Midsommar

Midsommar is a 2019 folk horror film written and directed by Ari Aster and starring Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, Ellora Torchia, Archie Madekwe, and Will Poulter. It follows a group of friends who travel to Sweden for a festival that occurs once every 90 years, only to find themselves in the clutches of a Scandinavian pagan cult.

A co-production between the United States and Sweden, the film was initially pitched to Aster as a straightforward slasher film set among Swedish cultists. Aster devised a screenplay using elements of the concept, but made a deteriorating relationship the central conflict after he experienced a difficult breakup. The music was composed by British electronic musician Bobby Krlic. The film was shot on location in Budapest in the summer and autumn of 2018.

Midsommar was theatrically released in the United States on July 3, 2019, by A24 and in Sweden on July 10, 2019, by Nordisk Film. The film grossed $47.9 million and received positive reviews from critics, with many praising Aster's direction and Pugh's performance.

Plot[]

Psychology student Dani Ardor is left severely traumatized after her sister kills herself and their parents by filling their home with carbon monoxide. The incident further strains Dani's relationship with her increasingly distant boyfriend, cultural anthropology student Christian Hughes. As summer approaches, she learns that Christian and fellow students Mark and Josh have been invited by their Swedish friend Pelle to attend a midsummer celebration at his ancestral commune, the Hårga, in rural Hälsingland. The celebration occurs only once every 90 years and Josh, who is writing his thesis on European midsummer festivities, regards it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Christian had not discussed the trip with Dani as he was intending to break up with her prior to the incident with her family. After an argument, he reluctantly invites her along.

Upon arrival at the commune, they meet Simon and Connie, an English couple from London who were invited by Pelle's communal brother Ingemar. He offers the group psychedelic mushrooms, and Dani has a bad trip, hallucinating about her deceased family. The day after their arrival, the group witness an ättestupa ceremony; where two elders commit suicide by jumping from a nearby cliff onto the rocks below. When one of the elders partially survives the fall, the commune members mimic his wails of agony and promptly mercy-kill him with a mallet. Commune elder Siv attempts to calm Connie and Simon, explaining that every member of their community does this at the age of 72.

Christian also decides to write his thesis on the Hårga commune, angering Josh for plagiarizing his idea. Disturbed by the ceremonies, Dani attempts to leave, but is convinced to stay by Pelle. He explains that he too was orphaned after his parents died in a fire, and the commune became his new family. Connie and Simon insist on leaving and are supposedly driven to a nearby train station one at a time. During his thesis research, Christian is told that to avoid incest, outsiders are sometimes brought in to the commune for "mating" purposes. He is propositioned to participate, but refuses. After unwittingly urinating on a sacred tree, Mark is lured away from the group by one of the female commune members. That night, Josh sneaks out of bed to secretly photograph one of the commune's sacred texts but is bludgeoned and dragged away by someone wearing a skin mask of Mark's face.

The next day, both Dani and Christian are separately coerced into taking a hallucinogenic drink. Dani wins a maypole dancing competition and is crowned May Queen. Meanwhile, Christian is led away and engages in a sex ritual designed to impregnate Maja, a young female member of the Hårga, while older naked female members watch and mimic Maja's moans. Dani, witnessing the ritual and believing that Christian is cheating on her, has a panic attack, while the commune's women surround her and mimic her cries. After the ritual, Christian comes to his senses and tries to flee. He discovers Josh's leg planted in a flowerbed and Simon's body on display in a barn, before being paralyzed by an elder.

For the final ceremony, the commune leaders explain that in order to purge the commune of its evil, nine human sacrifices must be offered. The first four victims are outsiders lured to them by Pelle and Ingemar, while the next four victims must be from the commune. As May Queen, Dani must choose either Christian or a commune member to be the final sacrificial victim. She chooses Christian, who is stuffed into a disemboweled brown bear's body and placed in a triangular wooden temple alongside other sacrifices. It is set on fire and the commune members mimic the screams and wails of those being burned alive. Dani initially sobs in horror and grief, but gradually begins to smile.