Ari Aster fully gripped my attention with the release of Hereditary (2018). It was a film that effected me unlike so many horror films of recent years and gave me faith in a genre that I feared had been floundering. It also turned out to be on of my favourite films of 2018, and you can read my review on it right here on this blog! So, you can probably imagine that I was pretty pumped when I heard about Aster's next film, Midsommar (2019). The premise seemed interesting, it looked visually beautiful and it starred Florence Pugh, an actor whose work I really enjoy. My expectations, as you can imagine, were high. And, for the most part, these expectations were met. Midsommar may not have been as explicitly scary as Hereditary, but it had an over arching sense of dread and creepiness and was filled with great performances and stunning visuals. The film follows Dani (Florence Pugh) who, after a family tragedy, is invited to join her boyfriend and his friends on a trip to take part in a festival in rural Sweden. What starts as an idyllic and beautiful look into the customs of another culture soon turns into a bizarre and cult like situation that is becoming more dangerous by the day.
The performances in this film are mostly great. I think the performances of Ellora Torchia and Archie Madekwe, as Connie and Simon respectively, are a little stilted, but this is a very harsh due to the very limited screen time both actors have. I think Jack Reynor, who plays Christian, is also a little hit and miss with his performance although even he is pretty solid throughout, save for a couple awkward moments. The rest of the main cast pretty much nails it on the head. They manage to portray all the characters perfectly and get across the little idiosyncrasies of their personalities. Ari Aster helps to do this through his film making techniques as well. A great example of this is with the character of Mark, played by Will Poulter. He is your classic joker in the group, with constant sarcastic comments and little remarks, but Aster keeps these comments off screen, keeps the audio low and has none of the other characters react. Not only do this provide little moments of levity in what is a film full of dread, but there also a really subtle moment of character development for the whole group, showing how this is what Mark is like all the time and the fact the rest of the characters have just got so used to this. It is very smartly done. And then we get to Florence Pugh as Dani who just absolutely steals the show. She is superb in her portrayal of a character who is suffering through emotional trauma, paranoia and anxiety whilst juggling a relationship going south and of course the weird occurrences of this festival. She puts in a nuanced, emotional and powerful performance and she absolutely steals the show.
If you couldn't tell that I was reaching for some criticisms regarding the performances then I'll let you know straight up that this criticism is also somewhat reaching, and that is that the film is to long. This is just personal gripe which has come up in several reviews in the past, but who would I be if I didn't stand by my convictions. So yes, with a running time of just under two and a half hours I do feel like the film is too long and there are sequences which could have been shortened, but I also never felt like the film dragged. This is partially down to the absolute stunning visuals of the film. Although the narrative is a slow burn you are engaged at all times because of the fantastic cinematography, mise en scene and costuming which makes almost every scene look like they could be hung as a piece of art in a gallery. This is an aspect of his film making that was there in Hereditary but that has been built upon and improved in this second outing. The other reason that the slow burn does not get boring is because of the constant sense of dread and overall uncomfortable nature of the film which is established in the first ten minutes and builds up. You are never entirely sure what is going on or what will happen next and the lingering shots and moments of silence keep you gripped to the edge of your seat. There are no real moments of pure scares but to say that the film isn't horrific in moments would be underselling it massively. I already mentioned that the first ten minutes of this film establishes the overall tone of the film. Well, in doing so it also absolutely punches you in the face with horrific imagery and an emotionally disturbing and frightening sequence that left me feeling entirely uncomfortable, which is exactly what Aster is going for. The film never really reaches these heights of uncomfortability again, but it would be a very high bar to reach and I think Aster does well to still give effectively disturbing and creepy visuals and sequences after such a strong opening.
Midsommar was a film that I went in to with high expectations and it did well to not disappoint me. It may not have had the amount of scares that I had been expecting after Hereditary, but what it lacks in genuine scares or more than makes up for in a horrific tone, disturbing imagery and a constant sense of dread. Aster also manages to balance this sense of dread with some beautiful visuals, fantastic set design, mise en scene and costuming and is helped himself with an exquisite performance from Florence Pugh. All these aspects obviously lead me to strongly recommending this film. If you are wanting a horror full of jump scares then this isn't the one for you. But if you like your horror with a constant sense of unease and dread then this will be right up your street. Ari Ater's first two films have both been big hits with me and he is a filmmaker whose career I will be keeping a close eye on moving forward.