Midsommar (2019)

147min

Genre:     Drama, Horror, Mystery

Director:  Ari Aster

Cast:       Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper…and more

Writers:   Ari Aster

-Synopsis-

Looking to get away from life in the US and broaden their cultural horizons, a group of American students join their Swedish colleague on a trip back home to join the summer festivities in his isolated village. But their dream holiday soon begins to morph into a surreal nightmare when they’re drawn in by the locals and their bizarre traditions, as the mysterious mid-summer festival begins to take hold, in this latest creepy cult-centred horror/mystery from the writer/director of ‘Hereditary’.

There’s no denying that the last five years or so have seen a renaissance for English language horror in indie and mainstream cinema, with bold filmmakers pushing boundaries by adding new layers of atmosphere, style and narrative nuance to the genre, while often subverting it, much to the chagrin of ‘purists’—capturing the imagination of audiences, critics and award shows along the way. And there’s arguably no better exponent of this horror ‘new wave’ than writer/director Ari Aster, who after utterly creeping us out with his unforgettable 2018 debut ‘Hereditary’, returns with yet another mesmerising and parabolic, unsettling and confronting decent into the madness of broken people . . . with foreboding destinies.

Florence Pugh stars as American college student ‘Dani’, reeling from personal tragedy and joining her reluctant self-centred boyfriend ‘Christian’ (Jack Reynor), his buddies ‘Josh’ (William Jackson Harper) and ‘Mark’ (Will Poulter), and their Swedish colleague ‘Pelle’ (Vilhelm Blomgren) on a backpacking summer vacation to his isolated village in Northern Sweden—where they hope to study and take part in the rare local summer festival. But as the pagan traditions and rituals surrounding the local harvest, life, death and nature become increasingly bizarre and sinister, the group dynamic shifts while Dani and Christian’s relationship changes forever—as she’s pulled into a life-altering rabbit hole, while the locals do their thing . . . with consequences for everyone.

Given the pagan rituals, the cult element, and indeed some of the visuals which sit at the heart of the film’s narrative, there’s no getting away from 1973 horror classic ‘The Wicker Man’ as a major influence, try as Aster might. But as the director himself points out, there’s just as much ‘Alice and Wonderland’ and ‘Black Narcissus’ here, in what is only in part a dark macabre fairy tale and Nordic folk horror—but most importantly these are all ingredients in a truly distinct cinematic concoction, and a standout filmmaking achievement in its own right.

‘Midsommar’ really is an indie masterclass in unease and discomfort from Aster. The director takes ancient Swedish and Northern European pagan customs, rituals and traditions involving the celebration of summer, death and our return to nature—many of which will be completely alien to the Judaeo-Christian world, let alone 21st century society—adding ominous tones and upping the morbid creepy factor, while hazily injecting a self-reflective psychedelic element which reveals the film’s true nature as a dark character piece and human drama . . . which will no doubt irk some horror purists who might argue that it doesn’t qualify for the genre.

And yet this is a horrific film in its own way, maybe not following the traditional trajectory of tension-filled terror, but still managing to freak the audience out with honest and bizarre human behaviour, while threading in the odd bit of brutality and graphic violence, as well as nudity and ritualistic sex at opportune moments—and doing it all in the blinding light of never-ending Nordic summer days. But perhaps the most unsettling quality of ‘Midsommar’ is the unexpected amount of quirky, socially awkward humour on show, helping to flesh out the characters and threatening to turn the film into a black comedy at times, producing uncomfortable laughter from the supposedly ‘well-adjusted’ in the audience, and honest chuckles from those with a darker heart.

Much like many a bold cinematic enigma, fairy tale, and the director’s own debut, ‘Midsommar’ has a strong and unsubtle allegorical quality. Aster continues with the family drama themes of trauma, mental health and escaping familial destiny established in ‘Hereditary’, but takes another left turn which transforms this narrative into a dark and bizarre parable about community, selflessness and toxic relationships—not to mention finding belonging and new beginnings . . . and the wrath of  a woman scorned.

Aster’s penchant for carefully cultivated mood and style as established in his debut is also present here, as the film hangs heavy with an atmosphere set by a textured score from British DJ and producer Bobby Krlicaka aka ‘The Haxan Cloak’, which adds untold character with an instrumental mix which proves sometimes ethereal and mystical, often ominous, and occasionally jarring. This is also an intricately and vividly shot film, with the director exercising his camera work by using almost every shot and angle in the book, while cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski (Tragedy Girls, Hereditary) makes full use of the brilliant Hungarian summer (doubling for Sweden) to capture unease and horror in endless broad daylight.

In what is essentially a dark, confounding and occasionally perverse character piece, the performances are understandably key, and the multinational cast thankfully delivers, with Brit Will Poulter and Irishman Jack Reynor turning the audience as the comedically brash buddy and  increasingly unlikable boyfriend, while the only actual American in the cast William Jackson Harper wins hearts as the level-headed academic.

But rising star Florence Pugh is undoubtedly the heart and narrative fulcrum of the piece, as the talented young Brit adds a completely convincing American accent to her arsenal, as she continues to swiftly climb the Hollywood ladder in style. Yet the destiny of them all, and the film as a whole, rests in the hands of the Swedish cast playing the local Hårga villagers, who are stellar in depicting an increasingly disturbing yet honest and humble community, who are far from your typical horror cult antagonists.

In the end this is bound to prove a divisive film, perhaps disappointing audiences looking for instant and consistent thrills and scares, not to mention horror purists and genre traditionalists who are predisposed to reject it—but that’s not the game Aster is playing here. Despite the signs, ‘Midsommar’ doesn’t unfold in the way you might expect, taking a non-traditional horror path and achieving the rare distinction of making you cringe, grit your teeth, laugh both freely and uncomfortably, and thoroughly perplexing you . . . sometimes all in the space of one scene. And it’s even more uncommon for something within the horror genre to keep us gripped and guessing, disturbed yet morbidly satisfied for well over two hours, and for that alone, all involved have earned our kudos.

The Bottom Line…

Ari Aster’s latest moody, parabolic, occasionally perverse and often unsettling cinematic concoction underlines his determination to push the boundaries of, and blur the lines between horror and reflective human drama. ‘Midsommar’ solidifies his reputation as one of the most exciting new writer/directors out there, delivering a hypnotic and deceptively unique Scandinavian folk horror character study . . . from the depths of human behaviour.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Hereditary (2018)

When her mysterious and domineering elderly mother dies, a woman and her family begin to have inexplicable and terrifying experiences as they uncover sinister secrets about their deceased matriarch—promising a bleak fate and threatening to destroy the family in this in this confounding mediation on ancestry from debutant writer/director Ari Aster.

Directed by Ari Aster and starring Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro and Alex Wolff among others.

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