Waiter, there's insanity in my folk horror!

I planned to write a post about Eurovision's final, I even started it... But then I took my best friend (a declared horror and occultism lover) to a cinema to see "a new horror movie about paganism". I was sure she would like it. Her thoughts after the film?

"Kiki, next time I choose a movie!"

And that was the moment I knew I had to write about this film. I mean, when the biggest horror fan I know is that shocked by the movie then said movie is definitely extraordinary.

I think you probably know what film I'm talking about.

I know, it looks like a melodrama movie. Don't let these tears deceive you...

If I were to describe "Midsommar" with just one sentence it would be "lighter and softer pagan version of Suspiria". And "lighter and softer" definitely doesn't mean "everyone can watch it". There is still a lot of gore and mindfuck, just not that much.

But let's start from the beginning – the plot. Writing anything about this movie without spoilers is nearly impossible, so

SPOILER ALERT!

In the beginning we meet Dani (Florence Pugh). Dani is a regular student with horrible problems: she deals with mentally unstable, bipolar sister and quite toxic boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor). During opening sequence Dani tries to contact Christian and tell him how worried she is about her sister, who first sent her very unsettling email and then stopped responding. Christian shoos her away, saying it's probably another false alarm.

Let's stop here. I was quite amazed how realistic is the toxicity of relationship between Dani and Christian made. Dani is a really troubled woman, who needs support, so nothing surprising that she clings to Christian for comfort. However, Christian is totally egoistic and never thinks about that. Instead, he views Dani as a pain in the ass, who always looks for problems to complain about. Moreover, he always makes her guilty by blaming her for everything wrong (that's funny, my ex-boyfriend used to do the same...) and later, when things go completely downhill, doesn't hide the fact he totally doesn't care about his girlfriend. And why they don't break up? Because Christian is too scared to do so. Shortly, Christian is one hell of an asshole, who gets worse when movie progresses and we learn more about his horribly egoistic personality.

Shortly after an introduction it's revealed Dani was right with her concerns – her sister killed her parents and then herself with carbon monoxide. Some time later Dani learns that Christian planned to go to Sweden with his friends from studies (of course, he didn't tell her, which led to painfully realistic exchange, starting with Dani calling Christian out for not telling her and finishing with Christian making her feel guilty about it. Again). Christian invites Dani to go with them, believing she won't do so. Surprise – she does. And then things happen. Many things.

I liked how different and original are Christian's friends. They all are anthropology students, but each of them has completely different personality and approach to life and studies. There's Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), a kind and calm man with totally hippie attitude, raised by a Swedish pagan commune, who asks his friends to go with him to his hometown, Hårga, for once in a lifetime festival. From the beginning he is genuinely nice towards Dani, comforting her after her loss and talking with her about his commune's midsummer celebrations. There's Josh (William Jackson Harper), passionate anthropologist and horrible jerk at the same time (let me be honest: knowing about it and still not telling an anxious person that something they are going to witness involves ritual suicide IS a shining example of dickery). And there's Mark (Will Poulter and yes, I had one, big "where the hell have I already seen this guy?!" on my face during all his scenes. Damn you, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and my facial recognition problems...), a goofball who thinks only about drugs and sex. Add Christian, the "I don't care about anyone except me" man, and you get quite colourful bunch of movie characters.

From annoying know-all to sex obsessed stoner. Something went terribly wrong, Eustace...

Speaking about characters, I absolutely loved portrayal of the commune. People there are so warm and welcoming it's hard not to like them from the first scene. The fact they live in a sunny village in the middle of nowhere only adds to the sweetness of them. Villagers' cheerful attitude gets quite unsettling when you compare it to what they do every 90 years during special midsummer celebrations. To begin with, the ättestupa or "the oldest people from our commune lead special dinner, then sing ritual songs, then are taken to the cliff and then jump from this cliff to their death" (which is hinted to occur every year...). Actually, I kinda understand why the commune sees nothing wrong with it – for them committing suicide after hitting 72 is a very dignified way of dying, much better than spending years dealing with illnesses and other "perks" of being old. Value dissonances at its finest. However we can't use the same excuse towards rest of ceremonies, which involve human sacrifices. The fact that these sunshine children get excited with killing people (not only outsiders, but also fellow villagers!) is probably the scariest thing about "Midsommar", much worse than mutilated corpses and similar.

Some people may wonder why, at the end, Dani decided to stay with Hårga people. She witnessed them killing her boyfriends' friends (and a young couple from London), perform rather gruesome ceremonies and many, many more. She wasn't, as Pelle, raised with these people, for her their way of thinking was hard to understand. So why did she calmly embraced the fact she became one of them? I think the answer is simple: they were nice to her. As I mentioned, she has spent years in rather abusive relationship with Christian, has been worrying about her sister, had no support in anyone. Hårga must have seemed like a paradise for her – everyone was so kind, she was warmly greeted and invited to join villagers' activities. As you can notice, from the very beginning Dani was the one who was spending the most time with Hårga people. On the first day she joined flowers collecting, then she helped with cooking (I think that was one of the sweetest moments in the movie, especially, when other women gave Dani on apron and complimented her appearance) and then she was invited to take part in traditional dancing competition. The joy visible on her face while dancing is really hard to describe, not to mention her astonishment when she became the May Queen. I think that was the moment when she finally felt accepted by someone. Considering the fact she has been in great distress for most of her life, it's no surprise she decided to stay with people, who gave her at least some happiness.

"In the morning, we do happy pagan things. In the evening, we sacrifice people. Isn't it fun?"

Trailers may suggest "Midsommar" is another "bunch of Americans go to the end of the world and then die" film. Actually, it's partially true. However, most of the time the movie focuses on Dani's deteriorating mental state. The filmmakers showed it pretty well. When Dani feels anxious, you can clearly hear her deep breathing. To be honest, sometimes the audio focuses more on her breathing than any other sounds. This makes viewers (especially the ones, who have experienced at least one panic attack in their life) very unsettled. Additionally, for most of the time the screen is swaying, representing Dani's distress (or the fact she is under the effect of drugs – it often overlaps). The effect is creepy as hell, especially, when the scenery seems to breathe (remember the moving flower in May Queen's crown?).

In the beginning, I compared "Midsommar" to "Suspiria". Both movies are unsettling, psychedelic horrors, which focus a lot on insanity and gore ("Suspiria" is only slightly more graphic, especially the ending) and don't hold back when it comes to nudity and sexual themes (however, "Midsommar" is more literal). But the first thing that made me think about "Suspiria" while watching "Midsommar" is the sensual abuse both films inflict on viewers. There are a lot of rather chaotic scenes, accompanied by loud music and other sounds, for example Dani's painful wailing. They seem to try to get into viewer's head and make them feel the same the characters are feeling – shock, distress, anxiety, excitement and, in the end, catharsis. It's another trait characteristic for both movies: the ending is very cathartic, not only for the main heroine, but also for the audience. However, it's a little bit problematic in the case of "Midsommar". The movie just abruptly ends during very intensive moment. This made me confused as hell and a little bit disappointed – I hoped for a longer ending sequence and some kind of dénouement, not a cut in the middle of the climax.

The dancing competition kinda reminds me about integration games I used to play in the school. "Belgijka" (Polish version of Chapelloise) anyone?

Actually, "Midsommar" isn't very scary, rather really disturbing. But I enjoyed it anyway – it's a decent movie about insane pagan cult with nice special effects and great acting, definitely worth watching... Unless you are sensitive to body horror. If you are, better stay away. Or watch it with friend, who will tell you, when you should close and open your eyes.

And yeah, next time I'll probably go with my best friend to the cinema to see a Disney movie. Or a generic horror without long shots of dead bodies...

I swear, I had no idea there would be so much gore! (And what do you mean, I should have checked "Hereditary" first?!)

Image sources:
All movie stills were screenshot by me from the official trailer and belong to A24.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vnghdsjmd0

First poster: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8772262/mediaviewer/rm3772802304
Second poster: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8772262/mediaviewer/rm1428384768