Ari Strikes Again

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2019)

After watching last year's terrifying and unnerving Hereditary, I thought "how is Aster going to top this?"
Well his sophomore effort Midsommar doesn't necessarily top Hereditary when it comes to the scare department, but as a work of art and a general sense of unease and deception, it is a triumph.
The plot concerns a couple on the rocks (Dani and Christian) and their group of friends who travel to Switzerland for a special festival in an off the grid community in the middle of nowhere. At the same time, Dani is mourning the loss of her family (a VERY disturbing opening) and the growing distance between her and Christian. While at first entranced by the community, the trust the group of outsiders had in their hosts begins to fade as they see the very unorthodox and extreme practices committed by said group.
What Aster does so brilliantly is that he puts the audience right alongside the character of Dani (a courageous and strong performance by Florence Pugh). When she panics, we as the audience panic, and that connection continues when she breaks down, feels betrayed etc. Jack Reynor also delivers as Christian, by the end of the film I couldn't help but hate him. We also get treated to a comedy relief in the form of Will Polter. His sarcastic, joking manner is expertly placed to counter the growing undercurrent of unease.
The cinematography? Every frame of this film is perfection, plenty of shots that will stay with you after the film is over. The music is expertly placed too, cheerful, but with a touch of menace.
The film has no jump scares but really capitalizes on the combination of atmosphere and disturbing visuals (there is gore involved). What I appreciated is the growing sense of dread that was so well done. If a film can get under my skin like that, it deserves only the best notices.
When the film was over I thought to myself "what the hell did I just watch?"
Art, I just watched art by a master artist in his prime