Last year I reviewed Hereditary—a horror film from Ari
Aster, distinguishing itself with superb cinematography, tension that could be
cut oh so deeply with a knife, and intense performances all around. I
personally felt the payoff at the end could’ve been better, but it’s still a
film I can recommend for anyone seeking some good chills to dance up their
spine like a prancing revenant.
In many ways, Hereditary felt like a modern throwback of
sorts to the Exorcist and all the others that emerged in its wake through the
seventies; now, Aster seems to be drawing inspiration from another classic of
the same era—the Wicker Man. And no, not the…thing with Nicolas Cage that happened to share the same name. The
influence in this one is undeniable—from the themes of bizarre pagan practice
to the isolation in a seemingly pleasant but ever-preternatural remote locale.
So, does this Nordic-set nightmare live up to its predecessor or should it be
sacrificed on a pyre?
The film starts pretty well,
with lots of upfront and emotion-churning themes of family tragedy—much like
Hereditary. Florence Pugh plays Dani, a college student who goes through some
very personal loss, and finds herself strained with her boyfriend Christian
(Jack Reynor). A year later, Christian and his friends are invited by their
personable Swedish friend to his pagan commune in the remote reaches of Sweden,
with Dani somewhat reluctantly coming along. The relationship between Dani and
Christian strikes that right level of believability and the emotional fraying
between them can feel just as uncomfortable as all the shenanigans that
transpire later.
They’re joined by a modest
cast of secondary characters—who aren’t that strong, to be honest. William
Jackson Harper plays Josh, who is the most level-headed but is sort of there,
and then there’s a slightly stereotypical sex-mad stoner klutz. There’s also a
pair of British students joining them, but for the most part, you can sort of
predict where the film is going with them.
Now…the film is a pretty
slow burner. The horror is more about subtle discomfort, unsettling
gaslighting, and a gradual buildup, than the shocks and scares of Hereditary.
It works if you put yourself in the right mood, but this is a fairly long film
and some might find it just dragging along. Like with Hereditary, there’s
suitable gut-punches of grisliness between, but the film doesn’t truly ratchet
things up until the end.
That being said, from a
cinematography point of view, it’s gorgeous. The majority of the film is set in
the daylight—unusual for a horror film, but it does sort of set the tone of a
pleasant place disturbed by the small, the subtle, the barely seen. The colors
are excellent and great to look at, and as it goes on, you even feel the
effects of certain things the characters are exposed to—petals and flowers
pulsating, things shifting, all playing with your mind in all the same ways
Dani and Christian are going through.
And then the climax…is
satisfying, though not hugely surprising. The imagery veers from the silly—you’ll
need to be deathly afraid of naked jiggling butt cheeks to get a scare from
some of it—to the grotesque and the shocking. For those wanting more straight-up
horror, this part at least should satisfy.
Overall, I can’t really
recommend Midsommar to casual viewers like I did Hereditary—not everyone will
feel it justifies its length. But, while I didn’t enjoy it as much as it’s
predecessor, I can at least give it a recommendation to those that enjoy the
direction and presentation I’ve mentioned above. If you have some time to
sacrifice to the spirits of summer, you might find it an interesting experience
then…
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