Elevated Horror as it should be

Rating: 9/10 (5 July 2020)

Usually, I don't have the patience for the new wave of "elevated-horror" films, like Hereditary, or The Witch. While I can understand the art, I prefer the more old-fashioned slasher or haunted house story. However, Midsommar weaves both together quite nicely. There's more than enough excitement to keep gorehounds and casual viewers interested, but if you're more inclined to watching an art film, there's enough layers for you there as well. Unlike most older horrors, the characters are well fleshed out and I'm actually interested in the subplots about relationships and the thesis. For a horror, managing to be smart, interesting, deep, and still scary is a hard tightrope act to achieve, and Midsommar is one of the few films of the new horror subgenre to do it.