Midsommar - A Movie Review
By: Mallory Johnson
I watched the disturbing cult movie Midsommar on Halloween night and have some mixed thoughts. The movie stars one of my favorite actresses Florence Pugh (Little Women, Black Widow), and stars Jack Reynor (Macbeth, Glassland), Vilhelm Blomgren (The Last Letter from Your Lover), and William Jackson Harper (The Good Place, Dark Waters). The movie follows a group of friends who go to Sweden to visit a colony...that turns out to have more terrifying cultish rituals than expected. Before I go any further, SPOILER ALERT. Also, trigger warnings for: cults, GRAPHIC suicide, murder, death, loss, grief, GRAPHIC blood and gore, animal cruelty, cheating, GRAPHIC nudity, sexual violence, drug use, fire, sacrifice, disturbing cult rituals, vomiting, toxic relationship, self-harm, anxiety attacks, gaslighting, flashing lights, discussion of incest, and ableism. This movie is very disturbing and unsettling, and the suicide scenes are extremely graphic, so please do not watch this movie if this is triggering or upsetting to you at all.
I had heard that this movie was disturbing, but I was not at all prepared for just how disturbed and unsettled I was while watching. The “colony” that the movie follows is a violent, murderous cult that gaslights the friends who come to visit it. Two of the friends are there to research the cult, but they instead get traumatized. I loved the found family vibes and find it interesting how that trope can be explored in a cult narrative. I was uncomfortable pretty much the whole time watching this movie, and the movie is two and a half hours long. I was furious at Dani’s boyfriend Christian after he brushed off her sister’s concerning emails. My anger was justified after the reveal of her family’s fate (which I will not spoil here). Dani deserved a lot better than the cards she was dealt in the movie. She went through a lot and there were a lot of people that either gaslit her about it or decided that it was no big deal (when the opposite was true). My favorite part of the movie was the ending - in my opinion it made the disturbing events of the rest of the movie worth it. I loved the beautiful visuals, cinematography, and costumes in this movie, although there were some I did not see because I was either covering my eyes or answering the door for trick or treaters.
Overall, I did enjoy this movie, but I do not plan on ever watching it again. One viewing was more than enough! Once again, please check the trigger warnings for this movie. I included some, but there are more details (and spoilers) at the website DoesTheDogDie.com. I give this movie a 9/10 because it was so unsettling. I also want to emphasize that this is strictly a 17+ movie because of the nudity and graphic imagery.