Midsommar (2019) - Spoiler-Free Review 

Flowers? Psychedelics? Pubic Hair? What kinda movie is this???!!!

Ari Aster films always make me feel like he's serving me holographic food. Visually it looks beautiful but when I go to eat I then realize- "Oh, forgot, it's not actually food." Therefore, I find myself not always being able to consume his craft like I want to because I end up not feeling fulfilled in the end.

3 words = the wicker man

Yeah man, I really agree with you on a lot of your points. Florence Pugh's acting, some of the very colourful gorgeous shots and the unsettling gore were the only positives here. And ya know, in the first 30 mins.. it felt like someone had hit me with a baseball bat it was that gutwretching.. but then it becomes a very pretty, overly long "Wicker Man" that just drags itself out so long that it just becomes a chore to get to the finish that you had figured out pretty well from the trailers. It overstays its welcome trying to be "look at how arty and awesome I am" when really.. its practically Wicker Man 2.0.

Never walk in a place you don't know a way out of...

Loved this movie. My 3 words would be gory, grief and stoned

The I Spit on Your Grave remake trilogy really touches on that American fish out of water thing you mentioned. That scares me too. Especially in 2 when she finds out she’s in Bulgaria and cries no no no. I could relate !!

*finishes rolling a blunt* *cody uploads a video* Couldn't be anymore perfect timing. Can't wait for the remaining chucky videos too cody ☺

I honestly really agree with you here Cody. I think the story of this film kinda goes nowhere. The film never hits a peak, especially not a peak that justifies what Ari Aster expects the audience to wait through to get there. And there comes a point where the characters don't progress naturally at all and it becomes very unbelievable that any of the characters would not try to escape honestly. And I think that Aster tries to cover these flaws up by just kinda making them high, so there ya go, they're high, so they can't make a good decision. This film also has SO MANY subplots that go nowhere...the disabled boy, the conflict between the two friends, even the big event at the beginning of the film is never explored past a surface level I would say. I think this film stylistically and technically is a 10/10, but other than that its like a 6.5 for me at best.

Florence Pugh has come a long way in 5 years. Here; Cody barely knew who she was. Now she’s in Oscar Winning films

I know not to mess with pyschadellics, especially after a tragedy like she went through.

Your face expression on the Thumbnail is just hilarious 😂

I completely agree with how you saw the characters. I just saw this film and it felt like they had this consistent narrative of following the main characters to a point, and then it just felt like there was this abstract disconnect where it was just following the scene, but you didnt feel like you understood what the characters were thinking anymore.

I agree with everything you said here Cody. Hereditary was my favorite film of last year and is one of my favorite horror/drama films ever. I don't think I can say the same for Midsommar. Visually and Stylistically, it is beautiful and bright..however, the pacing was overdrawn, Some of the camera tricks, positions and editing to make a scene seem important was mostly just laughable to me and also there was a moment during the last act, firstly I DO NOT have an issue with Nudity at all with Male or Female bodies fully exposed if services a point, There was just a scene near the end that was kind of uncomfortable to witness..it almost felt like an X Rated film. Also, I realize people grieve differently, but between a character's grieving moment in this film and the one in Hereditary, I just thought Annie's grievance over Charlie was much stronger and chilling with her grievance scene.

Midsommar is ambitious, unsettling, tense, weird, uncomfortable, intriguing, funny and visually stunning. it's crafted really well. the color palet is beautiful and the cinematography is great. Ari Aster has a vision and goes for it. Shooting in daylight is a risk, but he managed to do it effectively. These are the types of horror/folk tale movies that are interesting and deserve attention, they challenge the mind, they challenge the viewers, they push boundaries and torment you deeper to the core.

Great review, bro. Im in the "love it" camp myself but I thought your thoughts and perspective were well articulated here. Loved what you said about Asters signature. I totally agree. Love him, hate him, he's definitely created a voice in the genre.

Love how your face in the still basically summarizes the review 😏😂

I loved this movie, this film was amazing. And I respect your opinion, Cody

Saw the first showing last night. The movie had so much depth and attention to detail, it's absolutely mind blowing. 15-20 years from now, people will be talking about this film the same way they're talking about The Shining all these years later. Ari Aster will go down as one of the greats.

I loved hereditary but damn midsommar didn't get that hit or anything that stuck out after the film. It's like when it ended your like thank God it's over

I don't think this is a horror movie. It's an art film with a horror vibe-I really loved it. As someone who wants different cinema, I really was blown away. Originally I felt disappointed, but the more I thought about it-the more scared I became of the ideas. Want to see it again. As far as feeling sick due to the sounds, yes. I totally did. But I relished it, it helped me dive head first into an uncomfortable world. LOVE your reviews man. :)

Haven't seen it yet, but I love how subdued Cody is.. Seen it or not, great review

Nah

I was thinking about "Hostel" when watching this film too, glad you mentioned it.

Man. Never disagreed with a review before. The movie is a horror movie. The director is setting a tone and taking you on a journey. I didn't think it was pretentious, just had a vision. To me that's like saying The Shining was pretentious. Sorry man

Saw this movie high and absolutely had a trip with it lol. Loved the movie

The thing about the length is that you can have long movies without feeling boring or drawn out. The Wailing, a film Aster likes and seems desperate to match in quality is a whopping 2 1/2 hours long and never once made me go "ugh, when's it gonna be over." It made me actually freaked out at times when I would see how much time was left after a certain part and my reaction was "Oh no" since if the movie still had so much time left then something was wrong. It's probably because the movie never drops the horror for long periods of time even if the horror is just a sense of "is this actually true or is it merely an assumption or a flat out lie?"

I dont think ive ever known a film to have SUCH MIXED REVIEWS. Like goddamn. I loved this film. I thought that how they built up plot and indocrinated or killed off the characters was done masterfully. Whilst i get why people thought it was dragged out, it both highlights the cinematography and lets the plot simmer in the audiences head. I completely understand how other people may view the film completely differently though, depending on what you expect or value from a film.

I watched it last night and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. But I was more confused than I was with hereditary. I didn’t understand some of the decisions made by the characters. But the more I thought about it I realized that the film was more about the couple growing apart than how the main girl was dealing with grief

I agreed with ALL your points!

There are 2 channels I wanted to hear a review from and this was number 1 to me, number 2 for me for THESE films still has not done it yet :).

I also feel the same way about jordan peeles US. It was completely garbage imo. Would you say Ari did better then peele on his sophomore film?

I agree with you on one thing Cody. You said that if you're someone who likes this type of film, this is for you, and I'm someone who LOVES this type of film. I love pagan horror; I love the original Wicker Man; I love old European culture and tradition, and I LOVE Midsommar! Enough said.

so far child's play is the best horror film in 2019 unless i am wrong etcetera

Great video, even after watching this video, still not sure If i want to see this film. ??🤔

I just watched this and honestly hereditary didn’t grab me and this one’s no different. I appreciate that it was a little easier to understand and I also like how they make a crazy and/or sad moment seem like a happy moment. The lighting made it feel so joyful but you still feel unsettled. It’s just the story didn’t quite grab me and I feel like it was too predictable. I don’t know I just don’t really care for ari aster’s films so far

Pubic hair! The 80's are back, baby! :)

Friends : hey ! Lets go to Aruba!! 😁😁 Me : yeah..no that worked out fine for Natalie didn't it ?..😉

I honestly couldn't agree more with this review. It feels like _SO_ many people are pretending like this is some masterpiece of cinema just because it has some pretty shots and cinematography. But as far as the characters and plot are concerned, it's pretty bad honestly. Nobody reacts to things like a normal person would, they're all devoid of sympathy or chemistry, and the movie tries _way_ too hard to make Christian out to be the bad guy when Dani really isn't much better. And like you said, it's just sooooo damn long and drawn out for no reason at all. SPOILERS: I think the ending is the film's biggest fault for me. The main girl _willingly_ just lets these people drug her over and over while they kill off everyone she knows in the most savage, grotesque ways imaginable, and then she's like "Okay, I'm fine with this. These psychos are my family now. Oh, and I guess the girl having my boyfriend's date-rape drug baby is like my new sister." So dumb. Aster definitely has a bright future in film-making but this particular movie felt so damn full of itself.

Cody... That T-Shirt is LIT! Love it.

I appreciated your thorough review of Midsommar. I too felt that Jack Reynor’s performance as Christian didn’t fully convince me, I don’t know if was due how he was directed to deliver his performance, or if he’s just a bland actor, he didn’t feel organic enough to offer a convincing portrayal that that character needed. I feel compelled to add to your discussion after viewing your review of Midsommar. I consider Midsommar to be a masterfully crafted film that completely aligns with my taste, Midsommar’s core didn’t deceive me as to the structure of what it was. Midsommar maintained its balance throughout the entire film. I consider Hereditary’s first half to be ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT until it inexplicably went into the supernatural - at which caused me to exhaust more suspension of disbelief. Supernatural films don’t commonly appeal to me, however, if the story well crafted and reveals the supernatural elements demonstrably at some early point within the film then I’m inclined to allow my disbelief to go along with it. I feel that Hereditary is an extremely well crafted film that didn’t need to abruptly deviate from what it brilliantly executed prior to going full-blown supernatural. Hereditary has forged its disturbing elements onto me psychologically. A24, as well as Ari Aster have earned my attention!!!

Its a highly pretentious film while being really bland at the same time

yeah as another subscriber said, the look on your face in this movie review tag definitely says it all....ick

Well done; I enjoyed this movie but was quite pretentious.

Ooh, I am weighing in WAY late! I tend to watch movies way after release to gauge how well they age. SO (!) I agree with you about 99% but I have to bring up 3 points I felt were different or not included in your review 1. They did actually have characters that tried to leave. Yes, the others did not (which I agree was stupid) but there was that angle of people leaving and in the end showing what happened to them. 2. Was there something quite not right with the 90 year thing? I may be wrong, but there were parts that made me feel or think that it happened on a more regular basis 3. OK, for me, the biggest question mark was that all these people disappear at the same time, going to the same place and nothing happens to investigate why? I know it is not necessarily part of the movie, but if this cult's drive is to have complete strangers come in and be sacrificed, wouldn't there be SOME sort of investigation, no matter how far apart the ritual is? Or am I missing something here? You would think anyone could put those dots together and go "Oh, all these people went missing at the same time and went to the same place?? It just left me with a sense of disbelief at the end. If that was cleverly shown how they got away with it I would have appreciated it way more : ) Overall, I enjoyed it; particularly because of Florence and that it was mainly daylight, but I give it a NAH also. : ).

Flowers, psychedelics, and pubic hair? Fucking SOLD.

Haven't seen the film myself, but the trailer just screamed The Wicker Man to me. So, it felt like I knew what was going to happen regardless.

"Actress I've never heard of Florence Pugh" this is a fun video to look back on!

Thanks for the review. I wasn’t a fan of Hereditary so I know now that I’m not going to be blown away by this film.

just watched it for the first time last night. I had to fast forward through it. It was so boring and weird. totally not my thing

The stylization is awesome. However, I like stories, and there's none of that here.

That's 4 words

I appreciate and respect a reviewer who's honest about why he doesn't like a film but is also honest enough to talk about what's good about it. I haven't seen the film yet but your review didn't dissuade me. I'm sick of horror movies and most movies in general nowadays. So when a movie looks like there was some care that went into making something that isn't like every other lame, woke or completely dull movie out there I'll give it a shot. The things you didn't like didn't sound like things that would really bother me anyway. We'll see! 😃

This film was originally given an NC-17 by the MPAA. According to Ari Aster, around 30 minutes was cut from the final film mainly due to content. The director's cut released shortly after its theatrical run restores this footage. Most of the Swedish dialogue spoken by the Hårga natives is deliberately not subtitled, in order to create the sense of isolation for the audience and especially for the foreign visitors. When the film was released in Sweden, rather than eliciting fear in the audience, many people laughed. Many Swedish critics praised the film as an excellent black comedy. Mark displays an extreme phobia of ticks, which is based on Ari Aster's real-life fear of bugs and illness. Like Mark, Aster wore two pairs of socks over his jeans to ensure he would not receive bug bites. Despite the Swedish setting, the film was mostly shot in Hungary. Dani's surname is Ardor (visible on the computer screen in several shots), Latin for "flame." Despite sharing the same title and being horror movies set in Sweden, this film and the Danish cult classic "Midsommer (2003)" are not related. Despite the film taking place entirely in sunlight, it does not contain one shot of the sun. The film's trailer contained one shot of the sun. A shot of the sun has been reinserted in the director's cut of the film. Ariana Grande is a fan of the film, calling it one of her favorite films of 2019. She tried (and failed) to buy the May Queen Gown used in the film at an auction. She also threw a Midsommar-themed birthday party for herself on her 27th birthday. Klaudia Csányi's debut. Despite being the main characters and with the exception of cries and screams, neither Dani nor Christian speak in the last twenty-five minutes. During the meal where meat pies are served, Christian has a glass of reddish juice while everyone else has yellow juice. An image earlier in the film suggests that this may be because his drink has been spiked with menstrual blood. The strange mating ritual in the movie has very little to do with actual midsummer celebration in Sweden. It is however a fact that the 9 out of the 10 most common birthday dates in Sweden are all during April. 9 months after midsummer and July, the most popular month for summer vacations, that is. This is the fifth A24 film to be released nationwide without a platform release prior. The others were The Witch (2016), Free Fire (2017), It Comes At Night (2017), and Hereditary (2018). Much to the chagrin of Swedish horror fans, the film was not released during midsummer in Sweden, but a few weeks afterwards.

I got out of it today, and I thought it was a major letdown, but I still enjoyed it too a degree

Bold review man. I actually really liked this movie, but I totally respect the 2/5 and your reasoning. I don’t think there are that many likeable characters except Dani, maybe Pelle, and I actually feel Mark was underused. I think we could have gotten a good scene that showed Mark being attacked or slowly realizing the community’s plan for him. Let him do a little more than just be insensitive the entire film. Even though I didn’t love the characters, the dread and suspense for me came in just the way that it was shot so great and with such style. I feared for what gore or absurd tradition I was going to have to watch. It wasn’t perfect, but closer to a 4/5 for me.

Love this movie , really like your channel

I really, really liked this movie and can't wait to see it again in the theater... going for a second round today.

Literally watched this last night and I gotta say, I've woken up still thinking.....WHAT THE HELL DID I WATCH.

I enjoyed how the movie opened itself up took its time didn't rush I enjoyed the whole movie I wish it was longer than the director's cut

I swear is there ever a non-weird film by A24

Love movies like this. Also I think pretentious is a bit derogatory and unnecessary. Clearly he's extremely skilled, more than most. The only issue that I have with Ari's films is that they spend so much time on character development and buildup but by the end of the film I really only care about one maybe two characters. FFO: The Witch, Suspiria (2018), and Hereditary.

Great review! I did not enjoy this movie either. What's funny is I started off liking it. I actually thought I was going to like it better than Hereditary, which I didn't like at all. Maybe the first 30-45 minutes, I was into it, but by the time they got to the commune or whatever, my enjoyment just diminished until it was completely gone. I was so antsy towards the end, just wanting the movie to be over. And I did look at my phone to check the time a few times, but I had decreased the lighting on the phone and did it from w/in my purse. Haha. I really agree w/you. This movie has been done before. Nothing new was done w/the subject matter. It was very drawn out, and like you, I was thinking, "Just get to the point already." This movie should have been 90 minutes. 2 hours and 20 minutes was way too long for the ending we got. I also really didn't like the couple or the comic relief guy. The PhD student - Josh- was fine, but he did something really stupid and I couldn't feel bad for him either. The characters I liked the most were probably the other outsiders from London, and we weren't following them. I don't know. I've been fooled twice now by Ari Aster (shame on me), so I will have to catch his third flick on cable. I'm definitely NOT going to the theatre again for one of his "horror" flicks. His moves are overhyped, and I never come away feeling satisfied.

Disagree with your opinion

I was absolutely disgusted with this movie. If you like it, fine. I want nothing to do with it. Should've taken your advice, Cody, and skipped it

I'm in line with this review. Not always, but was going mad thinking I was the only one not in love with this film.

Great review, Cody! I think I liked it a good deal more than you, but I can totally understand your issues with it. Although I really liked and appreciated this movie from a thematic and cinematography standpoint, I do think the actual plot itself was a tad underwhelming. I definitely agree about its predictability, though with all the art foreshadowing, I have to think it was intentional. And I also totally agree about how self-indulgent it got at times. There were moments where it worked in that regard, but plenty where it lingered too long.

You're more into straight forward horror, which is fine but that you stated you had about leaving your comfort zone. Which is why you only give praise to the obvious choice "aka commercial franchise horror". I don't have a problem with that and everyone has an opinion but it's a shame you don't appreciate horror movies that think outside the box. On a positive note, thank you for posting a review at least. It shows you're still a great advocate for horror and I commend you for it.

Spoiler But I think the guy who was apart of the cult killed the final girl’s family. The flowers that were at the cult’s location were the same flowers in the parent’s bedroom. Which would explain why he was so happy she was coming on the trip

We are completely in sync with this one! I enjoyed this movie while I was in the theater, but it was definitely too long (I have to admit, I checked the time twice but I kept my phone in my purse and the brightness was down very low LOL) and very much mismarketed as horror when it's not. I also felt like the ending was exactly like Hereditary and I didn't appreciate being spoonfed the ending--I prefer movies that make me think for myself, especially when they're this style. Overall, I was rather disappointed but don't regret going to see it, although I probably won't ever watch it again.

I went with a friend to see this & ended up nodding off as I was bored shitless & kinda sussed the ending. Good review Cody I see I didn't miss much.

This was my most anticipated of the year and it was a huge disappointment.

Some people are just not sophisticated enough to understand and appreciate the nuances of this film. Cody is one of those people (as are his fanboys) and that's ok!

This movie was an interesting one. I LOVE how amazing the cinematography is, the incredible acting, and the slow build was good even, as a one time only watch. However: I would say it would benefit from an 80 to 120 minute cut, slow build once, not between every single quasi-exciting event.

I totally agree with everything you have said about this movie cody it's so great to finally find someone who thinks the same about this movie as i do

I think Ari Aster's 3rd will be his best, that was the best cinematography I've ever seen. Hereditary was the best story I've saw in horror in a while, with really good Cinematography. Hereditary is a 10/10 movie, and i expect his third to be on the same level. I'm going to have to rewatch this to form an opinion though

I didn't enjoy Hereditary so much as everyone and now I feel the same with Midsommar. As Cody said, this movie has nothing new and plays it as if it was something bigger than it's actually is

Loved Hereditary. Definitely enjoyed Midsommar more than you did. But I definitely agree with some of these complaints. I feel like Aster went more arthouse and less horror this time around, whereas Hereditary had a really nice balance. I also liked the characters in this film, but didn't feel like we got development for them at all. And as for the aforementioned grisly moment, I also felt like that and character disappearances in general were just kinda forgotten about easily. Overall, Midsommar just didn't feel coherent enough in my opinion, I don't think it told enough of a story and I think it should have had a healthier balance of arthouse and horror. I'm definitely on the side of the fence that enjoys these types of movies, so despite my problems with it, I enjoyed it. But I don't think it lives up to Hereditary and I don't think it'll be the best film of the year. Just my two cents, great review man.

Finally saw this movie and yes im coming back to the review 5 years later because i love to hear codys opinion. I agree with you for the most part but i also think its not quite as dreadful as your experience was. Pros: 1) cinematography is great 2) location is awesome 3) florence pugh does nail it, now that I have privilege of hindsight, this and little women are her breakout roles Cons 1) this movie is at least 30 minutes too long. 2) none of the characters try to escape, not until close to the end when the douchebag bf decides to run into a building? 3) the tell you what is going to happen through very direct forshadowing and they dont really do much to shift or subvert that expectation, making it inevitable and unsatisfying I think it's worth watching once, but i dont really have any desire to sit through that again in the future.

This is definitely one I feel will get better on repeat viewings like Hereditary. It was unsettling as fuck.

Master director at his best stop whining

Also yeah, as much as she also wanted out of the relationship, the filmed portrayed the boyfriend as a total douche for breaking up

Imagine complaining about how well a movie was made.

Midsommar is a dark comedy about pretentious graduate students. Your mileage may vary WILDY depending on your own experience with pretentious graduate students. Directing is amazeb@lls

You have nice voice to listen to, subbed.

Florence was in a Wrestling biopic called Fighting with my family where she plays a female wrestler. She is great in that movie too.

I really liked hereditary. I've only seen pictures of this movie until now and it seems hippy-ish I wasn't sure if it was a scary movie or not. From your explanation it seems like there's no realistic acting. You know how in most movies there's a point where a character has enough and tries to leave then something bad happens and everyone is stuck. That's my favorite part and it makes it seem like this could happen

I saw this movie yesterday. I liked it, but I agree it is not for everyone. There was a lot of laugh out loud moments. There was good gore scenes that will stick with you. He explored grief and I could relate to the scene with Dani crying on the couch. I do not want to spoil the end for anyone, but I did feel like it was predictable what was going to happen. Not that it was bad. I enjoyed the ending. But for me this one warrants conversation as he explored a family dynamic. Twisted yes, but went with what Dani was going through.

I thought Hereditary was awesome, but Midsommar kinda sucked.

Great review dude.

from what I remember from Hereditary is the woman that sobbed like Eeroye. That's all.

My problem with this movie is that the characters fails to carry the narrative through later in the films. For example, in Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki, the narrative was driven by the characters, and their decision. The moral of Ashitaka, the ambition of San and the determination of Lady Eboshi (The character design of Lady Eboshi in Princess Mononoke is neatly tight and astounding) carried the film from beginning to the end. Even the forest god and the cursed boar themselves are very well developed. Most of the characters are not disposable. In this film, you could eliminate the British couple and change the numbers needed for sacrifice, you would have no problem with its plot or narrative; they were just there to fill the minutes. It may be a motion picture but it is still another form of narrative. Narrative without coherent and concise narration ultimately became lethargic. Again, in Princess Mononoke, if you just want to enjoy a film without having to dig deeper into its symbolism, or motif, you can; and if you want go deeper to decipher its plot, characters design, symbolism, motif, subtext, you still can. I can't say the same about this film though.

Two friends of mine who don't know each other personally saw "Midsommar" tonight. One said it blew "Hereditary" away and the other said it's not even close to touching "Hereditary". So I'm confused.

I felt the same way, after a few rewatches I fell in love with it

Cody having them Hostel flashbacks lowkey

It was weird and it took a while to get off the ground but I thought it was hard. It left me reeling and thinking pretty heavily after it ended. It was cracking. I enjoyed it.

I saw it this morning. Really good movie. Very beautiful to look at. I say that to say this, this movie doesn’t have the legs Hereditary does. I don’t think I will watch this multiple times like I did Hereditary. Some really stand out moments that will stick in your head though.

That moment when you are watching a movie and it is so drawn out that you look for another thing to distract you.i have coined a phrase for that "poutine break movies" i have 2 movies that made me literally leave the theatre to get a poutine (fries,gravy and cheesecurds)and then comeback lol.The one that started it was Munich.the other was American Gangster.i had a A&w break during die another day lol

It’s alright it has its moments. But I do agree it’s too damn long. I don’t think I’ll ever see it again.

So I decided to go through your other videos as I needed a few comfort watches, regarding Reynor he really is a good actor so I blame this film for not capitalising on his talent. If you want to see a warm, lovable performance by him you need to see Sing Street, he's phenomenal in that 🙂