💐🌷🌸 MIDSOMMAR 🌺🌻🌞

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2019)

MIDSOMMAR is Ari Aster's epic follow-up to HEREDITARY (2018). Where both films deal with trauma and cults, they spin their scares in different ways. As opposed to more traditional scares, MIDSOMMAR finds its horrors in the grotesque, in its atmosphere, suggestibility, strangeness, and ambiguity. In other words, the film is more disturbing than scary, but this works extremely well and is appropriate for the story that Aster weaves.
WHAT I LIKED
🌻 Masterful set design paired with gorgeous, spot-on cinematography from Pawel Pogorzelski
🌻 Beautiful score used subtly yet effectively throughout the film
🌻 Stellar performances, especially from Florence Pugh
🌻 Uncanny atmosphere established from the start
🌻 Excellent minimalist use of special effects that subtly enhance their scenes
🌻 Exemplary and creative use of foreshadowing without relying on boring exposition
🌻 Cult members are eerily relatable, which adds to the horror of their eventual actions
🌻 Minimal yet welcome humor sprinkled throughout the story
🌻 Film isn't afraid to take a sharp turn in the final act, which adds to the awe and horror especially well
🌻 Despite its length and lack of action, each scene is filled with mystery and intrigue that keeps the viewer engaged
🌻 The film powerfully and realistically captures the behavior and moments of a couple's dying relationship, and shows, in an exaggerated setting, what can happen to a person who does not receive the love they need when dealing with real trauma and grief.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
🌸 The catalyst of the story is only referenced a couple of times throughout the rest of the film, and does not serve a satisfying conclusion.
🌸 The film does not really do anything different in regards to the traditional folk-horror sub-genre, however it works well for what the film set out to accomplish.
🌸 The screenplay can be sparse in areas, leading the viewer to sometimes wonder where the film is going. However, this tends to work to the film's strength, disorienting the viewer.