Midsommar (2019)

A couple travels to Sweden to visit a rural hometown's fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

Director:

Ari Aster

Writer:

Ari Aster

Stars:

Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Florence Pugh	...	Dani
Jack Reynor	...	Christian
Vilhelm Blomgren	...	Pelle
William Jackson Harper	...	Josh
Will Poulter	...	Mark
Ellora Torchia	...	Connie
Archie Madekwe	...	Simon
Henrik Norlén	...	Ulf
Gunnel Fred	...	Siv
Isabelle Grill	...	Maja
Agnes Westerlund Rase	...	Dagny (as Agnes Rase)
Julia Ragnarsson	...	Inga
Mats Blomgren	...	Odd
Lars Väringer	...	Stev
Anna Åström	...	Karin

Storyline

Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) 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.

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Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | sex scene | male frontal nudity | summer | sweden | 

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Taglines:

Let the festivities begin

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing ritualistic violence and grisly images, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA Sweden Hungary

Language:

English Swedish

Release Date:

3 July 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Midsommar

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,560,030, 7 July 2019

Gross USA:

$27,375,514

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$35,998,965

Company Credits

Production Co:

B-Reel Films, Square Peg

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min 171 min (Director's Cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Dolby 7.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ari Aster's visual references for his Scandinavian folk horror are Black Narcissus (1947), Hard to Be a God (2013), Macbeth (1971), and Tess (1979).

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Goofs

On the way home from the party Dani and Christian sit on the backseat of a cab, the rear window is frozen although in the movie it is already summer.

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Quotes

Maja: [in Swedish] I can feel it! I feel the baby!

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Alternate Versions

A 171-minute long director's cut premiered at the Scary Movies XII film festival at the Lincoln Film Center. This version adds more graphic violence and extends many pre-existing scenes.

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Connections

References Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

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Soundtracks

The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)
Performed by Frankie Valli
Written by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe
Published by Seasons Four Music (BMI) and EMI Longitude Music (BMI)
Courtesy of Rhino Entertainment Company / The Four Seasons Partnership
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

One bad trip.

'Midsommar (2019)' takes a very long time to get to a very predictable and, frankly, uninteresting point. It's just so slow and, honestly, boring. There's nothing all that engaging about the story, and perhaps its most - or, maybe, only - intriguing thematic aspect is reserved until the very end - the final shot, even. This seems to be as spur-of-the-moment for the film as the decision that leads to it does for the central character. The general theming of the feature isn't all that strong or cohesive and its events don't act as an 'allegory' for the theme, either. This leads to an aimless vibe, a sense of almost making things up as they go along. This creates some issues when everything starts tying together, especially in terms of overall motivation. I mean, some things in here just aren't believable. Plus there's no actual mystery driving the plot, so there's never any tension or suspense. I will say that one sequence is properly horrifying, punctuated by gruesome imagery not for the feint of heart, but it stands as the sole example of something that comes close to getting under your skin and, as such, feels sort of out of place, in a way. It's also brushed off quite quickly, despite being revisited a few times. Still, the film isn't scary. It's not disturbing, either. Most of the 'horror' just comes from the unfamiliarity of the situation - that being a foreign festival presented as a long-held, normalised tradition - from an outside perspective. On top of that, you don't care about the characters - who often make odd, audience-distancing decisions - enough to be affected when things inevitably take a darker turn. That's a bit of an issue. Obviously, the piece is well made, no-one's debating that. It has an effective, if slightly obnoxious, score and makes some distinct visual choices. However, technical competence cannot make up for narrative failure. The opposite of this seems to be the erroneous basis for most of the movie's somehow glowing reviews. Of course, if you really like it, then you like it and that's good for you. I'm just saying that there comes a point where you have to stop awarding, essentially, participation points to well-made but empty fare; most pictures are at least competently constructed and even those that aren't can be enjoyable - or more enjoyable than something like this, at least. The film isn't engaging, entertaining or even close to terrifying, despite its undeniable technical competence. Also, the influences of 'The Wicker Man (1973)' are unmistakable - it actually has quite a bit in common with 'The Wicker Man (2006)', as well. Look, horror doesn't have to scare, as such, but it should do something. This doesn't really do anything and it takes a very long time to do it, too. 4/10