Midsommar (2019) — Movie Review
Why Midsommar's Slow-Burn Brilliance is a Double-Edged Sword
★★★☆☆ 3.0 / 5.0
Review By Ray Manukay
Official Release
July 3, 2019
Rotten Tomatoes
83%
Letterboxd
3.9
Running Time
2h 28m
Official Synopsis
A young American couple travels to a remote Swedish village for a legendary midsummer festival. What begins as an idyllic pastoral retreat quickly descends into an increasingly violent, bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
Expanded Cast Directory
Florence Pugh as Dani Ardor
Jack Reynor as Christian Hughes
William Jackson Harper as Josh
Vilhelm Blomgren as Pelle
Will Poulter as Mark
Ellora Torchia as Connie
Archie Madekwe as Simon
Gunnel Fred as Siv
Expanded Crew Credits
Director: Ari Aster
Screenwriter: Ari Aster
Producers: Patrik Andersson, Lars Knudsen
Cinematographer: Pawel Pogorzelski
Production Designer: Henrik Svensson
Costume Designer: Andrea Flesch
Composer: Bobby Krlic (The Haxan Cloak)
Makeup Effects Designer: Ivan Pohárnok
Production Info
| Studio Production Companies | A24, Square Peg, B-Reel Films |
| Theatrical Distributors | A24 (Domestic), Nordisk Film (International) |
| Estimated Production Budget | $9 Million |
| Motion Picture Association Rating | R (for disturbing ritualistic violence, graphic nudity, and drug use) |
| Filming Locations | Budapest & rural areas, Hungary (substituting for Hälsingland, Sweden) |
Production Trivia
- Despite being set in the perpetual daylight of rural Scandinavia, the film was shot almost entirely in Hungary due to production practicalities and layout regulations.
- Florence Pugh has noted in interviews that capturing Dani's intense, unbridled grief took a massive emotional toll, creating a dark psychological headspace that took months to fully shake off after filming wrapped.
Official Trailer
Ray's Thoughts
Midsommar is an unnerving and occasionally effective horror experiment that attempts to subvert the genre's typical tropes. Famously placing a significant amount of its atmospheric tension in wide-open spaces bathed in blinding daylight, the film roots its horror in everything being completely out in the open rather than hidden in the shadows. The results are decidedly mixed, but I applaud the ambition and the artistic attempt to try something unique in a genre that usually leans on tried-and-true formulas.The narrative kicks off with a horrific family murder-suicide that immediately leaves our protagonist in a painfully vulnerable state. Unfortunately, Dani (played by Florence Pugh) is also trapped at the tail end of an obviously failing relationship. Her boyfriend, Christian, would have likely broken up with her if not for the sudden proximity of the tragedy. Rather than canceling his planned trip to Sweden with college friends, he tries to hide it from her. When she uncovers the plan, she surprisingly accepts his half-hearted invitation to tag along. Once they arrive at their remote destination, things take a bizarre turn that none of the travelers could have ever anticipated.The film heavily relies on the anxieties of foreign-culture panic, scattering undercurrents of xenophobic dread and strange, cultish ceremonies throughout the narrative. While this atmospheric tension works to varying degrees, the pacing is a deliberate slow burn that completely depends on the audience's patience. This hyper-attention to detail cuts like a double-edged sword: the ceremonial rituals feel meticulously designed, but vast amounts of runtime are spent simply waiting for something dramatic to happen. Director Ari Aster would surely argue that the devil is in the details, but it gets exhausting waiting for things to ramp up if you aren't completely captivated by the minutiae of the world-building.Furthermore, I found myself personally annoyed by this over-reliance on foreign panic, as well as the frustrating lack of common sense exhibited by the core American characters. While naive ignorance is a classic horror trope, it feels far more glaring here. The skillful direction, stunning cinematography, and pristine production design elevate this far above standard B-movie territory, but wrapping this prestige atmosphere around characters who make such foolish, oblivious choices only amplifies how annoying their ignorance is.Florence Pugh shines in an exceptionally demanding role, though her reputation for playing mentally and physically strong characters works slightly against her here. The audience almost expects her to snap out of her funk and overcome her difficulties, rather than breaking completely under the weight of her trauma. Jack Reynor is also highly effective, perfectly embodying a selfish, unsympathetic boyfriend who constantly makes the wrong moral decisions.It is not surprising that Midsommar has cultivated a passionate following; there is an immense amount of care and artistic dedication poured into every frame. The ambition to completely invert genre expectations by having the antagonists disarm their victims with bright smiles instead of overt menace is truly admirable. Additionally, the unflinching, graphic violence staged out in the open daylight adds a unique air of creepiness and lingering dread that makes the film undeniably memorable. However, Midsommar ultimately fails to provide consistently riveting thrills. Instead, we end up viewing the cult's activities through a detached, clinical lens, leaving the audience feeling quietly complicit in the slaughter, which, in a sense, is its own profound form of horror.
The Final Verdict
★★★☆☆
3.0 / 5.0
Lucky 13 Consensus:
Midsommar is a beautifully shot, highly ambitious horror experiment that successfully swaps traditional genre shadows for blinding daylight dread, but it is ultimately weighed down by an exhausting slow-burn pace and a frustrating over-reliance on foreign-culture panic. While the glaring lack of common sense from its prestige-clothed characters repeatedly cuts into the atmospheric tension, a powerful, emotionally demanding lead performance from Florence Pugh and an unflinching eye for graphic imagery ensure this subversive cult tragedy remains at least memorable.
Production Trivia & Fun Facts
- The Language of the Harga: The unique runic alphabet and the "Affekt" language spoken by the cult members were completely invented from scratch by Ari Aster and artist Ragnar Persson, ensuring the fictional world felt deeply alien rather than mimicking real Swedish cultural practices.
- Hidden In the Painting: The elaborate murals lining the walls of the sleeping barracks actively spoil the entire narrative progression of the film, foreshadowing the gruesome deaths of individual characters and Dani's eventual transformation into the May Queen.
- The Bear Cage Origin: The bizarre presence of a caged brown bear early in the village sequence is a direct nod to a traditional Swedish folk story, *The Bear’s Son*, which frequently explores deep themes of human-animal integration and psychological transformations.
- The Blinding Costume Weight: The iconic, massive floral dress worn by Florence Pugh during the intense final acts of the movie was constructed using over 10,000 artificial silk flowers and weighed a staggering 33 pounds, requiring a custom internal support frame to keep her upright.
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