Midsommar Film Review

Film Stats

Director: Ari Aster

Running Time: 147 minutes

UK Release Date: 5th July 2019

Music By: The Haxan Cloak

Rotten Tomato Rating (at the time of this review)

Summary

Midsommar is a gore-horror set nearly entirely in daylight, exploring themes of loss, grief, suicide and dysfunctional relationships. The film follows a young group who travel to a remote, off-grid community in Sweden.

Our Take

Midsommar- Whilst vibrant and offering at times beautiful shots- did not grab us on a psychological or emotional level of real depth. The pace is rather slow and not much actually happens in terms of plot. As a horror, there few jump scares or moments of built tension and- whilst the gory moments are shocking- they are too few and far between to merit the length of the film.

Positives

The Cast: The leading lady- Florence Pugh- did a fantastic job of portraying loss and her scenes involving panic are some of the most realistic depictions put into film. Shout outs also to William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter and Vilhelm Blomgren. We did connect to their characters and would loved to have seen them utilised more effectively.

The Sound Design: The Swedish folk chants were strange and eerie- setting the film perfectly. As can be expected from Aster's films, the sound design is not so much musically inclined but rather presents an odd collection of unique and unsettling noises that offset the surface serenity of the community setting.

Negatives

Themes: Critically there is a lot of symbolism and lore on display within the film, but we feel it would take a lot of pausing and analysis of background props and sets to appreciate these as a viewer. Whilst we are fans of deep lore and proper world-building, these aspects should support a good story to prevent audiences leaving the theatre feeling underwhelmed.

Slow Pace: In not fully embracing the gore aspect of this film, when it does finally occur we found ourselves quite bored. In comparison to Aster's previous release 'Hereditary', there are no engaging plot twists or unbearable tensions to capture the audience's attention and imagination.

Final Thoughts

Whilst we wouldn't watch this particular film again, we will probably go and see the next Ari Aster film, just to see what weird and crazy concepts he'll produce on screen next. As reflected in the Rotten Tomatoes scores, critically this film may be a masterpiece, but as a piece of entertainment do not expect to be bowled over.

But hey... these are just our opinions! We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments :)