View trailer / Picture: Gabor Kotschy, courtesy of A24
In this latest project, American writer-director Ari Aster manages to project the theme of romantic estrangement onto a macabre canvas of Scandinavian folklore in an intense psychological horror.
Midsommar tells the story of Dani Ardor (Florence Pugh), a psychology student struggling to recover from a gruesome family tragedy. She joins her noncommittal boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor) and his group of friends, much to their dismay, on a trip to Sweden, where they attend a pagan festival celebrating midsummer; a celebration only set to occur once every ninety years.
While festivities kick off with your run-of-the-mill psychedelic trip, the smiling, white-clad community is soon revealed to be anything but a peaceful new-age hippie commune. Sinister motives lie hidden in the runic scripture.
But as the mystery of the festival unfolds and the pagan cult begins to play tricks with the minds of the unsuspecting visitors, it is the strained relationship between Dani and Christian that remains central to the story of Midsommar. The increasingly disturbing rituals serve as tests for the pair, both for their individual characters and their common bond, with Dani remaining the protagonist throughout.
The young Florence Pugh of Lady Macbeth fame delivers once again in this role. She displays a wide emotional range, being as compelling in her shocked and horrified reactions as she is in her character’s most profound moments of suffering and pain.
The film, however, has some pacing issues. The build-up, while successful in establishing and sustaining an ominous atmosphere, is somewhat drawn out, which is reflected in the almost two-and-a-half-hour runtime of the film. On the other hand, the ending is perhaps a bit too abrupt, although it should be credited with avoiding plot twists for the sake of plot twists, instead of letting things run their natural course.
There are some problems with the way the story unfolds, particularly in the plotlines of certain supporting characters; the tension between Christian and his anthropologist friend Josh (William Jackson Harper) is left hanging, as is the tension between Dani and her biggest detractor, Mark (Will Poulter). While the anthropological interests of the men are rather emphasized, Dani’s background in psychology is merely stated, and never brought to bear on the story.
These, however, are minor considerations, and easily overlooked due to the atmospheric nature of the film. An original score by Bobby Krlic shines in this department, gravitating as it does from acapella vocal arrangements to eerie strings that fill the viewer with uncertainty and discomfort.
It is unlikely anything in this movie will make you jump out of your seat in fear. The film is a slow-burning psychological horror that doesn’t resort to surprise scare tactics. Still, for fans of more bloody horror, there is a moderate amount of that involved as well. After all, we are dealing with the strange world of pagan ritual here.
‘Midsommar’ premieres in Finland on July 10.
