Rent Midsommar (2019)

poor - Midsommar review by DS

I might be a little biased but did not enjoy the film at all, as a pagan, I really wanted to find some enjoyment and genuine originality in the story and theme, but I find it quite disturbing that this is the ill researched way pagan spirituality is played in films repeatedly and bares no truth to how we practice its quite unsettling to see this type of film is still being made and more far fetched nowadays than its previous similar films would have been. I really wouldn't want to comment anymore other than heed a warning of not to waste disappointing viewing time.

One star given so I could write a review! - Midsommar review by BE

Listed as a thriller when it's patently a horror movie. It started off okay then descended into a nightmare farce. Weak storyline, weak dialogue and with some real stomach churning scenes. I have seen drivel but this is Drivel with a capital D. Be warned. Yuk!

Ari Aster....go back to school - Midsommar review by CS

Midsommar is an example of a director who started off with the decidedly mediocre Hereditary, descending further through the average ranks into the downright bland. There have been rather a lot of films about religious cults in secluded areas and most of them done a lot better than this. The Wicker Man is the obvious comparison and Ari Aster tries, but miserably fails to pull off anything anywhere near as good here. The cast is a mostly unremarkable bunch of dull brats with equally poor character arcs and limp dialogue which is matched only by a story so full of holes it should've been a victim of the St.Valantine's Day Massacre. I can only assume the director doesn't watch many films or has allowed himself to become overly influenced by the plots of the very few that he actually has taken the time to view. Even TY West's stab at this subject matter was better than this drivel.

Lets hope all surviving copies of this lilly-white claptrap get rounded up and placed in a certain man shaped sacrificial structure. Sooner the better.

Hmm! - Midsommar review by MS

Was it good, was it bad, I simply can't make my mind up? Kind of predictable but it had its moments but it went on way too long for my liking

a bit tired - Midsommar review by CP Customer

This film is so dated - Just another version on the Wicker Man, and doubtlessly misrepresenting and upsetting those with a genuine interest in paganism. All that sexist rubbish in it was positively boring and I'm not sure why I even gave it one star!

Familier stuff - Midsommar review by HM

Seen Wicker Man? Well this is a similar path. A secret cult tucked away in Sweden practices dark arts which begins to dawn on a group of Americans visiting their hideaway. A more sophisticated approach than a pure slasher movie, it ends up travelling the same route.

Very slow and not springing any real surprises it fails as a horror film and as a thriller for my money. Also, it drags the whole thing out for nearly 3 hours, thereby allowing plenty of time to add up 2 and 2 so it flops on the suspense front. Cannot recommend it frankly as it mostly fails to entertain and therefore seems pointless.

An interesting and gloriously styled film - Midsommar review by Paul Roffey - Writer

This is an interesting and gloriously styled film that, despite running to nearly three hours, holds your attention with a clever blend of beautifully shot scenes, tense atmosphere and never-entirely-sure-what’s-coming-next storyline.

Dani has problems and issues. Her sister commits suicide at the beginning of the film, taking both their parents with her. That, together with being in a relationship with Christian, a man who seems not to know what honesty and commitment are, adds to her frequent panic attacks and paranoia. Then, out of the blue, she discovers that he’s off to Sweden for the summer and, almost as a guilty afterthought, he invites her along; making it a party of four men, and Dani.

It transpires that one of his college friends, Pelle—played very well by Vilhelm Blomgren—was raised in a commune tucked away in an extremely remote corner of this heavily forested country. And this year is a once in a 90 year chance to participate in a very special midsummer festival. We will discover just how special that turns out to be!

From the start all is not as it seems. The festivities begin harmlessly enough in bright summer sunshine with flowers, food and dancing. If that sounds a little twee, there is, throughout the first half of the film, an undercurrent of tension. And, like a dripping tap, the tension is released little by little, drawing you in as the film gradually grows darker and darker. And it does become very dark indeed. This is not a film for the faint hearted, and one most definitely not for the children of the house.

I thoroughly enjoyed the cinematography; wide sweeping scenes of Scandinavian beauty, the colours bright and vibrate. At one point a winding forest road was slowly rotated until the sky became the highway, winding through the tops of endless pine.

Florence Pugh, best known for playing Katherine in the excellent Lady Macbeth (2016), was superb as Dani. I felt that Jack Reyner, playing Christian didn’t entirely convince; considering what was going on around him he was a little underwhelming.

Overall I enjoyed the slow burn effect of the film. You knew that something was around the corner, that the idyllic nature of the setting and the ever-so-polite community were too good to be true. But what? Then it arrived; the scene that awakened the narrative. You’ll know exactly what I mean. From there the film picks up it’s pace, racing you along to a quite amazing and visceral finale.

It’s certainly a long film, but stay with it. The ending is intriguing. Does she? Or doesn’t she?

Paul Roffey - Writer at paulroffey.co.uk