Midsommar

Midsommar is a 2019 folk horror film written and directed by Ari Aster. The film follows a group of friends who travel to Sweden to attend a traditional midsummer festival, but upon arrival, they discover the sinister and dark side of this idyllic event. The story begins with the introduction of Dani, a graduate student who has recently suffered a family tragedy. Her friends, Christian, Mark, Josh, Pelle, and Connie, try to console her by inviting her to join them on a trip to Sweden to attend a midsummer festival in Pelle's hometown of Hårga. Pelle's enthusiasm is genuine, but his admiration for the native pagan traditions and his impending marriage to Connie mask a more complex and sinister agenda. Upon arrival, the group discovers that the midsummer festival is an infrequent event that takes place only every ninety years. As a result, it draws in outsiders who are both fascinated and repelled by the paganism. However, the group initially sees the trip as an opportunity for a relaxing and rejuvenating getaway, with the sun never setting during the Swedish summer. As they make their way through the lush and seemingly idyllic countryside, the group is struck by the eerie atmosphere and the unsettling feeling that they are being watched. Pelle, however, sees the land and the people as one, having grown up among the pagans and rejecting the customs of modern society. He and his fiancée invite the group to join them for dinner, but soon, the air is filled with a sense of unease. The local women, for the most part, welcome the group's presence and seem friendly. However, they are subjected to Pelle and Connie's overzealousness and condescending attitudes, which they mask with harmless banter. After dinner, the group is forced to participate in a festival, though many seem genuinely unnerved by the pagan ritual that follows. The next few days see the group follow the local folk as they gather flowers to weave into a garland, learn folk dances, and celebrate the Scandinavian solstice. However, during these festivities, the tone shifts as Christian's feelings of unease and helplessness grow more pronounced. His increasing detachment from the festivities also hints at deeper vulnerabilities. While the rest of the group starts to realize something is off about the Hårgans, Pelle barely acknowledges or understands the darkness they see brewing below the surface of this carefree town. As tensions mount and further disturbing events surface, Josh tries to rationalize their presence by describing their disrepute as an exaggerated fear, forcing Christian to become increasingly withdrawn. However, Christian cannot shake off the unease and feels a fundamental disconnect from the ritual and the atmosphere that his friends fail to grasp. Dani's transformation, as the loss of her family becomes a recurring tragedy, signifies the escalating sense of darkness and foreboding. On top of a looming descent into chaos, a very sinister underdog takes on a terrible form of control, as she sees her entire group, composed mainly of those in relationships, break down.