One of the best and unique horror films that i've seen this decade.

Rating: 9/10 (18 October 2019)

Midsommar was a giant surprise for me this year. I didn't read any reviews about it and didn't saw any trailers, since i like being surprised and watching films without knowing anything is not something new, since i prefer it that way. I loved the film after i saw it for the first time and after seeing it for the second time - i loved it more from the beginning to the end. Ari Aster brought us something that was unexpected and masterfully made film with some problems that i have that did hurt the film and lowers the score down a bit. Aster proves that he is a person that will deliver greatness and i hope in the future he experiments with other genres other than horror.
I love Hereditary so much. It was a breath of fresh air, since every year Hollywood continues to be so unoriginal and releases so many films that rely so much on jump scares (and being poorly made) and very rarely do we see masterfully made and original horror films, since those films show the strengths of the genre as a whole. After loving the experience of watching Hereditary, i was excited for the next film by Ari Aster and see in what direction he will take with Midsommar and like Hereditary - Ari Aster didn't disappoint with his new film.
The story was great and it keeps you interested all the way through, but it may be very slow for many and unfortunately the pacing is not as smooth as Hereditary, since the difference between them is 20 minutes (or 44 minutes, if you compare it with the Director's Cut), so the film takes it's time and doesn't rush anything, but in some moments it may feel way too long. The film takes elements that were done before and does them in a new way or should i say: it takes them in a new direction. I'm not going to mention anything that can be considered as spoiler, but watching it you can tell what film inspired it and in some occasions - it's very obvious, but for me it wasn't distracting all that much. The strongest aspect of the story is the relationship between the two main characters (Dani and Christian) and the way it was presented felt very real and you witness how their relationship falls apart throughout the film and it's interesting to watch. The only complaint that i have towards the story is that there are scenes that were supposed to be serious, but they came out very comical at times.
There is a lot that you can appreciate about it and it also succeeds in many of the aspects, but also a few things that are unsuccessfully executed:

The characters are very compelling, but there are some that are not very well developed in the whole film.
The acting is very good. Everyone does a great job with the material they are given. Florence Pugh was the one, who stands out the most for me and gives one of the best performances of the year.
The cinematography is fantastic and the choices of where they placed the camera is great and there are many shots that are beautiful.
The music is great: it's beautiful and in some moments it's haunting and the composer did a great job of building the atmosphere with with it.
The dialogue is great. The way it was written is fascinating and the interaction between the two main characters was so interesting and felt so real, but there were times when the dialogue wasn't great. The character Mark (played by Will Poulter) did not have good lines at all.

I learned that there are two versions of the film and because of that comes a question - which version should i recommend to everyone: the Theatrical or the Director's Cut? I had the chance of seeing them both and the Director's Cut was supposed to be the original version that Ari Aster wanted to release, but he didn't had the change, since we rarely see a 3 hour film in the cinema and Hollywood doesn't make long film all that much today. I can understand why some of the scenes were cut, but there is a scene which shows a ceremony (or ritual) that is set at night and after that shows more of Dani and Christian's relationship. After watching that scene, i don't know why it didn't make it to the Theatrical Cut. If you were expecting some gore or disturbing moments in the Director's Cut, then you'll probably be disappointed. If you don't have any plans of seeing it or you won't have a chance of watching the The Director's Cut - the Theatrical Cut still feels complete and doesn't feel like something is missing in it, so it's still a better option, but if you enjoyed the experience like me, then it's worth the watch.
Midsommar is intriguing, disturbing and frightening and i highly recommend it to everyone who is a fan of the horror genre or even a fan of psychological horror in general. It's a film that after watching it, you will still be thinking about it and for me it's one of the best films of 2019.