I’m gonna download it! I’d still see it at the theatres but I’m a filthy pirate 😛 Apparently Australians down the most torrents of any country per head, haha!