Midsommar

A couple of times a year a horror film will become a critical hit with many of these critics trying to distance the film from the horror genre as horror is all boobs, blood and guts, and can never actually be about something because horror *scoff* doesn’t have depth. These snobs exist (even Mark Kermode, who loves horror, said it isn’t a horror film) because the genre is still seen as one level above porn, despite the fact that horror has proven to be brave and instrumental when tackling different themes.

 Even director Ari Aster wanted to distance himself away from the ‘horror’ tag by calling it ‘more of a fairy tale than a horror film’ (forgetting the dark, gothic and horrific origins of fairy tales). He also labelled it a breakup movie and, from watching the film tackle the story, it’s clear why the topic of toxic relationships is frequently raised during discussions of Midsommer. From the start, the relationship between Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) is deteriorating with the aloofness Chris’ treats Dani’s major family issues (he often says her sister’s bipolarism is a cry for attention) and Dani’s desperate need for him making the relationship toxic. He only invites (begrudgingly) Dani to Sweden at the last moment, much of the distain of his friends who are immediately hostile to Dani’s arrival. This, of course, make Dani alone and vulnerable.

Upon arrival to the commune, everything seems idealistic. The peaceful tranquillity, seemingly continuous daylight and beautiful surroundings don’t hint at the horror that it about to come, but as viewers we know this peaceful bliss is a cover for something more sinister. The film’s slow pace drives much of the tension as we wait for the horror to begin, and find out how the characters react to it. Some react with horror and shock, others with a morbid fascination.

The movie generates much of its horror from the almost sadistic desire to find out more, and how far this cult will go. Following on from the suicide at the rocks (where the visuals and sound effects are gruesome) the desire to find out the lengths this cult will go is too difficult to resist. It’s clear that there is no escape, it’s clear that all this has been a ruse and the outsiders are very unlikely to make it out unscathed. The film’s length and beautiful surroundings draw out this tension as we know there is something ugly underneath.

Florence Pugh is magnificent in the leading role; her animalistic howls of pain and grief display a woman tormented by the horror she had to endure from her family’s tragedy. It has left her vulnerable, in need of love and attention that her aloof and uncaring boyfriend is unable and unwilling to provide. This leaves her at the mercy of cultists and Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) who uses her vulnerability to exploit her for the cult’s purpose.

Midsommer is a creepy, funny and absurd affair. Aster perfectly balances disgust and horror with absurdist comedy (the raffle sacrifice scene) as the cultists go about their lives, almost casually, to the shock of the outsiders. Pawel Pogorzelski’s cinematography is glorious (during the dance scene the camera glides through like a dancer) as its entices you into the beautiful commune and the set design, bizarrely and beautifully, becomes more and more ominous as the movie gets closer to its dramatic conclusion. Midsommer is not a film for the easily repulsed

4.5/5