Last year debut director Ari Aster released Hereditary to rave reviews. And now the disturbing supernatural horror is being followed up by a totally different story in the genre. Midsommar sees a couple travel to Sweden for a festival that happens only once every 90 years, only for them to find themselves in the midst of a violent pagan cult. The first reviews are in and the daylight horror is being hailed as another masterpiece for Aster.
Dread Central
You will be shocked, you will be devastated, and you will think about it long after the credits roll.
Bloody Disgusting
Midsommar is a mind-f*** of the highest order, channelling (yet again) a young woman’s journey through grief. Deliberately paced but never boring (those 140 minutes fly by). Pugh is excellent. There is some imagery that I want plastered on my wall. Don’t miss this one, folks.
Slash Film
Like with Hereditary, Ari Aster uses overwhelming grief as a gateway into a slowly escalating tunnel of nightmares. Not a visceral scare-fest, but something so much more unpleasant, darkly funny and yes, totally f***ed.
Nightmarish Conjurings
I was super nervous going into Midsommar because of my deep love for Hereditary, but holy sh** you guys, Midsommar is a masterpiece.
Nerdist
Wow. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so gutted and seen by a movie. I felt sick, I felt joy – I felt so much. above all else: I’ve never seen such a wicked, accurate depiction of intoxicating mania. I adored it and I hate it. Florence Pugh is god level.
Hollywood Reporter
More unsettling than frightening, it’s still a trip worth taking.
Variety
Once the real fireworks start to ignite, you realize how powerfully the film’s themes resonate when they’re given room to breathe. It’s just a shame it takes so long to bring them into focus.
Vanity Fair
Midsommar is a shocking piece of filmmaking-unnervingly competent even when the film yaws into silliness, even when it risks tedium.
Screen International
Sometimes hypnotic, sometimes overcooked, always intriguing, Midsommar occasionally fall flats, but Florence Pugh holds the film together — especially when its plotting stumbles or its shocks grow predictable.
Midsommar is released in UK cinemas on July 5, 2019.