Folk Horror At It's Best

Rating: 9/10 (10 July 2019)

Midsommar: The Paganism in this film is very much of a Shamanistic type, differing in many aspects from the Celtic varieties. The ingestion of magic mushrooms is central to the rituals portrayed in the film and how the mushroom tea is filtered is made clear in a banner panel. A "May Queen" is chosen at the Midsommar, the winner of a dance around a pole, you dance until there is one woman left standing. In the old days The Dark One forced the young to dance till they died, now the young women dance in defiance of Him. These practises are carried out by a Cult in Northern Sweden at Midsommar when the Sun never sets.
The contrast between the dark and snow of the U.S, as the film opens and the eternal sunshine of Sweden is vividly conveyed. Another darkness clouds Dani's (Florence Pugh) life as her sister kills their parents and commits suicide. Her boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor) wants to break up with Dani and is encouraged to do so by his friends Mark (Will Poulter) and Josh (William Harper) but Christian feels a responsibility towards her. When classmate Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) invites Mark, Christian and Josh to join him at a midsummer celebration that occurs once every ninety years at his family commune, the Hårga, in Hälsingland, Christian cannot exclude Dani from the trip. When they arrive, they are all welcomed as if they family themselves. But there are warning signals which should have screamed "Get Out Of Here" to them, especially to Christian and Josh who are Anthropology postgrads.
The Midsommar Ritual begins placidly enough but soon takes on an aura of strangeness. By the time the first scenes of violence occur they are perhaps not so shocking because of the developing eerie mood but they are quite gory. There are episodes of savagery and sadism throughout the second part of Midsommar but they are all related to The Ritual. Far more import to the the narrative's development is the uncanny feeling which permeates the entire the film. What happens to the characters after they arrive at the commune is perhaps preordained, every action they take is in some way related to The Ritual, In this manner, ritual development, Midsommar resembles Kill List and The Wickerman though the storylines and outcomes differ.
Midsommar is not a film you will easily forget, several viewings may be necessary though for you to catch every fine detail. Director and writer Ari Aster has delivered another Folk Horror masterpiece. 9/10.
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