Ashley Lauren Yes, I have seen the original Wicker Man, and no, you are wrong. Ari Aster’s inspiration to make this film was his own personal breakup with someone. The basic pagan cult plot does not automatically make the film a ripoff of the Wicker Man. Although both part of the folk horror genre, The Wicker Man and Midsommar are thematically and tonally much different from each other. And what’s boring for you may not be for someone else. I was engrossed by Midsommar from beginning to end.
I thought the last sequence was a huge let down. Considering what it was showing, I felt nothing for any of the characters involved really and not scared, sad, impressed or shocked by any of it.
One of the best films I've seen in modern times. The way it looked, the pacing, the sense of dread mixed with the reassurance of the "community". It really impressed me
I really wanted to feel the same but didn't find it that evocative at all, I think it could have done so much more with the world and themes it presented
I thought the reason they stuck around after the horrific incident is that the hallucinogenic drugs combined with the surrealness of their enviroment had altered their perception of reality, making them more accepting to the events unfolding.
the film is mental in the best way possible but for maximum effect, sabotage a great relationship you're in with someone you love deeply, get dumped, drop a large dose of high grade acid and press play.
This was film about incredible grief and connection and intimacy. Considering how deeply we despise emotion, the emotional elements are the horrific elements.
Irreverent Bard Good point. The way the group related to the individual's emotions had an atavistic, uncivilised flavour. It reminds me that in Mediterranean cultures, including Spain and Italy, right until the 1950s and beyond, when there was a wake professional "grieving women" were brought in and paid to cry.
Slacktory Records It says that toxic relationships can go on for a while if one has no emotional support, and cults or manipulative people are most powerful against people at their lowest or most emotionally broken points. But it really just shows the process of a breakup at the hands of a pagan cult while lightly brushing on some themes rather than exploring them.
An interesting bit of trivia - Dani had a poster of the "Poor little bear" by John Bauer above her bed (he did drawings of trolls and swedish folk tales). It's unlikely she would have that poster without knowing this, so maybe it was her destiny!
I believe Ari Aster is this generation's David Lynch or Cronenberg. He has a strong vision that dabbles in the surreal and macabre. The characters are slightly awkward caricatures, and the actors are meant to deliver dialogue or act in a way that is singular to his films.
Simon is playing the High Court judge role. He asks those questions on behalf of the audience in order to get Mark to explain himself for the benefit of those who don't get the reference.
The film’s well acted, well directed, well characterised, stylish, dark & is an intriguing horror film comparable to The Ritual (2017) & The Wicker Man (1973). (86%) (4.5/5 stars) (positive)
Glad I didn’t see this at the cinema as it was so intense. I agree in that it is like taking a tour inside the Wickerman, mixed with Primal Scream therapy. The Bear and the flower eyes will stay with me for awhile. The film did feel like a metaphor for what she was going through. The worst and best trip ever.
I think it was a good film, though undeniably too long at two and a half hours. I found myself losing patience with it more than once, and it doesn't do anything that 'The Wicker Man' didn't do almost 50 years ago in only 88 minutes.
@@WoahLookAtThatFreak It's got paganism, it's got horrror, it's got what you think is going to be a standard blood-and-guts scary film that turns into something genuinely disturbing. It doesn't have a naked Britt Ekland, I'll give you that, but one can't have everything.
C Mahoney I'm in the middle tbh. I think the acting and cinematography were sublime. It takes itself very seriously though and owes a huge debt to vastly superior The Wicker Man.
I thought it has all the makings of a personal journey in the perspective of how one individual joins a cult, from the empathy to the psychedelic drugs to the hypnotizing rituals and dances, I felt like I was joining the cult, I was in Dani’s shoes the entire time, feeling disconnected from the others and the experience was horrifying I think it’s a brilliant extremely anxiety filled movie
I thought it was hokum. Brilliantly shot and choreographed throughout but I don’t buy like Mark is straining to do that this is a break up movie, it is rather a failed homage to folk horror that runs out of ideas towards the end. As someone else has mentioned, the characters’ reactions are not believable especially as their predicament escalated to the point where it’s staring them right in the face. In that sense alone it is an unworthy successor to The Wicker Man.
Was it wrong I laughed so much? I think it didn’t take itself too seriously in places which made the film engrossingly beautiful and yes complete tosh in the grand scheme but highly enjoyable stylish tosh.
It was a boring at the same time, too long when it didn't need to be but yes its extremely disturbing but I think the length doesn't justify itself with how it ended
As Steve says, that lookaway moment after which they don't leave just killed the film for me. These people aren't here being chased and hounded back to the camp by strange forces. They're idiots that chose not to leave.
@Edward Chester If you're talking about after the cliff scene, they stayed because Christian and Josh respected Pelle's traditions and were studying his community for their thesis, so they saw it in a different light. And Dani only stayed because she was pressured by Pelle and did not want to leave Christian. And the chemicals in the drugs they were taking did slightly impair their thinking. So, what decision or reaction doesn't make sense?
@@mcorriette1 It's obvious as viewers given that we're watching a horror film, but to the characters it's not necessarily obvious. And certainly they show no signs of the mental crisis that would result from realising you've been trapped by a death cult.
Loved the film but the last 45mins let it down as it devolved into a typical slasher type horror movie, whereas the first 90mins held a tension and eerie atmosphere much alike the Wicker Man and other horrors from that period.
I'm still mad on Dani's sister for she was selfish enough to kill Dani's parents with her. Liked the movie. Some more thrill opportunities could have been used tho, for instance, when this little girl were almost sacrificed and Dani stepped forward, I was so sure they'd think Dani volunteered or something. Also in the second half, could have been some more thrill and chase scenes/details/twists of how they all tried to get away, or how exactly Dani sniffed something's wrong. Overall experience tho, good and unsettling
Just watched this on Netflix,think this would have defo been better on the big screen the hallucination scenes were too close to the bone for me , left me feeling disturbed, i didnt feel much for any of the main characters apart from the female lead the swedes were all super creepy i wanted to run from the hills myself! defo worth a second look will try to get the longer version, Ps didnt laugh once btw sickos ha ha.
I honestly couldn't really see the film as a horror . It felt more like a dark drama with horror elements . The opening scene made me very uncomfortable and so did some of the end . I actually cried quite a bit as well .it's a very sad film but not a conventional horror at all .it's better than that .
Real horror film for me. Left me thinking about it for days. This isnt a ghost story, this isnt a monster movie and it isnt a movie with "powers". This movie could and probably is happening in real life. That for me is scary.
For me the single biggest problem is the characters' reactions just weren't plausible. Ended up feeling very long and silly, despite some excellent performances.
@@TheWelchProductions Mate, I'm not going to argue with you. If you found it plausible then you will obviously like the film more. But it's subjective and I'm not alone in thinking that.
I really liked Dani but, in the end, I felt so much sympathy for poor Christian. Just a guy who maybe doesn't know how to be the boyfriend he should be. Probably really does love Dani. Certainly deserves better than he got.
I felt more sorry for the couple from London (especially the guy, coz that was really brutal) and they actually seemed like pretty nice people. Although noone deserved to die for their behaviours, at least all the guys in the U.S. party demonstrated some kind of reprehensible moral or empathy defect.
@@sorscha1308 Christian is a far more noble character than many people seem to see. The guy literally stayed with Dani so she wouldn't be alone in the world after her whole family died, despite the fact that he wasn't in love with her anymore, that is a form of empathy and responsibility that goes beyond the obligation of someone who would otherwise have broken up the relationship (which he has every right to do - some relationships don't work). I wouldn't call him or any of his friends morally reprehensible, they didn't do anything so egregious to warrant their fate. Dani's situation is tragic but it's neither the fault of her or her boyfriend. The cult are the evil ones in this story, they are entirely self-absorbed and afford their guests no agency or autonomy, they merely shepherd them to their deaths for their own cultish ends.
@@EvsEntps I thoroughly agree. Even if the characters had been total angels, they would have been sacrificed because that was the purpose they had been brought there for. I think the biggest villain in the movie is Pelle who befriends them and leads them to the slaughter for his own glory.
I’m relieved I wasn’t the only one coming away from the movie feeling like this. I don’t understand how the audience can cheer for her at the end of the movie
Florence Pugh is great in the movie. The atmosphere is really unsettling and the presentation is great. The problem is that the content, WHAT is shown, is just so damn generic. If you‘ve seen some horror movies before, you know everything that is going to happen. I‘ve seen THIS movie before, just under different titles. I was rather disappointed. I get that it‘s more about her trauma than the plot. But that doesn‘t change the fact that the plot is too generic for its own good.
This is not a black comedy at all. Its an immersive horror that really gets in deep. The entire movie is a long, slow motion, jump scare. Brilliant stuff.
It was unsettling. The whole point of the film is to understand that Pugh’s character is realising where and where she does not belong. It does drag at parts, my CGB actually fell sleep. But just watched it again on blu ray and I was just as taken back by it’s look again. The score and cinematography is drop dead gorgeous. Yes, the story is silly and almost slapstick..BUT ITS A CULT PAGAN RITUAL FILM! What do you expect?!
i thought the film was really boring in parts and what was happening didn't resonate with me at all. Coming off Hereditary it was quite a disappointment.
@@anonb4632 There's something wrong with you if think the Wicker Man remake and the Wicker Tree are as unique as Midsommar, The Wicker Man, and The Holy Mountain.
Anon B And you’re an arrogant xenophobe who justifies brainless opinions for a better understanding of nuance in films. Wicker Man remakes and spinoffs are not original or unique. I don’t have time to argue with idiots.
Both Ari Aster feature films, so far, have very happy, positive and fulfilling endings or resolutions. Just not quite from the perspective of the "central" characters or those which audiences are used to focusing on.
'happy, positive and fulfilling'? A vulnerable, grieving girl is indoctrinated into a murderous cult after a man is forced into sex and burnt alive. No matter what 'perspective' we adopt, there is nothing positive about the sick, sad ending of this film unless you are as indoctrinated as that girl.
@@zantas-handle I'm baffled by people finding the ending positive. This is one of the few films that has made me feel physically ill. It's so disorienting, cultish, very unsettling from the moment they walk into the village
I liked it, kept you watching to see what was really going on. The internal logic of the movie didn't make sense to me though. These people willingly sacrifice themselves when they get old but also these outsiders can be murdered? Like how does that fit in with the pronouncements of a utopia that serves its old people better than they do in the real world, but we also kill people in elaborate ways 'cos we can. Also, the odds of that virgin getting pregnant first time is super unlikely and it would have served them better to keep Christian on for a few months as a drugged up semen donor to make sure that happened. Her saying "I feel the baby inside" is dumb
@Wasp Factory As a feminist and/or hazily motivated comrade, I can only say don't lay this movie at our feet. It's not a very good movie, and if there's a feminist argument in there it's not a particularly clear, convincing or well-argued one.
Hereditary is only horror film in last 10 years that made an impact on me. The last 20 minutes were unbearable in the tension. If a movie can make me have to watch through my fingers it's a proper horror!
Oh please, Give examples please. The movie shocked and there for you think he is luck of empathy. The all idea if the movie is that Dany find empathy in the cult.
i think the people's reviews of this movie are a lot more relatable to me than those of the critics. Midsommar is a stupidly ridiculous movie...i have no need to ever watch it again. However, i could talk about The Wickerman for days and would sit and watch it as often as I could...now that's a decent horror movie!! If this was Ari Aster's way of showing us his version of a break up movie then i feel he only got this attention due to the amount of money he has and the people he knows. To try and get across the feelings of a break up in this manner is just plain bizarre! Seriously...how can most of the movie critics give it a high rating when all the peoples reviews are barely over 3 out of 10...in most cases, 1 out of 10!! Putting unbelievably awkward moments back to back for over 2 hours doesn't make a good movie...it was a anxiety trip...a rollercoaster ride where you are made to feel confused and uncomfortable and that's it...the story and characters...are just nothing...
Well said! And so many 'critics' have said nothing about a man being drugged, coerced into sex and then burnt alive. If that had happened to a woman, there would be so much criticism!
@@zantas-handle Yeah, but I mean it's a horror movie. Bad things happen to people. In the Wicker Man remake Nicolas Cage was also seduced and manipulated by strange women, and *he* had bees thrown at him! This film is too silly to get huffy about.
One of my favourite things about Midsommer is how very angry it has made a lot immature men in their 20s. They clearly feel it is attacking them but try very hard to avoid saying this, so complain about all sorts of other (pretty amusing...not deliberately) things.
I wouldn’t say I didn’t enjoy this film, but it was about one hour too long. I literally nearly fell asleep, which is a shame because overall it wasn’t bad.
Like the Wickerman, this film really brings the Christian out in you. You don't really realize you're Christian until you are confronted by alien belief systems. But I suppose the horror he's really conjuring up is the spectre that different religions just can't be reconciled. Our immediate instinct is to demolish the religion of the other. Watching this, you can see why Pagans were mass slaughtered. How they must've irritated and disgusted the early Christians. This film raises all those disturbing questions, that we've had to confront entering a global world wherein massive cultural differences still pervade.
Simons point about them just leaving after the suicide is so dumb. The brits are killed because of how they reacted to the events. If any of them would have tried to leave, as the Brits did, they’d have just been killed because they always needed the numbers for the sacrifices
I didn't find it too long. It's works best if you think of it as a bad dream, other wise the actions and reactions of the students don't make much sense to me. Although i was a bit distracted by the fact it doesnt look anything like the area of Sweden in which it was set, the imagery does stay with you after it's finished - a sign of a good film.
It was decent but so much worse than hereditary. Surprised at Mark's view tbh, Toni Collette blows any performance in this movie out of the water imo Maybe it's just me who found the main woman completely insufferable and in fact I didn't like anyone except one of the friends. SPOILER The main lady didn't just want emotional support, she required the complete veneration of an entire village to make her feel okay. When it finished I thought, 'I guess the lesson is that you should leave a gf you don't like instantly, or she ll just end up resentful and vengeful' lol
Nah, it’s just as good as Hereditary, not as scary but still better in other ways. If you couldn’t sympathize with the main character, that tells me you’re either an idiot or a jerk like her boyfriend. Also, your spoiler point just proves that you completely misunderstood the point of the film. Everyone was manipulated by the cult and unaware of what was happening, so you can’t say Dani (the protagonist) wanted to take revenge against her boyfriend and asked the cult for their support. They supported her themselves and manipulated her into allowing Christian (her boyfriend) to be killed for their motive. It’s too bad that hype will attract a lot of nincompoops to watch a complex and provocative film like Midsommar and unfairly judge it because of their stupidity.
@@TheWelchProductions lol what about my statement made you think that I didn't notice they were manipulating her? You may imagine you've discovered some hidden depth there, but short of replacing the credits with 'ONE MANIPULATOR TO ANOTHER' the film couldn't have been any clearer. Dani is a narcissist, her boyfriend is also a knob, but I don't really know what kind of personality disorder someone has to have to imagine they can judge someone's character on the basis of whether they like a character in movie or not 😂 I've heard the director's cut makes her more sympathetic and him more abusive, but I didn't see that so idc The film wasn't that complicated or sophisticated. It was predictable to a fault (it was obvious who was going to die in the first ten minutes and I guessed all of the major plot points about forty minutes before they happened, including the pubes, including Dani becoming Queen). The characters were unbelievably thin, the two friends were basically out of Friday the 13th part VII. Some of the things I've heard around it from Aster are legit silly, like saying of the forced sex scene that it was unusual for males to be sexually exploited in cinema, which it is, but Aster managed to pick the one form of male sexual exploitation that has been done to death and is a total cliche in cinema. I could literally go on for hours detailing why Midsommar is a mediocre film, because there are so many faults with it, but my hope is that Aster stops making horrors and tries something new. I do think that sympathising with Dani is the divider between liking and not liking the film and that's why I didn't like it. Unfortunately, Rob Zombie movies have more likable characters than Midsommar.
@@TheWelchProductions okay genius, think whatever you want, just make sure you go away as promised. Thanks for sharing your titanic mind with a pleb like me, much appreciated.
@@TheWelchProductions I found The Lighthouse Lovecraftian as well, not simply because of tentacle, but because of the rising insanity,and the weird obsessions with the light from the titular lighthouse. I like Midsommar better as a film I think, but it's so typically a film about a cult, even after that it's more about people relating to each other, no cosmic horror ideas.
@@PauLtus_B The bear was Nyarlathotep, who comes to earth every ninety years. The commune are followers of one of Derleth's nice Old Ones, and exist to save the world.
I’d love an explanation into quite how the central character’s plight mirrored her inner emotional turmoil. I can’t quite imagine anyone suffering an intense family tragedy coupled with a break up saying “It’s been a such a bad year, I feel like I’ve been flown to another continent and indoctrinated into a murderous cult. The emotional pain I am feeling is very much akin to how I would feel watching a stranger getting their head caved in with a ceremonial mallet. In fact, the grief has been so intense that I am now questioning the integrity of my entire moral framework and personal principles.” This film is silly, silly, silly. Let’s not read into it things that are simply not there.
Anyone who thinks this is better than hereditary seriously needs to question their own taste in film. Hereditary is a masterpiece of it's genre, whereas this (although I acknowledge, not horror) proves to be a show pony, in terms of psychological drama. It's beautiful but too full of emotional and religious symbolism for it's own good. I just felt a bit empty and annoyed after watching it. The wicker man wasn't horror either, but for a film that was outwardly similar, was far better.
As soon as you realise where this film is going (about 20 mins in) you think The Wicker Man meets Logan's Run. The fact that Mark mentions The Wicker Man about a thousand times in his review says everything you need to know. The worst thing about the film is that it takes almost two and a half hours to play through what has been clumsily telegraphed long before anything actually happens. This meant that when it finally gets around to doing its thing I no longer cared, wasn't shocked or horrified, and felt nothing but boredom. Plodding, predictable, and ultimately not at all entertaining.
@@zantas-handle Some movies don't have to be entertaining, some movies are slow and make you think. If you want entertainment, watch comedies comicbook movies or Disney movies.
I just couldn’t shake the stupidity of continuing to accept ‘drugs’ and not try to leave after the first horror scene. I stuck with it but it actually happened 3 or 4 more times. The same cycle. Witness pure horror - Sober up - Repeat. Was planning to watch Hereditary next but i think i’ll pass.
Nah, you're not wrong. I enjoyed both, but Hereditary is a solid, slow burn, creep with you for hours after kind of film. And the events make sense as far as the movie gos
If you haven’t seen Hereditary yet, you need to. It’s a great film. Midsommar is as well. You completely missed the point that they all took drugs because everyone else was. And Christian only drank the beverage that would “break down his defenses” because he thought it would get him closer to Maja and make it easier to possibly make out (he was already over Dani), since he could already see she (Maja) was attracted to him (even more in the director’s cut).
I found the movie to be a train wreck. Long winded,brutality boring.I felt completely disinterested in the characters and worst of all very predictable. If I paid to see it I would want my money back!
Anon B Which parts were sloppy? About most of the characters, they weren’t supposed to be good people, but they were developed well for the story. “Some parts were more memorable than others.” You could say that about any film, and it still wouldn’t carry any weight.
The writing is terrible. Florence Pugh can't save it, its derivative crap. The first 10 minutes are very promising, but the characters are just so naff.
This is Kernode furiously back-pedalling for having gotten it wrong about the obviously superior Hereditary. Apart from Musicals, Horror is my least favourite genre, but I say without equivocation; Aster has made the best two movies of the last few years...
Slightly overlong and i felt the final act and especially the ending were not justified by the preceding action. The opening 10 minutes were brilliantly done though. 3.5/5
The last 30 minutes of this film was like the worst part of a performing arts college. Pure selfindulgent nonsense. Florence Pugh is a great actress but wasn't enough to save this film from being a weak copy of the wickerman.
Hereditary is not terrible. The ending of Midsommar is perfect. You just didn’t get it. Seeing as you think the characters shouldn’t have behaved the way they did at the end (as if it doesn’t make sense or isn’t justified), you must be thick as a brick.
@@TheWelchProductions Ouch. It's called an opinion (which I feel I need to point out as I can see you've been calling people dense in the comments on this vid for the past yr for not agreeing with you). For what it's worth I meant the supporting characters should have gtfo of there long before they were killed, especially the boyfriend. I'm guessing you are referring to the main girl's decision. I agree it's a better ending than a happy ending where she saves the day, and it's good in the way it left me speechless, even if it was irritating (which was likely on purpose, sometimes irritating endings are good, like the castle rock season 1 ending). However I'm not sure "justified" is the message the ending was going for there lol. Her decision was as justified as the cult was justified in their practices. I got more of a she found her new home and "is that it is what it is" message from the ending but what do I know, I'm as thick as a brick : )
Was bored. overlong and ill disciplined. If you've not seen the original Wicker Man watch that instead there's not much better. kill list is more recent and worth your time, this is not.
@@TheWelchProductions The consensus of opinion, of those who have watched this turgid mess disagree. Watch wicker Man or Kill List instead. Don't bother with this.
@@Matthew9818 that says everything about subjectivity. I find the build up more scary and thrilling than the end. Neither film is boring, that also is perspective.
