I can do this for October, review Horror Movies since I managed to see multiple flicks of this genre to highlight one each week, Midsommar is a little late.
Holy Crap! This movie was probably the best Horror/Thriller I’ve seen all year and Us is a tough one to beat. Admittedly, I haven’t seen Hereditary, which is the director’s previous work but I wanted to check out Midsommar because, let’s face it, the Swedes are a stereotypically nice, harmless people since the 1700s. I also took on the recommendation of a person who I tend to bombard with music opinions so it was only fair to take her advice on a movie I normally wouldn’t see.
The premise involves a young woman named Dani who self-invites herself to her cowardly boyfriend’s research trip to Sweden; Christian is a coward to me because he wants to break up with her but lacks the guts. The first 15 minutes of the film will explain why. Originally invited by exchange student Pelle, Christian and his graduate student buddies are headed to Pelle’s remote home village in northern Sweden to observe his people’s annual Summer Solstice ritual they’ve maintained from pre-Christian times.
At first, things are only weird with a lowercase ‘w.’ The Sun never seems to set, the villagers wear medieval attire, few people speak English, there’s not much electricity and recreational drug use (mushrooms) is allowed. Dani and the gang are not the only outsiders brought to see this, a young couple from London came to see the festivities yet they’re not students. Nothing suspicious there.
Christian’s friend, Josh is primarily there for research toward his graduate-level thesis. He is allowed to take notes yet no photos, can’t use real names and above all, he cannot borrow any materials the village stores in a sacred shed, photos of those texts are definitely forbidden. This being a Horror movie, we all know that Josh cannot help himself for he’s a curious scientist and awful things result.
However, Josh breaking the rules isn’t what gets Midsommar‘s horror rolling. You will have to see it to find out. The only clue I will give is this, some pre-Christian rituals to keep the harvest prosperous are pretty gruesome. Having witnessed these, Dani and her fellow outsiders are frightened and try to figure out their escape from what they consider mass insanity.
Dani and Christian’s dying relationship continues to be a plot point throughout this ongoing freak show too. In my opinion, I think certain villagers sensed this (or Pelle tipped them) and they use the ongoing tension to drive a nastier wedge between the couple to serve the community’s purpose. Again, you have to watch this to discover what wicked purpose these crazy Swedes have plotted.
Alamo Extras: A guy singing in Swedish for a variety show about some kind of smelly food they like; Newsreels showing how Swedes celebrated the Solstice in the Thirties, another in the Sixties; Swedish band Gregorious singing “YMCA” in their native tongue! The letters are different, “NMKY,” and oy, those Seventies short shorts!; Silent movie showing flowers grow by magic; a meat pie commercial from the UK starring the puppets of Spitting Images; an [adult swim] skit of Hippie Joe being interviewed; Trailers for “Black Narcissus” and “I Drink Your Blood.”; lastly, a Tutorial on Folk Horror:
- Always set in a rural location, untouched by time. (Many were made in the Seventies to highlight the UK’s growing anxiety.)
- Themes of isolation.
- Elements of Paganism, Witchcraft or Satanism.
- Sacrifice without the use of modern violence.