Gorgeous Slow Burn Horror

Rating: 8/10 (12 March 2020)

Ari Aster may now be one of my favorite directors. His flavor of horror is deeply personal, and therefore absolutely gut wrenching. First in Hereditary, and now in Midsommar, he shows mastery in the mix of both human tragedy and grotesque horror to impart such stomach churning dread in every scene of his film. While some horror movies may be content to show us the demons in underground catacombs or the ghosts in big old mansions, Ari Aster's monsters have a through line directly to the characters' psyche. These characters demand the viewer to step into their mind. Empathy is the key to both these films.
Midsommar is an exploration of that human empathy. How much are people willing to tolerate in order to have that sense of belonging? To be understood by anyone, even if by monsters? Midsommar is a slow film, but it doesn't mean that it isn't fascinating. It gives the film space to explore the layers of manipulation and psychological evolution that our protagonist Dani goes through. It does of course end with a traditional horror-infused bang, but the set pieces weren't my focus by the end. They even felt a bit superfluous. I mostly wanted to know more about this cult and how Dani was dealing with it. I felt like I was one of those anthropologists, conveniently watching and analyzing on the safe side of the screen.
The cinematography and art direction were also just gorgeous. Who thinks to make a horror movie where everything takes place in broad daylight in the idyllic pastures of Sweden? Yet it worked. They nailed all the creepy, ominous moods and tensions. The sound design and editing carried many of these scenes and they were excellent.