A Bizarre, Disturbing, and Surprisingly Funny Acid Trip through Broad Daylight

Rating: 10/10 (4 July 2019)

[Caution: extreme spoilers ahead. You've been warned]
It goes without saying that after I had been completely traumatized by the masterpiece that is Hereditary, I have had extremely high hopes for Ari Aster. The 31-year-old filmmaker has the potential to be this generation's Stanley Kubrick, not to mention that he plans to dabble in a lot of different genres in his career.
Ever since this trailer dropped, I have been completely compelled to see this movie, so I bought my ticket as soon as it was available and was on pins and needles to finally see this. The weird Wicker Man-brought to the 21st century had me pumped. And boy was I not let down!
We follow Dani, who is on the rocks with her boyfriend after she goes through a traumatic family tragedy. Her boyfriend is almost done with her co-dependency, but he is forced to stay with her since she just went through a tragedy. He feels disconnected, showing him through shots in mirrors, reflections on tv and in pictures in the beginning, while the rest of the cast feels as if they're in the same room. Speaking of which, the shots with the cast looking intentionally into the camera throughout the film lend to almost some sort of 4th wall break. It makes the viewer feel as though he or she is experiencing the movie with the whole group. Helps keep the atmosphere tense and the overall compelling feeling high.
After Dani guilts her way into going on the trip with her friends, we find that Pele seems quite strange and that he is very excited for her to go on the trip (just something I found to be quite foreshadowing).
Once the group arrive in Sweden, the mood of the film completely changes. The beginning is dark, emotional, sad, and snowy, and when arriving in Sweden, the film turns bright, beautiful, colorful, and almost sending some sense of happiness and cheer, despite knowing something is wrong from the get-go.
The humor starts to set in here, with the cult handing out mushrooms like they're potato chips with lots of interesting and gorgeous "breathing" visuals taking quite importance throughout the film. The naivety of the group also lends to this as they blindly follow the cult despite all the red flags given out.
As the intensity of the movie ramps up, the viewer is left to know this film will not end up well. An elderly couple jump to their gruesome deaths from a high cliff, finished off by some of the most horrific gore I've ever seen in cinema. The cult live their lives in seasons the spring being birth through adolescence, summer being adulthood, fall being their adult pilgrimage, and winter being their old age until suicide at age 72.. There are runes and signs everywhere, when examined lead to pure hopelessness for the group. And that sex scene! Oh my!
The beautiful score, the absolutely gorgeous cinematography, the sun-drenched existential dread, and the relatable themes make this one of the more mesmerizing movies I've seen this decade. I felt I was rooting for Dani by the ending because she is so cute and vulnerable and going through a ton of grief and just wants to be accepted. I've tried to spoil as little as possible, but I can not recommend this enough! I had initially thought Hereditary was his crowning achievement, but upon reflection, I think Midsommar shines just as brightly and will be a cult classic in years to come. Besides, the 23-year-old Florence Pugh puts on a performance equally as great as Collette did in Hereditary. Hypnotic, creepy, and smooth, this is a film we'll be talking about for time to come.
One last thought and for those who have seen this: What if Pele killed Dani's family in order to put the whole thing in motion? He knew Christian wouldn't take Dani to Sweden if she wasn't in extreme grief. Just a thought that kinda turned this movie on its head for me.