Midsommar (2019)

I’m avoiding reading anything about it (errr... save for this thread) so I can go in completely surprised. Director of Hereditary so big hopes.
 
Just got back from the cinema. I have a LOT to say one this one. I went in knowing nothing, which is exactly what you should know. So all detailed comments spoiler-ed! In general though, a great watch and recommended :)

General thoughts:

In a nutshell, Wickerman in the style of Hereditary!

Ari Aster definitely has a style if his two films are anything to go by and I love it. Very similar in feel to Hereditary - long, lingering shots. Agonisingly slow build-ups and haunting string based music. The set-up of the film was so obvious as to where it was going that the final destination could only ever be adequate. I'm not sure how re-watchable the film is and I certainly don't think I'll be revisiting it any time soon. The journey, however, was excellent, albeit with a few gripes. Specific points (in no particular order beyond 'good and bad'):

The 'Good':

The drug scenes and effects were excellent. The shot with her feet becoming grass. The general 'pulsing and warbling'. Damn. Otherwise, generally wonderful to watch.

The infrequent but extremely strong violence is very effective. The cliff scene was horrid.

Some much needed humour at points.

Quite a lot going on plot wise. The initial suicide. The theses. The lore. All made you wonder where the journey was going (even though the general direction was obvious from the outset). That said...

The 'Bad':

... some of the plot points felt underused and were just there to create a background tone of dread - they didn't really go anywhere. The whole death of the parents and sister... barely mentioned. Likewise, the whole theses sub-plot created a tension between the two males... again, no real payoff. But it was an interesting journey and maybe those understated elements are to its credit. Perhaps over dwelling on the start would have been a bit cheap. I'm not 100% sure.

The worst thing about the film was the character of the male lead. He started out as being in a difficult situation and them very quickly became very dislikable. She should have dumped the nob ages ago!! I think the film could gave been better if he was a bit more likeable. By the end I was like, "burn ******, burn!!!"

Similarly, tree-wee man was a bit of a turbo fool, they could have toned that down several notches.

I am really tough on films for being too long and at 2.5 hours I'm pleased to say time didn't drag at all, which is frankly glowing coming from me. Ari Aster (director) is the man! That said, it is definitely more of a 'slow brewer' than anything else, so keep that in mind.
 
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Well I thoroughly enjoyed that. Bizarre and trippy. Excellent film. And absolutely not a horror film, not in the traditional sense anyway.
 
Wow,

Honestly brilliant, but I did s lot of drugs as a teenager and living in Sweden just icing on the cake.
 
This was decent in parts but quite an uncomfortable watch, not because it was scary but it was just super awkward viewing at times. Still enjoyed it overall as I was huge fan of Hereditary and love A24 horror in general. Like Hereditary it delivered some very memorable moments, most notably the first major scene and then obviously THAT scene later on.

Seriously though that opening scene with the discovery of her parents and sister was expertly done, will live in my memory a long time.

Score is ace just like Hereditary as well
 
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Really liked it, much more so than Hereditary which i thought was way overhyped.

Had the sense of dread all the way through, you knew it wasn't going to end well, it was all about the journey there and what form it would take.
 
Very good, very unsettling and strange. Loved the visuals and the music...incredible stuff really. Will need to rewatch.

On par with Hereditary...both amazing in my books.
 
Snooze fest, just like Hereditary. Everything about it is retarded retro - it has plot of poor mans Wicker Man, it has a pace of a 1980ies Swedish psychological drama and the lack of any plot logics, just like 80ies movies: all the characters behave like they are in a trance, even when things turn obviously wrong nobody runs, none of them try to save themselves, they just follow like lambs for slaughter, things just happen, they don't have any cause or explanation, the scare or creepiness relies on everyone doing their predestined and preset tasks as if they were natural thing. The location is clearly chosen for American audience, but to Europeans an idea of "uncontacted"/isolated cult in countryside Sweden is about as believable as a tribe of mutant inbreds in foxholes of New Mexico desert. South American or African jungle, maybe, but murderous wicker man Sweden? Weird. Let the fact that the "remote Swedish countryside" was shot in Hungary be a testament of just that. I can't immerse in movies if I don't understand the actions of main characters and I don't believe the setting. Boring, boring, boring.
 
Wasn't as good as hereditary, but thought it was decent and worth a watch all the same. Most films rely on characters making stupid decisions these days.
 
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