Ronit J

Midsommar (2019) Synopsis:

Several friends travel to Sweden to study as anthropologists a summer festival that is held every ninety years in the remote hometown of one of them. What begins as a dream vacation in a place where the sun never sets, gradually turns into a dark nightmare as the mysterious inhabitants invite them to participate in their disturbing festive activities.

Midsommar (2019) Review:

I’m going to start off by saying that I am not a fan of horror films. Mostly because they bore me. Slasher flicks with a ton of violence and gore? Count me in. Films that depend on idiotic character decisions and horror tropes that do little more than just cause jump scares? Nope.

However, I have come to appreciate a few horror films in my life. Hereditary was one of them. I absolutely loved the emotionally and atmospherically daunting exploration of inherited demons that Aster showcased with that film. That was why I wanted to watch Midsommar in the first place. And I am so glad I did.

Dani (played by Florence Pugh) is an emotionally vulnerable therapist who has just lost her sister and parents in a freak murder-suicide. She constantly leans on her boyfriend, Christian (played by Jack Reynor), for support, which makes him slowly distance himself and consider breaking up with her. Even his friends Mark (Will Poulter) and Josh (William Jackson Harper) encourage him to leave Dani. However, his Swedish friend, Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) seems strangely welcoming and empathetic of Dani’s turmoil.

Dani agrees to join the boys on a trip to Sweden, where they plan on spending midsummer in Harga, Pelle’s hometown and commune. That’s where things start going very wrong for everyone except Dani.

Cults, Communes, & Religious Communities

Have you ever wondered what kind of people would fall for Scientology or whatever Jim Jones was preaching? Well, Midsommar will explain to you in gruesome detail the how and the why.

Right from the start, these Swedish strangers are extremely welcoming of Dani and the foreigners. They don’t judge, they don’t bitch. Instead, they even go to the extent of speaking in English so that the non-Swedish speakers don’t feel left out. Where Christian forgets Dani’s birthday, Pelle gifts her a beautiful sketch he made during one of the commune’s events. Slowly, but surely, you see the story from Dani’s perspective as she begins to find some sense of comfort and belonging in this strange Swedish commune.

Of course, things go a few steps back when the two elders jump to their deaths as a ritual sacrifice. Almost every single foreign guest voices their distress at the very existence of such a ritual in the modern age. Even Dani has her concerns. But, Christian and Josh are more preoccupied with their anthropology thesis to pay attention. They try to use these weird customs to their benefits, further alienating Dani from their group.

Alone and vulnerable, it’s no surprise that Dani starts to find pleasure in mundane tasks within Harga. She helps the women cook food. She even participates in the May Dance Competition.

Cults and religions depend largely on the lack of rationality to keep functioning. And who is more irrational than an emotionally vulnerable person? Show them a little warmth and belonging, and they’ll embrace you tightly, never wanting to let go. Midsommar hammers in this fact through Dani’s story of indoctrination into Harga.

The Horrors of An Irrational Community

Indoctrination is one theme of the film. The other is community. As someone who comes from a country deeply dependent on its communities, Midsommar hit uncomfortably close to home.

As anthropologists, Christian and Josh constantly question the traditions to understand the ideological basis of the Hargans. While the Hargans readily divulge the mythical elements, they’re quick to dismiss when they don’t have a rational explanation. Hell, when two elders sacrifice themselves, one of the Hargan elder women tries to pacify the foreigners by giving some bullshit reasoning behind the Hargans reaching peace at the age of 72. The illogical explanation is just the beginning of the frail and rationally inexplicable way of life that the Hargans have created for themselves.

The film depicts Harga with grandeur and awe. Yet, you can’t help but notice the brutality amidst the cultural adornments. This is a conservative society, and the rituals continue to become more and more bizarre. The human self-sacrifice is just the start. Drugs and hallucinogens play a vital role in keeping the foreigners docile. Maja leaves her pubic hair in Christian’s food and her period blood in his drink, an attempt to make him fall in love with her. When the foreigners start breaking rules and questioning this way of life, they’re disposed of in the ‘slide finger across your neck’ manner.

The more you think about it, the more you realise that Harga is a backwards community stuck in its ancient ways. It has not evolved to accept modernity into its mix. It rejects the forward march, embracing dated customs and an ancient sense of justice (killing) when their way of life is threatened. Harga is one example of how inhumane a society can become when too married to its past and irrational heritage.

Midsommar (2019) Ending Explained (SPOILERS)

Dani ends up winning the title of May Queen, while Christian is lured into impregnating Maja in a weird sex ritual. While Christian had to be intoxicated, the emotionally vulnerable Dani is convinced to become part of the Harga commune. After all, she has nothing left in the real world. From her perspective, even her loving boyfriend, Christian, has ‘cheated’ on her. All this results in her passively accepting her place in Harga.

The final sequence reveals how the Hargans had secretly killed all their foreign visitors. Probably to keep their heritage a secret. Christian and the other men were probably invited to help maintain the Harga population by impregnating Hargan women, while Connie and Dani were to be indoctrinated as future mothers. While not overtly explained, you can draw these conclusions based on stray lines and Christian’s entire arc.

In the end, we see the Hargans enter the yellow temple, which serves as a sacrificial altar. The Hargans carefully place the remains of the foreigners inside the temple, along with volunteers from Harga. These people are so deeply brainwashed that Ingemar and Ulf truly believe they are doing something good for the community. When Ulf begins to scream while the fire consumes him, it’s too late to do anything.

The final shot is Dani watching the temple burn down. Looking at us, she smiles. A deeply unsettling shot, declaring that she has finally become completely disillusioned with reality, and has accepted her life in Harga.

Exactly what you don’t want happening to you if you ever come across a cult.

Is Midsommar (2019) worth watching?

Yes. But with caution.

This is not your typical horror movie. There are technically no jump scares. The film doesn’t feature any monsters or evil spirits. Instead, the real horror is the dated ideas and inhuman cultures that we fail to cull as we march into the future. The film’s visuals, eerie soundtrack, and patient unfurling of the emotional mess of its characters make for an unsettlingly real experience. The film mostly plays like a regular vacation drama, with random spurts of violence and horror slapping you in unexpected moments. The art direction is stellar, realising this absurd community. The performances are unsettlingly real, their believability as traumatising as it is praise-worthy.

Midsommar is a film that highlights the evils of cults and indoctrination. It beautifully depicts the cruel manner in which they lure in unsuspecting, vulnerable, and distraught individuals with promises of belonging and warmth. With the rise of the far right, neo-nazis, and other religious conservatives across the globe, Midsommar becomes all the more relevant to watch in today’s time.

In Conclusion:

Midsommar (2019) is an unsettling watch that is unfortunately relevant to date. The horror elements aren’t as overt as they are subtle and lingering, creeping up on you when you least expect it and staying with you even after the film’s credits start rolling.

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Have you watched Midsommar (2019)? What did you think about this film? Let me know in the comments below, along with any film recommendations you’d like me to watch/review.

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