Ari Aster set a high bar for himself with the release of the instant classic, Hereditary in August of 2018. That film, in my estimation, may be the best horror movie ever made. With Aster setting himself up to go nowhere but down, Midsommar establishes once again that, despite his nascent status in the film world, he is no amateur when it comes to crafting an alluring horror story that keeps you glued to the screen.
Midsommar stars Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor as Dani and Christian, a young couple whose relationship is on the rocks. Their limits are pushed to the test after Dani discovers her sister has committed suicide, killing their parents as well in the process. Looking to get away from the bleak situation at home, Dani decides to tag along with Christian and his friends on a trip to rural Sweden to experience a mid-summer festival. What begins as a somewhat normal trip with friends quickly devolves into a bizarre, violent, drug-induced nightmare.
Aster makes it immediately apparent that he wants to set this apart from Hereditary, as well as your typical horror experience, by writing a majority of the story in broad daylight. He decides to use the light to his advantage by putting the terrors on full display instead of hiding them in the shadows. The cinematography is beautiful and makes it difficult to take my eyes off even the most disturbing sequences. This film also has more comedy in it than Hereditary. One of the graduate students in particular provides most of the comedic moments and brings much-needed relief amidst the uneasy tone. While there is a pretty straightforward story on the surface about Dani coming to terms with her relationship with Christian, there is so much more to gain here from multiple viewings.
What I love about this movie is how the horror aspects are embedded thematically. I am impressed by how the themes were explored through the characters, particularly Dani. It’s clear that Dani is struggling to find any kind of support system in her life and spends the movie trying to properly grieve and cope with her situation. With the recent deaths of her parents and sister, Dani logically looks to her long-time boyfriend for support, but immediately sees that he is becoming more and more distant, physically and emotionally. Her increasing vulnerability allows the mid-summer community to slowly take over Christian’s role as a shoulder for her to cry on despite their bizarre nature of practices and rituals. Dani ultimately represents the idea and fear that if we don’t have a support system of our own when life hits us with tragedy, then something is bound to fulfill that role for us, no matter how radical or absurd that support system might be, and that’s scary.
Another theme I appreciate is that something may only appear to be horrifying and disturbing merely because of the point of view that has been molded from our own life experience. Dani and her friends are horrified by some of the community’s practices, particularly one involving ritual suicides, that provides for easily one of the most upsetting scenes in the movie. But the film reminds us that, much like the characters, we are strangers to this community who has been practicing these rituals for hundreds of years. Once we discover the reasoning behind some of their practices it lends us a different perspective, making us question the somewhat ominous nature of the community itself. It forced me to reconcile with what is actually evil and immoral as opposed to what might just be mere culture shock. It’s fascinating and disturbing all at once.
Florence Pugh’s performance cannot go unmentioned here. I don’t know what it is about Aster but he is able to get every last ounce out of his lead actresses. Toni Collette gave easily the best performance last year and Florence Pugh definitely deserves to be in the running for this year. She is asked to carry so much weight here and accesses a full range of emotions in order to pull it off. Aster knows how to pick em’ and I’m sure the Academy will come around at some point and we’ll eventually see one of his actors receive the Oscar love they deserve. Collette not even getting nominated last year is a crime I will not soon forgive.
Aster once again makes it clear that he’s in not in the horror business to provide cheap thrills and make a quick buck. He is thoughtful in his execution and storytelling that requires you to think about the film long after it’s over. He successfully demonstrates that he isn’t confined to the typical horror techniques of using darkness and shadows to his advantage, but can be just as effective by leaving everything out in the open. Midsommar is one of the best horror films of the decade and is easily one of the best films of the year. I hope this isn’t the last we see of Aster in the horror genre, but I do hope to see his talent play out in other genres as well. If you’re looking for a horror movie that gives you less fright than Hereditary but just as much to wrestle with and feel uneasy about, then this one deserves to be on your list.
