Midsommar

7/16/2019

Although it has an elegant way of building suspense and one absolutely stunning opening scene, I think Midsommar fails for me in the execution of its sequences. The whole movie is slowly building up the dread of the pagan cult, but fails to deliver when it comes to showcasing the brutality toward the end, and after two hours of build up it's baffling how minute the payoff is. The performances are fantastic, though! And I love watching Swedish people scream.

8/8/2019

Although arthouse horror movies really aren’t my thing for the most part, ‘Midsommar’ falls into a strange middle ground where I wasn’t bored but I wasn’t invested either. I feel no need to “finding the mean“ to read theories online, because I simply don’t care. The only saving grace is the visuals, which are breathtaking and wildly creative at times, but it’s not a trip I want to take again. - Chris dos Santos Read Chris' full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-midsommar-ari-aster-brings-the-gore-but-lacks-the-emotion 8/08/2019 3 stars

9/23/2019

_**Very poorly advertised as something it isn't; will be sure to frustrate and impress in equal measure**_ > _Methought I was enamoured of an ass._ - William Shakespeare; _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ (1595) >_Sometimes at pagan shrines they vowed_ >_offerings to idols, swore oaths_ >_that the killer of souls might come to their aid_ >_and save the people. That was their way,_ >_their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts_ >_they remembered hell._ - Seamus Heaney; _Beowulf: A Verse Translation_ (1999) Much like his feature debut, the excellent _Hereditary_ (2018), writer/director Ari Aster's _Midsommar_ has divided audiences much more than critics. Whereas _Hereditary_ had an 89% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 8.26/10, it m

9/27/2019

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog :) This was easily one of my most anticipated movies of the year. Hereditary was my favorite film of 2018, so obviously, Ari Aster's second feature grabbed my full attention from the very first announcement. Fortunately, even though Midsommar is only being released now in my country, I was able to stay away from spoilers, as well as from any sort of images or clips. As you might expect, this is not a typical horror movie, even though it's being marketed as belonging to the genre. Sure, it has some horror stuff that indisputably connects it to the genre, but it definitely doesn't play out to scare audiences or make you have nightmares at night. Hereditary was quite divisive among audiences due to the lack of tradition

10/8/2019

_Midsommar_ might genuinely be my big disappointment for 2019. I'm not saying it's bad. But coming into this on the back of not only the crazy good _Hereditary_ from last year, but also the **gushing** praise from the online horror community, I guess my expectations were a little high. It doesn't make me feel good to say it, but honestly I'm glad I didn't see this in the cinema. Firstly because I think I might've been a little mad if I had forked out $25 to see this, based on the experience I ended up happening, but also secondly, because I don't much feel like going blind in the theatre from the sheer white exposure that takes up 97% of _Midsommar's_ runtime. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

10/30/2019

An impressive work, “Midsommar” is Ari Aster’s follow-up to “Herditary,” a decent if flawed horror film. “Midsommar” follows Dani, who, after the tragic loss of her parents and sister, decides to follow her increasingly distant boyfriend and his friends on a trip to Sweden to visit the pagan cult commune their roommate, Pelle, grew up in. While seemingly open and friendly, it becomes obvious fairly quickly that something else is going on here. The obvious comparisons to “The Wicker Man” are not uncalled for. First, in the interest of full disclosure, this review is based on the nearly three-hour Director’s Cut of the film rather than the theatrical release. I haven’t even seen the theatrical release, so I can’t attest as to what was added in the nearly 30 new minutes. I will say that