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It's hard to get a handle on Midsommar, there is a lot going on with Ari Aster's sophomore effort. Those looking to find the next level in horror will surely be disappointed. This is more in line with his efforts in Hereditary, especially when both films deal with grief in such a personal and horrific way. This time around he feels like he can be a bit more creative with the camera, moving freely in the open land and leaving the family drama behind for a more blunt horror experience. With that being said, Midsommar is still not your typical horror film.
After a devastating loss in her life, Dani's relationship with her "on the fence" boyfriend gets even more strained. He plans on leaving for Sweden with his three friends, one of which is from there. He invites her to go with them, expecting her to say no, but she agrees and they soon find themselves at the mercy of a pagan cult.
It's easy to make things scary when things take place at night, Aster has the ambition to craft a horror film that takes place entirely in the daytime. He expertly crafts a sense of dread throughout the film, which is an incredibly slow burner one as well. We know what to expect, to some degree, when these people arrive at this commune, in the middle of nowhere. The characters of course, do not. We as an audience know we are watching a horror film, the characters think they are just at a friend's family home. Slowly the safety and sanity is picked away one by one, until we have no idea what we are witnessing and neither do the characters. Is a drink being offered simply a drink? Or is there something more sinister in the liquid? These were questions I was constantly asking myself throughout the film.
Is the film scary? Not at all. It's terrifying in a morbid way, but you never feel scared. Instead you are repulsed by the imagery Aster forces you to watch. These images are violent in nature, absurd to the next level and are few and far between. He simply sprinkles these moments in, which add a shock value because everything leading up to these moments have been a little slow.
Florence Pugh leads the film and has the difficult task of being incredibly fragile, but needing to be a strong presence. She pulls it off with ease. Hearing her tormented crying is painful and strikes right through the heart. The rest of the cast includes her boyfriend played by Jack Reynor and his three friends, played by William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren and Will Poulter. You look at these people and you just know that nothing good is going to happen to them.
I suspect that this film will be dissected, much like Jordan Peele's recent horror entry, Us. Aster litters the film with literal images depicting what could possibly happen to these characters at some point in time. You'll be looking in the background for these pictures to get a sense of what's to come. One sequence uses this to comedic effect, which then turns extremely weird and than horrifying. That's how Midsommar is in a nutshell. It plays with tone and at points the audience is laughing at the absurdity on the screen. I still have no idea if the funny bits are intentional or not.
I do prefer Hereditary to this, as I was simply not prepared for that film whatsoever. It left me speechless. Midsommar treads familiar ground and could leave some people shocked, but it might even leave some people wanting more. Aster, after two films is an auteur and he loves taking his time getting to where he wants you to go, to the point where it could frustrate some viewers.
Oh yeah, great score too.
Midsommar
It's hard to get a handle on Midsommar, there is a lot going on with Ari Aster's sophomore effort. Those looking to find the next level in horror will surely be disappointed. This is more in line with his efforts in Hereditary, especially when both films deal with grief in such a personal and horrific way. This time around he feels like he can be a bit more creative with the camera, moving freely in the open land and leaving the family drama behind for a more blunt horror experience. With that being said, Midsommar is still not your typical horror film.
After a devastating loss in her life, Dani's relationship with her "on the fence" boyfriend gets even more strained. He plans on leaving for Sweden with his three friends, one of which is from there. He invites her to go with them, expecting her to say no, but she agrees and they soon find themselves at the mercy of a pagan cult.
It's easy to make things scary when things take place at night, Aster has the ambition to craft a horror film that takes place entirely in the daytime. He expertly crafts a sense of dread throughout the film, which is an incredibly slow burner one as well. We know what to expect, to some degree, when these people arrive at this commune, in the middle of nowhere. The characters of course, do not. We as an audience know we are watching a horror film, the characters think they are just at a friend's family home. Slowly the safety and sanity is picked away one by one, until we have no idea what we are witnessing and neither do the characters. Is a drink being offered simply a drink? Or is there something more sinister in the liquid? These were questions I was constantly asking myself throughout the film.
Is the film scary? Not at all. It's terrifying in a morbid way, but you never feel scared. Instead you are repulsed by the imagery Aster forces you to watch. These images are violent in nature, absurd to the next level and are few and far between. He simply sprinkles these moments in, which add a shock value because everything leading up to these moments have been a little slow.
Florence Pugh leads the film and has the difficult task of being incredibly fragile, but needing to be a strong presence. She pulls it off with ease. Hearing her tormented crying is painful and strikes right through the heart. The rest of the cast includes her boyfriend played by Jack Reynor and his three friends, played by William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren and Will Poulter. You look at these people and you just know that nothing good is going to happen to them.
I suspect that this film will be dissected, much like Jordan Peele's recent horror entry, Us. Aster litters the film with literal images depicting what could possibly happen to these characters at some point in time. You'll be looking in the background for these pictures to get a sense of what's to come. One sequence uses this to comedic effect, which then turns extremely weird and than horrifying. That's how Midsommar is in a nutshell. It plays with tone and at points the audience is laughing at the absurdity on the screen. I still have no idea if the funny bits are intentional or not.
I do prefer Hereditary to this, as I was simply not prepared for that film whatsoever. It left me speechless. Midsommar treads familiar ground and could leave some people shocked, but it might even leave some people wanting more. Aster, after two films is an auteur and he loves taking his time getting to where he wants you to go, to the point where it could frustrate some viewers.
Oh yeah, great score too.