‘Midsommar’ Film Review
10/10 Stars
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Anyone who saw Ari Aster’s 2018 film ‘Hereditary’ already has a pretty good idea of the level of artistry & craftsmanship to expect from the recently released ”Midsommar“. Those expectations are easily reached & surpassed. As someone who doesn’t particularly like films about unbelievable things like ghosts, spirits, magic, & demons, the fact that I enjoyed
“Hereditary” at all is a testament to the quality this director is putting out. That’s the very reason I was excited to see “Midsommar”, there is no mystical force or evil energy, just the very plausible horror humans inflict on one another.
Synopsis:
Dani and Christian are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, a grieving Dani invites herself to join Christian and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree summer holiday in a land of eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when the insular villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that render the pastoral paradise increasingly unnerving and viscerally disturbing. From the visionary mind of Ari Aster comes a dread-soaked cinematic fairytale where a world of darkness unfolds in broad daylight.
Just as with “Hereditary” the film starts initially as a slow-burn, almost bland film. It may at first seem boring or long winded but it’s critical world-building that will pay off later. Once the group travels to Sweden the film picks up with snowball escalation. As they spend more time in the Swedish commune the atmosphere gets increasingly unnerving. When more is revealed about the group & their beliefs small cultural differences become a vast chasm. While there are one or two gruesome scenes, Aster doesn’t abuse the repugnance as a cheap fright. The short abhorrent scenes are artistically placed as an antipode to the surrounding imagery & feel wholly different from something you would see in “Saw” or even “It”. This almost paradoxical antithesis of scenery & plot permeates the entire film. Be it the white clothes all the Hårga members wear while the outsiders are in contrasting dark colors or the beautiful landscape, flowers en masse, & cheerful architecture in bright colors
Aster uses every available resource to illustrate the disturbing & unsettling nature of this story. The scenery is so beautiful occasionally the viewer may forget they’re watching a horror movie. It seems this is by design. 
All said, I thought this was an outstanding, high-caliber film that shouldn’t be missed. I’m not a big fan of horror but films like this don’t really fit into just the horror genre. Masterfully crafted, artful without being experimental, disturbing without being disgusting & story driven without be fast-paced, I give it ten out of ten stars (or AAA on TripleA Reviews)
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Ari Aster has just two full-length films under his belt yet the quality of work he produces is on par with masterful veterans such as Guillermo del Toro, Alfred Hitchcock, or Stanley Kubrick. He is a director to watch as all signs indicate a promising career full of preeminent works.
Trailer:
