Nice cinematography, nice score. Nothing more

Rating: 5/10 (14 April 2020)

I watched this movie yesterday because it was available on Amazon Prime and because I liked director Ari Aster's last movie *Hereditary*; however, I came away here disappointed. It's not that the movie isn't gorgeous -- the eye-popping colors everywhere of the landscape of Sweden (or is it Hungary?) alongside the traditional garb of the cult contrasting with the soundtrack and unfolding events is beautiful to behold -- and the soundtrack isn't beautiful, it's that it's all been done before -- by Aster himself nonetheless -- in *Hereditary*. The same upside-down camera view as the characters enter HÃ¤lsingland, the same playful shimmering light on the face of the actress, and the same droning music all through the movie keeping the viewer on edge. And it was done much better in *Hereditary*, partly because of the superb acting, especially by Toni Collette. Here unfortunately the acting is best described as bland which makes it hard to identify with the one-dimensional characters: they come off as apathetic, uninteresting, and unsympathetic. This makes it hard to judge whether they have been acting under the influence of the psilocybin mushrooms the whole time they're in Sweden or whether they are just blissfully ignorant tourists (some reviewers argue that this is a commentary on privileged, culturally unaware American tourists but it is hard to really tell). It is hard for me to believe that the characters did not feel a sense of alarm at their disappearing comrades or a sense of dread at the events unfolding around them and their evermore aloof and taciturn host. What was even worse for me was the fact that I could foretell the plot from the moment the troop arrived at their destination and could see what Aster was trying to do while he was doing it, something that ruined the illusion for me. For example, during the Maypole dance it dawned on me that the director was trying to make us feel as if we are under the influence of the mushrooms and participating in the dance. I then went back in my mind throughout the whole movie to see whether this was the director's intention all along and couldn't. It felt tacked on. If the viewer did not see through the plot though, then there were hints peppered throughout to help along: the tapestry that foreshadowed a main event, the drawings on the walls, and even the part of the dialogue that went something like: "May I photograph your secret book?" "No!". Guess what happens next. If the director bothered to develop any of the characters, then this would've been thoroughly enjoyable movie where the events made much more sense and had a deeper impact on the viewer and Dani's revenge in the end much more poignant. The way it stands though, it is a beautiful journey through an isolated piece of land inhabited by a cult that performs a certain ritual every 90 years, much to the detriment of its unsuspecting outsiders who may or may not have deserved their fate (oh yes, also some body horror and sex is thrown in for good measure).