I am Latvian and we have our own Midsummer festival - Līgo celebrations. Or the other name - day of Jānis - Latvian name for Saint John. And it's believed it always rains on Līgo. We have a proverb in Latvia - Līst kā pa Jāņiem. It literally means "Raining like on Jānis day", it's an old fashioned way to describe a heavy rain outside.
Nah. This particular ritual of burning sacrifices happens only at an interval of 90 years * the rest happens every year... So what Pelle said about his parents was just a way to make Dani feel closer to him.
Interesting analysis! I feel like one important point was missing though: Two of the cultists were given a naturopathic sedative during the final burning ceremony and told that it would prevent pain and fear. It seems to work well at first (as a placebo), until one of them catches fire and clearly experiences intense fear and pain. That horrific scene demonstrates that the cult's focus on empathy is nothing more than an empty lie (and Dani remains a victim who is being manipulated by others).
I was reading all sorts of reviews and synopses last night after watching this and I didn’t see that brought up at all! Good catch! I also noted that they didn’t give it to Christian and in the context of what you said I could see there being more significance to that than simply that they were punishing him or something.
@@ayekantspeylgud there was one part where they basically said Christian was wicked and they hoped he would repent or something, before they lit the triangle place on fire
Is there a control group? I would not jump to conclusions without a randomized trial of that sedative, with half the victims receiving the thing and the other half getting placebo. Jokes aside, I really do disagree. They know it's painful, that makes any sacrifice worthy. And they yell in pain outside, showing and living their empathy. Their culture requires this f'd up ritual, so they do it together, without questioning any of it. That is left for us, the audience
Interesting observation - but I don't think this proves their empathy is a lie per se. Certainly opens the door to questioning their rituals though. Whether the yew sap was a lie, a placebo, a paralyzing agent, a tradition, or whatever else, the cultists are still hardwired to feel/emulate empathy for each other as a result of their rituals. So while the cult *may perpetuate lies (which isn't plainly obvious, still requires assumptions), the shared empathy is real.
@@ITsATRAPPPP The shared empathy is definitely real but it seems that their intention for sharing their feelings isn’t necessarily because they genuinely care for each other, they do it because it keeps the group together. I’d say that’s one of the key components to their relationship. Kinda weird tbh I kinda see it like a transaction. Let’s make a deal! You help me carry my burden and I’ll help you carry yours!(could be positivity too btw) So coming back to the main point maybe it is a lie that they don’t see themselves and I’d guess it’s something they realize as they get older but at that point it’s probably too late lol
A thing that fricked me out is when Mark said: what's skin the fool? And like half an hour later a girl says: I'll show you. And then he is never seen again (alive).
@@alexvaleriano2508 skin means to remove the skin from a person and fool because he is stupid. There is a scene in which they play that game and then they actually skin the fool.
As an anthropology student, the most horrifying part of the movie for me was when Josh started snapping pictures of sacred texts against the wishes of the community.
My least favorite thing is people assume that Dani is now happy with the Harga like she hasn’t been on hard drugs the entire movie and won’t be hit with a world of pain the second she sobers up and realizes what happened to her.
@@bugsyboy it can, but i wouldn't consider it a hard drug . im just nit picking tho . a lot of places are looking into legalization for shrooms bc it can help with mental illness, unlike shit like meth
I love that this horror movie started off at night and sad and ended in daylight with a character happy. Because in most traditional horror movies it’s flipped and I love that this is the new face of horror 😌
I don’t think he knows he’s being a villain. I think he thinks he’s truly doing the right thing. And is he? It’s hard to say. He’s a good guy depending on who you ask, how you view certain ancient cultures and how you view religion/“cults” (aka religion - time, religion is just cult + time).
As someone who has lost 3 family members in an actual house fire, this movie hit me right in the feels. I had to leave in the beginning because it was so similar to my experience. I would never wish this pain on anyone.
I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't dare to watch past the 1 hour mark because I didn't wanna see old people jump off a cliff, but I hope you have someone to talk to for support. All the best
I’m actually really confused as to why Pelle would go so far as to nearly finish a degree in anthropology just as a ploy to sacrifice 4 of his friends and rejoin the Hårga people.
Because the ritual happens once every 90 years. Pelle gives up years of his life, but two of his 'brothers' give up their lives. At the end, Pelle is adorned with a crown of reeds, or grass and it's heavily implied he will be rewarded greatly.
i was also confused about pelle as to why he was allowed to leave the cultist village to go off to college in america. like i know it's to gather sacrifices, but i thought the village was pretty strict about no one leaving.
@@shaf2317 They don't seem that strict. The guy he refers to as his 'brother' just before they drop shrooms introduces them to the English couple that he says he also met travelling. It seems they send their family off far and wide.
@@MikeeTeevee but it seems risky, don't ya think? like what if one of the villagers go off to travel somewhere else and develop new mindsets and start actually realizing how fucked up the harga is, and they tell everyone. seems pretty risky for the harga.
@@shaf2317 I mean, yeah in the grand scheme of things, if you go into that much depth it doesn't particularly make sense because cults tend to keep people close to bombard them with their ideals, but in the context of the lore of the film, they're definitely only going to lure people to be murdered. I think Pelle is soft on Dani which is why she doesn't get murdered and gets the opportunity to be assimilated into their group.
Simon - AIR (kept in the air with lungs released) Connie - WATER (being drowned) Josh - EARTH (buried towards the earth, legs up) Christian - FIRE 4 newcomers are sacrificed for the elements to be supportive of the village. Mark - JESTER Stuffed like a puppet with a jester's cap symbolizing him acting without any reflection. Because he doesn't have any sense of consequences (pissing on the tree), so he can be used as a puppet - so they wear his skin, his image; he is empty nonetheless.
They "skinned the fool" with Mark. Someone in a comment somewhere highlighted that there is a scene where it's asked what game the kids are playing and it's called Skin the Fool. Then Mark asks "What's Skin the Fool?" That is just ... Not answered... Then much later, randomly, that woman who has been eyeing him the whole time says "I'll show you." Mark has no idea what she's referencing, but follows her anyway and is not seen again alive.
One of my colleagues pointed out that the Blood Eagle lungs might only *appear* to be breathing because Christian is not viewing through a sober perspective.
Late response but its very much possible that he was still breathing. Blood Eagle was meant to be a slow torturous death. Even when you are flayed you are still alive but you cannot move or anything. You are just stuck there in agony as you slowly die over a long period of time. Vikings were really messed up.
After delving into it a little more, I read that it's not possible to survive that kind of brutal procedure. Of course we can never test it like he said but we can infer. Christian definitely was tripping balls, several other times in the film you could see the trees and flowers "breathing." Just another layer of the mind fuck the whole situation for the victims really is.
@@TheRandomLetsplays Even later response. But no. When your ribs are removed from your spine to tear out your lungs through the hole in your back, you are not going to slowly die over a long period of time.That's almost instant death. It's not even certain if Vikings ever did this irl anyway. All we have is some references in semi-mythological sagas. You are full of shit.
can we please stop saying the Harga are empaths who give Dani the emotional support she needs? What they’re doing is love bombing and thats cult tactics 101.
Seems they’re both? A disturbing cult that has built a foundation in the concept of empathy and give Dani the emotional support she so clearly is desperate for?
You're applying abusive irl cult concepts to a fictitious cult from a movie (that is clearly full of empaths who give Dani emotional support)... Not sure why you're so intent on people ignoring a major theme of the film.
fjordexplorer my point is that the apparent empathy is part of the cult strategy to lure her in. It is conditional - the condition being the possibility to gain her as a member.
@@emipeesally313 they aren't worshipping anything?? They are literally performing ritual human sacrifice... the whole movie is about rituals and worship.
@@emipeesally313 and where did the culture start from? it's a culture centered around the worship of nature. The movie is inspired by Norse religion/paganism hence why they use runes in their rituals. These rituals arent just play days as culture there is huge mythological and spiritual meaning behind them that is stems back to ancient religions. Yes it is their culture but it is a culture of religious/spiritual beliefs.
I can't even _imagine_ what it must've been like to experience this on the big screen in theater-silence. I watched it on my laptop with a friend and I still felt claustrophobic and panicky throughout.
Hobi Hope It felt like we all, a group of strangers, had gone on a strange journey together and we were all connected somehow as a result. That aspect was eerie too and not something I had experienced at a horror movie at the cinema before
I don't know if this was the Directors intent, but that a big part of initiating people into cults, gangs and secret societies is to bind you to them by making you complicit in their activities. So making Dani select the 9th sacrifice wasn't just a simple ritual in my book, they made her participate in the sacrifices by making her choose.
They were incorporating Dani into ritual from first introduction to Father Odd... He greets the group individually with "Welcome" ... Then tells Dani "Welcome Home." She is made to sleep in the quarters appropriate to her life "season" (while everyone else does as well, this doesn't negate her involvement in this form of ritual). Pelle draws a portrait of her wearing a flower crown that she had not worn at that point. She sees women picking flowers backwards and gets inspired to pick flowers for Christian... An odd gesture from a woman to a man in American culture, but for Harga, women pick flowers to "have visions of their mate" via their dreams. She gets invited to help in the kitchen to prepare a meal for the cult. No one else does. She is forced to participate in the dancing ritual (and wins) She recites the blessing of the crops and hosts the ritual .... Dani participates in the cult the entire movie. One could even argue the first introduction was taking shrooms upon arrival.
I think this is one of the best films that shows why people fall for cults. The sun soaked idealic landscape and "shared empathy" illustrated how enticing it could be to someone in Dani's broken and lonely state, and hides the true evil underneath.
All religions (the difference between a religion, a cult and a mythology is only the amount of followers and whether or not it is still in practice) offer a sense of community, love and relationships that transcend oneself. Yes they love-bomb. Yes they demand sacrifices and adherence to tradition. But the fact remains that humans have always felt drawn answering the questions of the world around them and their place within it.
@@half.blight they're talking about in the movie not the people watching. Anyway do you need help? You obviously need help if you're so ready to attack people.
I never imagined any of this to be something that represents Swedes as a whole somehow. I thought it was pretty clear that this was meant to be a pretty isolated community, similar enough films have been made that take place in the US.
dajmasta94 Exactly. I think they spendt entirely too much time in this video explaining what was an accurate representation to midsommar celebrations and what was made up. Like... it’s a *fictional horror movie*, it’s already assumed that most of this is exaggerated or completely made up. It made me think that they were just adding fluff to the video to make up for the lack of analysis.
I never thought the cult members were being genuinely empathetic. They were being intentionally manipulative to carry out their sacrificial ritual. They deceive, drug, manipulate, murder, and indoctrinate to make their group identify with these sacrifices as part of the process. They trust Pelle’s instinct and he must have told them why she would be a perfect May Queen, as someone who experienced deep trauma and was in an emotionally strained relationship. She was more vulnerable to their manipulative tactics. It was all calculated. They needed her as much as they needed Christian. I love how subtle they were about pagans burning a a Christian in an animal costume. I absolutely love this movie, but fail to see how anyone wouldn’t see the cult as harmful and evil.
100 percent lol. They knew everyone but Dani was gonna die they just wanted to lure them into a false sense of security so they wouldn't dip/raise red flags to the others too soon for the festival to last as long as it needed to.
emotional manipulation and lovebombing, also used in... Toxic relationships. So while she feels accepted by the community, she basically exchanged one toxic relationship for another even more toxic one.
Empathy can be related only to the tribe, similar as conservative empathy. It doesn't have to be universal as progressive empathy. And empathy aren't contrary to sacrifice, as sacrifice itself can be the result of empathy. One can't understand another culture using one's own culture lenses.
Honestly, the most horrifying part of watching this movie, at least for me, was that when Dani was crowned as May Queen and brought off to her throne, I actually felt happy for her. I felt happy that she was joining this awful human-sacrificing cult.
Diego_d4c that’s basically another premise of the movie. The cult uses drugs to influence their community and control ppl into their sacrifices. They use constant psychedelic visuals through as a reminder that the characters are under the influence.
she finally has found a sense "of place" in the world and it ends as on a positive note, aside from our judgement of the cult, because we (the viewers) are outsiders as she and her friends once were.
The "rape" of Christian was a part not only to get new blood into the cult, but they also wanted to separate the couple. I think they wanted Dani to win the May Queen authority to further separate them. It wasn't by accident that she won the dancing contest. It was orchestrated. This is something I've noticed many commenters to overlook- they were both manipulated and sex was part of equation. The scene tried to underline this as well, while Christian was cheating on Dani, Dani was doing her own "fertility ceremony", blessing the crops as the May Queen. They wanted her into the cult, and her hating him. But the shock and the sadness of the ending is, that they both were lost people without real direction, unable to change their lives. So they were malleable to the cult. That's what cults do. The break peoples old connections to lure you in. They were there for her, but maybe only because they wanted her to join in by distancing her from him. That is left somewhat an open question. Which works. The smile in the end, I think, is great because it's about so many things: joy, liberation - but I think that in a way, it's insane. She's gone crazy, but she's free. But whether the cult is good for her or not, is left a mystery. What do you think her role would be, as a young woman? A baby making machine. They needed Christian for only for a short while. Her, they need to keep her longer...it is left open, whether she is able to make that choice herself.
Fantastic take!! I noticed too that the movie deliberately downplays the need to frame her smile as either totally good or bad. She smiles at the end?? So? She's joined a cult for Pete's sake.
Well..throughout the movie you can see Christian was also trying to distance from Dani though. I mean right at the start, he was in a dilemma: he wanted to break up with her but he couldn't at that moment since she had just lost her family.
It does seem as if they intended to recruit Dani from the start. But since her participation in the trip was all a last minute decision it makes me wonder how things would've played out for the guys if she never went.
@@louisbourbon8973 You could argue that Pelle was recruiting Dani since well before they left on the trip. It's Pelle's job to go out and recruit. And he says to her that he's the most excited about her going. On top of that, he remembered her birthday, which was happening during the midsummer celebration and it was also the midsummer of her life, since she was turning 27(halfway through her "summer" years). So Dani was the perfect victim and Pelle knew it.
Midsommar, to me, is about going from cold, isolated trauma to warm, familial insanity. It's a Grimm's fairytale about how vulnerable the traumatized individual is to a damaging collective.
Great comment. It brings to mind the church gatherings where people sing in tongues en masse, and not one single person stops to ask "what is this fuckery of a ritual" they see as normal and celebratory of their sane beliefs.
@@p_eople6789 I'm not even Christian but that's a very very bad example imo. Talking in tongues may seem weird to you (and me!) but it's not inherently harmful to anyone. Especially not to those uninvolved with the religion.
Tim Jackson Theres a scene cut from the movie but appears in the screenplay where Dani gets lost high in the woods and screams for Christian and then her Dad. Implying that she sees Christian as a Dad which definitely supports the theory that she’s codependent.
@@wophful I recall a recent Philly defranco deep dive on Cult deprogramming and honestly she is the perfect model of susceptible to cult indoctrination. no support no empathy her life getting utterly destroyed and the current people around her slipping away as she gets closer to the harga.
The film (from my perspective) painted Christian as not a good partner/person in general. Even to his friends, he was kind of a dick, so I feel it was way more about the importance of empathy. Dani isn’t more dependent for emotional warmth than average (especially considering her situation).
I’m pretty sure that her “acceptance” was actually her “breaking point.” After all of that trauma breaking her, she’s immediately shown immense love while being horsefed whatever drugs those are. Like, the thing that was in her boyfriend’s drink and the powder blown in his face? Yeah, it practically put him under mind control and even paralyzed him. Pretty sure you can put together “sudden affection after forced trauma + hella weed = accept everything around you and your brain isnt your anymore.” Sheesh.
I always felt that Pelle was a devil in disguise, taking advantage of the Dani and Christian's poor relationship and also her family tragedy to tear them apart and offer them as sacrifies
same like who would think it will be a good idea to bring someone already broken to a place where they perform such horrific cults which would probably leave then uncomfortable and disturbed, which they were
@@mcc-ru1mt yeah! He knew what would happen to all of them, it was pretty clear to us as viewers, especially on the re-watch. And he willingly pushed Christian towards mating with Maja. He wanted to break Dani completely and get him out of the way. Still, I must admit he was charming about the whole thing
@@heisenberg1732 maybe, I am unable to tell from my perspective, perhaps I should be more precise, I think the movie shows the visual aspect of psychodelics quite nicely :)
Misery loves company. And Dani's misery is only satisfied when others begin to cry with her. Wrapping her up in a warm blanket of flowers, like any toxicly loving person you encounter.
This actually Greta Thunberg's Biography. That's why there's an Extinction Rebellion "Upside down Dagaz Rune" on her dress. Her boyfriend "Christian" is the Patriarchal Society that Greta wants to burn down. In any case, Greta Thunberg's Biography is a ripoff of The Wicker Man, a much better film. Sorry Millennials and Zoomers, it's all been done before. LOL!
This movie, for me, was scarier than Hereditary because I found myself feeling strangely happy...which I didn't realise untill the credits started rolling. When I did, it disturbed me deeply. I was kinda ashamed for feeling that way. So, deep for me. But I can understand why people dislike this film too. It's slow-paced and subtle horror. Imo it's a very niche film, not everyone's cup of tea.
I think the practical effects during the cliff scene are terrible. A multi million dollar movie should not have b movie effects. Maybe it was intentional for some weird reason.
I'm guessing you felt disturbed because Dani found what she was looking for after all these horrific things happened. Basically, she not only accepted the horrific killings and goings-on, but she also embraced them and helped them along in order to finally feel the connection of family she desperately wanted. I'm guessing she never got that from her own real family. Why this is particularly disturbing is because we do this too, though maybe not to this degree. In order to find our own happiness and sense of family, there are things that we accept that could be, at the very least, disturbing to others who view it from the outside. Feeling ashamed about being strangely happy at the end means you have the empathy to see beyond your own comfort. That's my take on it.
Its interesting in the prospective of the viewer, as someone who's been in a relationship and subconsciously not invested but also doesn't have the strength to break up with said partner due to her depression and in a way, being the only person she can cling to/ depend on; I felt sympathy for Christian. It's an internal struggle of caring for said person but also fighting for personal desire and needs. You don't want to hurt the person cause you still care for them, but in the end you're only making it worse.
The weirdest part for me: if they do the sacrifice only every 90 years, it means, no living member of the community participated in that ceremony ever. Didn't even see one as a child. A whole generation lived their lives without doing it. they have no living memory of it, not to mention routine - yet, everything works like clockwork. (yeah, I know, it's only that last part that's new, but there is a lot of murdering/preparing dead/half-dead bodies in the process, and no one seems squeamish or doubtful about it.) Plus, their religion is a living thing that grows and changes, so how come this particular ceremony with 90 years intervals is set in stone?
72 year old people jumping off cliffs and the other midsommar celebrations are repeated every year, so I guess those routines could be kept alive quite easily. All the detail that we, the audience, know is essential about the 90-year-tradition is "sacrifice 9 people (including whichever 72year olds would commit suicide that year) every 90 years", everything else about the routine, such as the yellow house and bear-costume etc, could just as well be a newly interpreted routine from their books, we wouldn't know. They could have interpreted their books, say, a few years ago, and figured out their expected routines for the 90-year-tradition. Since it doesn't seem to be too much to do around Hårga, they could have prepared and practiced for a long time after that interpretation. That could give an explanation to their ever-changing dynamic religion. And since the old people of Hårga are willingly dying for their cultural tradition every year, the notion of sacrifice would not be so foreign to them.
@@andrew_nayes From what I understand they hold ritual festivals regularly. The Mayfair Queen is picked yearly. Another aspect of it happens every 9 years, and another every 18. Only the sacrifice on the last day of the festival is a part of the 90 year ritual. As for how they knew exactly what to do, the elders who experienced the last one are gone, but not the children they taught it to. Their society is sustained by passing on their traditions and transcribing them in that big book. Or on the walls of their homes. Everything that happens in the movie is depicted in the tapestries and painting shown throughout. The opening credits is a bit of a spoiler warning if you're paying attention.
I also have been trying to figure out which rituals happen only every 90 years, and which happen annually. Since the attestupa happens every year for those that reach 72, and apparently they crown a May Queen each year, and since Pelle says that his parents burned up in a fire, I get the feeling that "once every 90 years" is just a ruse to lure outsiders into "experiencing something special, once in a lifetime" whereas it's just leading the lambs to slaughter.
the beginning of Midsommar is one of the most disturbing scenes in a movie I’ve ever seen. I almost never get upset by things in film or tv, but I felt sick during that scene, and thought about it for days after. It was just such a real depiction of grief and trauma, the music was dreadful and Florences wailing was brutal
When I saw the beginning of Midsommar for the first time I was in a room full of friends and I had to excuse myself to go “pee” but I really cried and sent my sister a text asking her how she was doing. I continued to watch up until the first mushroom trip and then excused myself to go do homework because I could tell I was not in the right headspace to watch the movie. Last night I decided I was and watched all of it, and holy fucking shit. I caught myself almoooost appreciating the cult for picking Dani up and then realized they almost indoctrinated me, this movie was super well done.
When I saw the beginning of Midsommar for the first time I was in a room full of friends and I had to excuse myself to go “pee” but I really cried and sent my sister a text asking her how she was doing. I continued to watch up until the first mushroom trip and then excused myself to go do homework because I could tell I was not in the right headspace to watch the movie. Last night I decided I was and watched all of it, and holy fucking shit. I caught myself almoooost appreciating the cult for picking Dani up and then realized they almost indoctrinated me, this movie was super well done.
Dani traded a toxic relationship for an even more toxic one, and really becomes irredeemable in my eyes as a character because she is truly in part responsible for Chris’ death, who people don’t seem to understand is a major victim. He was literally raped and then chosen to burn alive because of it.
Yeah I don't see how people act like this is an empowering moment for Dani. Also i'm pretty sure she's so traumatized at this point that she's basically a vegetable
Dawg she was drugged and manipulated in her most vulnerable state and deliriously discovered her lover engaging in ritualistic intercourse. She wasn’t given the context (how he was raped)
i dont think Chris is a major victim, the Harga girl offered him the drink and also told him its use, Chris rejected at first but then he took a look at the red hair Harga girl and decided to drink it, i mean Chris could make a choice there and he chose to be drugged
@@tammy6 I mean he did but if someone tells you there’s stuff in your drink you would assume it will not be that bad and just make you dizzy or something not fully tripping balls and if someone in there own home offered you a drink you would kinda be pressured to drink it
Yeah, I think the psychedelic effects were done extremely well. In particular, when Mark starts freaking out a bit towards the beginning, they put a kind of effect on his voice that definitely felt like auditory distortions you get while tripping.
anyone else notice how the "meat" on the table towards the end of the movie with Dani being crowned may queen wasn't exactly normal? like, it looked like human or something. also, the guy's lungs weren't breathing during the blood eagle ritual, christian was tripping out when he saw them, and every time tripping happened in the movie, the audience trips with them, seeing plants breathe, and lungs breathing and stuff.
whenever you take a drug like shrooms, or LSD (acid), people say everything around you looks like it “breathes”. a lot of things were “breathing” if you looked, the flowers on the headbands, the food (obviously), the plants, and probably more. a really nice detail that they took care to add. they’re literally on drugs 24/7 which is why this whole movie is almost like a fever dream. i’m honestly never going to forget this movie, ever.
It’s literally a Viking torture technique called “blood eagle” & they’re alive the whole time. So, he was actually suppose to be breathing. I caught that a lot of shit was breathing, but his lungs were supposed to be because he was still alive.
@@jennajune2101 he was missing for at least 2 days before he was discovered again. I'm not claiming that he couldn't have been alive during the ritual of the blood eagle, but I'm highly suspect of him staying alive with no eyes, being flayed open, with exposed lungs and internal chest cavity, all the while being suspended 4-5 feet in the air by his blood vessels. I mean wow, it's really cool that you could stay alive that long after suffering that ritual, but i'm claiming that the homeboy in the movie is D E A D when you see him, and it looks like he's breathing because chris was tripping balls on acid. It's not far fetched to claim that either considering we see other shit breathe that shouldn't be, like flowers, or the meat that people are eating, or whatever the fuck else. christ
Not even for a single moment i thought this was something the swedes do. I think the director made it really clear that this is a small community, or accurately a cult. Deep for me.
That's the point. Most people wouldn't do this and I do like how a group a Swedes were chosen over let's say an isolated tribe Africa since it's very easy to assume the worst when a group of people are people of color.
I think this film is brilliant. A horror film in broad daylight that reveals the entire plot at the get go… but still manages to be disturbing. I like that they frame the whole thing on an incredibly predictable plot. The movie is about everything in between the elements of the story story… difficult emotional situations, uncomfortable visuals, and complex world building. It’s a movie I’d read a book about even though the plot is pretty much standard cult horror.
As someone who’s gone through a really bad break up WHILE also grieving over a tragic death, I can tell you this movie is very accurate of all the emotions you go through when dealing with that.
I also think that somebody that has never experienced such strong emotions or is not really an empathetic person, probably does not like/get the movie as much.
Ya I think that's what made the movie very disturbing and sickening to me thinking about how easily that could have been me if I were in this situation. It brought me back to a completely empty feeling and uggh this movie really gets to me
"The people at the library looked at us weird." As a reference librarian, I can tell you that what you were researching was not the strangest thing I've ever had to look up for someone.
Thank you! Wonder how many of these I missed, cuz I watched it twice once high and once drunk. Favourite movie of 2019 but im not sure I dare watch it sober!
The hidden meaning I first noticed while watching this in theaters is FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT TAKE A FIRST DATE TO GO SEE THIS MOVIE.. WAIT AT LEAST TILL DATE FOUR
Saw this with a guy for our 2nd date. There was no 3rd date because he didn't think the boyfriend did anything wrong. This movie saved me so much time and is a great way to smoke out assholes - 10/10 would recommend
Heather Simmonds question though, yes, he was emotionally unavailable. Not saying he’s a good guy, not saying he didn’t deserve karma. But, did he deserve to die burning in a bear carcass while paralyzed?
At 7:08 when we see Simon strung up into a Blood Eagle, he is NOT breathing and alive. He is dead. Very dead. Christian was still tripping balls and his mind was seeing that, just like Dani seeing plants move and flowers breath
Nah he is barely alive. The blood eagle tactic is used for a slow painful death and I doubt the filmmakers would have a blood eagle without making it the most scary. (Having it alive while Christian seeing it)
Honestly, as an introverted and deeply private person, having a whole group of people surrounding me and compulsively sharing my feelings makes me cringe in my skin. Horror movie, indeed ':D
If you are in sober state for sure but if you take some drugs that allow you to low your guard and let go fear , you'll probably end up dancing ,singing, crying if necesary around people that in some way accept you like in the movie .
As an introverted and private person, I'd like to experience a whole group of people surrounding me and compulsively sharing my feelings. Might be interesting and informative idk
I thought it was a bit disturbing. Colorful flowers generally symbolize joy and harmony, yet the dress was, ironically, large, hard for her to move in, and she experienced nothing but (seemingly) grief while wearing it.
If you took away the flowers it would probably look like a cage. It physically restricted her movement, no way to run. Her prison looks pretty but it's still a prison.
After watching several of these analysis videos on the film I still find it crazy that no one talks about how at the beginning when Pelle shows Dani a picture of the May Queen he says "this was last year's may Queen" IMO implying she will end up being sacrificed anyway the following year when a new group of outsiders comes in and before a new may queen is crowned *mic drop*
Maybe they do the May Queen part yearly, but not the sacrifice part? I figured they kept Dani to diversify the bloodlines to prevent inbreeding, just like Christian was encouraged to have sex with the one of the Harga. Or maybe Pelle got that pic from some other Swedish Midsommer celebration?
The lungs breathing is a psychedelic affect, often when hullicatining colours and objects pulse, very similar to what you see in the food on the table scene.
The Blood Angel was a real form of torture where the victim would be alive as the take his or her lungs out of their back to make "wings", so I think he actually was alive.
It’s actually called blood eagle, and no he is not alive. Your diaphragm is what allows your lungs to take in air, when the lungs are removed you can no longer breathe. It’s just a hallucination.
When the Swedes went down to the floor with the girl and screamed and cried with her in sympathy for her pain and shock, I got chills and tears. One of the most horrifying scenes I've ever seen. Proves horror is not only jump scares.
But at the same time, in an odd way, it was quite sweet. It’s like they were fully feeling those emotions with her. When you’re devastated, it’s helpful to have people to share that with you and know how you’re feeling, makes you feel much less alone. But I also agree, absolutely horrifying too hahaha
@@seaslug2638 I loved that scene so much. It was such a beautiful contrast to the beginning of the movie. When Dani's parents die, Christian merely lets her cry in his lap and pays no mind to her grief beyond his hollow "how you doing?". Her new "sisters" on the other hand, fully share her pain and grief. It was so horrifying and yet strangely beautiful.
Yea that part gave me all the chills, I don’t care what some “critics” say about this movie, I thought it was unique and really brought out some emotions in me. It left a lasting impression and that’s why I loved it.
This film was originally given an NC-17 by the MPAA. According to Ari Aster, around 30 minutes was cut from the final film mainly due to content. The director's cut released shortly after its theatrical run restores this footage. Most of the Swedish dialogue spoken by the Hårga natives is deliberately not subtitled, in order to create the sense of isolation for the audience and especially for the foreign visitors. When the film was released in Sweden, rather than eliciting fear in the audience, many people laughed. Many Swedish critics praised the film as an excellent black comedy. Mark displays an extreme phobia of ticks, which is based on Ari Aster's real-life fear of bugs and illness. Like Mark, Aster wore two pairs of socks over his jeans to ensure he would not receive bug bites. Despite the Swedish setting, the film was mostly shot in Hungary. Dani's surname is Ardor (visible on the computer screen in several shots), Latin for "flame." Despite sharing the same title and being horror movies set in Sweden, this film and the Danish cult classic "Midsommer (2003)" are not related. Despite the film taking place entirely in sunlight, it does not contain one shot of the sun. The film's trailer contained one shot of the sun. A shot of the sun has been reinserted in the director's cut of the film. Ariana Grande is a fan of the film, calling it one of her favorite films of 2019. She tried (and failed) to buy the May Queen Gown used in the film at an auction. She also threw a Midsommar-themed birthday party for herself on her 27th birthday. Klaudia Csányi's debut. Despite being the main characters and with the exception of cries and screams, neither Dani nor Christian speak in the last twenty-five minutes. During the meal where meat pies are served, Christian has a glass of reddish juice while everyone else has yellow juice. An image earlier in the film suggests that this may be because his drink has been spiked with menstrual blood. The strange mating ritual in the movie has very little to do with actual midsummer celebration in Sweden. It is however a fact that the 9 out of the 10 most common birthday dates in Sweden are all during April. 9 months after midsummer and July, the most popular month for summer vacations, that is. This is the fifth A24 film to be released nationwide without a platform release prior. The others were The Witch (2016), Free Fire (2017), It Comes At Night (2017), and Hereditary (2018). Much to the chagrin of Swedish horror fans, the film was not released during midsummer in Sweden, but a few weeks afterwards
You're talking as if Christian and his friends would have been spared if they hadn't been condescending towards the commune. They were specifically brought there to be killed as the required 4 outsider sacrifices. They were right to be apprehensive of the whole religion. Sometimes Wisecrack dives too deep into symbolism and interpretation that they forget to reconcile it with common sense.
While its obviously true that they were brought to be sacrifices and little to nothing would probably stop that from happening, we do know that Pelle specifically chose them and its also implied that he's done it before. Early in the movie it says that Pelle always chooses good ones or something along those lines. Pelle saw something that made him choose to bring this group of guys to the festival to be sacrifices.
That's true, but part of the horror behind the movie and one of its key points was to make you feel like Christian and his friends got what they deserved even though we all know that he very much didn't. It's a movie that purposefully fucks with your sense of morality and does it effectively, at least for me anyways. Simon and Connie are a clear indication that even if Christian and his friends were good people, they would have been sacrificed anyways. Simon and Connie's death pissed me off btw, I really liked their characters.
I don't think they were going to kill Josh until after he snuck in and took pictures. I assumed (until he died of course), they wanted him to survive, so he could attract more people to their cult, talking about their "wonderful" practices.
As a Swede who's into a lot of witchy and Norse mythology stuff... Yes, menstrual blood is a great lovespell according to the old practices. As is sweat, but I imagine it's harder to portray, haha. Sacrifices were often burned or thrown into lakes/the sea/swamps, too, which might play into the old people jumping off the cliff?
Oh, and the runes Reid and Dagaz are reversed/twisted on her dress.A journey she did not want has brought her to a horrible place that still grants peace?
Finally, Sweden is one of the most secular countries in the world. And the Midsummer celebration is 100% pagan, Christianity was never able to insert itself into it and it most likely pre-dates even what we today know as Viking traditions. So it's definitely deep to show something deeply religious as a community in a country that's lacking a lot in faith.
@@supaleetkillah eyup, the Swedish word would be "ättestup" in reference to the cliff itself. I totally forgot about it because as you say, we most likely didn't really practice it.
@@LoveSasukeKai DID YOU JUST ASSUME YOUR OWN GENDER! :O Jokes aside, I can relate to forgetting single obscure things. But throwing old people off cliffs because they're old and senile... that's some funny, funny stuff. Sounds eerily like our current old-folks homes to boot.
Upon watching the film for the third time you notice little details...like how when the group was introduced to a Harga elder, he shakes everyone’s hand, but embraces Dani and says “Welcome Home!”. Yikes...boned from the start.
the absolute most horrifying part of this movie is how whenever someone cried or screamed, everyone else would start screaming/crying too. when Dani was crying and had those girls with her and they kept imitating her,, that was terrible. It's already really annoying when ur siblings do it to mock u but when some psycho ikea cult does it?? no thanks
@@timnic9242 that's rly interesting!! Like I see so many ppl saying how great that moment was and that it felt carthatic to them but to me it felt horrifying and enraging tbh
Well, I don't really feel like the pagans were meant to be depicted as an answer to the problems shown earlier in the film. Keep in mind that they had literally zero empathy for everyone foreign they killed in the film. Blood eagling someone or crisping someone alive because your God demands it is not very empathetic. They only have empathy for their own, even their screams start only when one of their own starts burning. This sort of "us and them" attitude is characteristic of our modern world as well as their ancient world, no real difference there. If anything I think the film shows a vulnerable person being sucked into what she thinks is a more understanding group. You know, exactly how cults work. The colours being brighter and and music more uplifting by the end simply show Dani's viewpoint.
Also their "empathy" doesn't prevent them from horribly killing their own. If you beat me to death with a hammer or burn me alive I'm not gonna be consoled by the fact that you felt bad about it for 5 min.
Well obviously joining a cult isnt an appropriate answer to losing your family. The movie is supposed to show you how cults convince people to join. You and I already know that the shit cults do is evil, but to people that join them, like Dani and people who join cults in real life, it’s seen as the answer to their loneliness, the finally are “welcomed home” (something one of the members tell dani when she arrives). My point is WE know the cult is evil, but Dani doesnt care BECAUSE of what happens at the start. So to Dani, the cult IS the answer to the first 20min even tho in reality it’s a terrible answer
I got the distinct impression that their cries and gestures when their people started burning where fake and over the top/exaggerated, like they were making a show for their God so the God would see how much their sacrifice meant to them. Possible the same thing when the dude survived falling off the cliff, although they did seem a bit more genuinely upset then, although it still had the vibe of putting on a show of emotions.
exactly, and they didn't have no say whether they wanted to participate in the sacrifice ceremony at all. Either they were drugged for compliance, or were shut down by force
I always interpreted the film as a terrifying depiction as to how people can be indoctrinated into cults. Alluding to the way vulnerable people get seduced by extremist organizations because they feel ostracized or disconnected from their community at large.This parallels Dani’s own journey and willingness to overlook a cult that MURDERS people to find community. I don’t think we’re supposed to empathize with a community that ritually kills and murders Dani’s “friends” (and presumably plenty of other unfortunate guests). We’re supposed to be horrified by the fact that cults prey on vulnerable people, and that in this state of vulnerability, these victims are willing to excuse (and eventually believe) horrible shit for the sake of community. And even more terrified that this is happening today.
5 років тому+8
Yes, I feel the same way. People generally think that people who join cults are just weirdo's when they are just regular people trying to find their place in the world.
I think it shows how awful American suburbia is, when a murderous death cult is preferable to her upbringing because at least there's a sense of community.
i just watched a few days ago and i'm stuck on the interpretation that it's not just how easily people can be indoctrinated, but the complacency that people exhibit when it comes to these things. i related it immediately to fascism and Nazism especially after reading the original screenplay where Sweden's hand in the Nazi regime is directly referenced by Josh. it's a fable about abusive relationships in EVERY aspect, personal and societal, and the people who let it happen without saying or doing anything. eventually after each person is killed, there's no one left to speak for the one who was the most complacent, naive, and privileged: Christian. it really starts to fall in line with dystopian fiction, too, in this sense. such a great movie with so many layerssss!
This was my interpretation as well. I'm unsettled by how "sweet" and "endearing" some viewers seem to have found the scene when Dani is wailing and the women are mimicking her. They could be seen as sympathizing with her, but it's important to not forget that they played a HUGE role in why she feels so heavily betrayed in that moment. They're just going through the motions and manipulating her. She doesn't give into their ritual in the end because they're kind people. She caves in and submits. They broke her emotionally and cut her off from everyone. It's very similar to the end of 1984.
@@Jess-737 It's funny how you extrapolated a criticism of American suburbia onto America in general. Also, nowhere did I imply that it is only the USA that has these issues. I live in Canada, and its suburbs definitely have the same problems.
the period blood in the food is definitely a thing. I'm guyanese (located in south America) and i've heard of woman doing that to men to make them fall in love 0
Okay two things 1) this movie was actually amazing the scene with the crime scene and her sobbing on the couch gave me chills for minutes after. 2) am I the only one who actually kind of feels for Christian? I feel like he’s so realistic of a character and I honestly would have hoped to save him AND Dani at the end of it.
If you mean "real" by "gaslighting narcissist" then I'd agree, but I don't feel bad for him in the slightest. He ONLY became unsettled and scared once he realized the Harga were winning at gaslighting and manipulating him versus the other way around... I find it especially brilliant that Christian is told in the burning ritual that as "the bear" he represents the Hargas "most unholy of affekts (sins)" Whats the most unholiest of sins? That they gaslight and manipulate innocents to keep their way of life going *by necessity*... It is a sin that cannot be avoided but is the most heinous
christian was a terrible bf but it's weird when people say he cheated on dani when he was fucking drugged and raped (and possibly to break dani even more and then "empathise" with her) like that's messed up man
I saw someone once jokingly describe the plot of this movie as “PhD student ignores red flags and the warnings of his friends and gets burned alive in a foreign country.” He wasn’t a great guy. But ultimately he was drugged and coerced into sex and then burned alive for it. I’m not sure the punishment fits the crime.
@@cozierferret7274 idk why people say this, he wasn't a bad person, he wasn't abusive (from what we saw at least). their relationship had just died and that happens, y'know. he felt bad for her and she clung hard to him because she had no one else. he probably didn't feel in love for a very long time and was very negligent to her emotional needs. it was just a bad relationship, i wouldn't make any other judgements about christian from this tbh
another thing that may had dani be enchanted by the cult is the fact that they control death. To someone that had just lost her family, that ritual must made her feel more confortable around them (??? in some really strange way)
A comment on the suicide ritual: a friend who took anthropology classes pointed out to me that there is an academic article about how various cultures handled old age and eventually their death. Some nomadic cultures would just leave elders behind, to die, some would actively kill the elders, while yet others, and here it is where it gets relevant, cheered for and, in general expected, that elders would commit suicide. Jumping off cliffs was in fact a method that has been documented by western scholars.
This is what "ättestupa" means, but it is generally considered a myth created in later times. There is no evidence there was ever a real tradition like that in Sweden.
In Avatar The Last Air Bender when Aang leads two different tribes across the mountains they discuss this. Even letting on that they may leave elders behind as part of their nomadic lifestyle. That whole episode like many is just an anthropology lesson in disguise by the creator using his undergrad degree.
I, as a Scandinavian, don´t think there was a tradition for old people to kill themselves, but the vikings did actually offer human beings. When a king or queen was burried, they killed several slaves to be burried with them. True.
The dumbest part of the movie are the people who watched it and thought that Dani was liberating herself from a bad relationship and this was a happy ending. She’s been subsumed into a psychopathic cult!
would you guys recommend i watch hereditary? i heard its much scarier and i am 15. but i watched midsommar and didn’t think it was that bad, just unsettling. i never felt like throwing up. but maybe it was not as scary bc i am swedish and have attended many a normal midsommar celebration lol. anyway lemme know what you think :) pls if you wan
lemon boy hereditary is definitely a scarier movie. it’s about a ghost/demon so it’s more of a horror movie. it’s definitely scarier but totally worth it. hands down my favorite horror movie
@@kailaleegibbons6143 literally Ari Aster says it himself that this is a breakup movie on at least 5 different interviews, anyone with a single brain cell and google will be able to find that quote in a minute?? And i'm sure that if they fact checked swedish and norse mythology to this extent, they'd know he said that. It's also implied when they explicitly said Dani chose these people over Christian. You guys don't sound very "dEeP" rn lol
Ian Lindo it’s more about how Christian wasn’t a positive and supportive person in Dani’s life after her family died. It’s not about revenge, it’s the cycle of grief and what kind of support a person needs at that time, in this instance- Dani’s relationship with Christian was toxic and stagnant, so in the end when the Swedes were mimicking her cries (plus the effect of the drugs) it gave her a false sense of family and comfort. Listen to Dead Meat’s podcast on this, there was SO much I missed from this
This film is definitely unique and deep. At first glance it just seems like a cult horror movie but there are deeper meanings and subtle nuances that leave room for interpretation. So many questions left unanswered. So many things happening behind the scenes. I can appreciate a film that has you thinking about it long after it's been viewed. Mixed emotions for different characters. Like did all the "bros" deserve their demise and is Dani truly happy and loved in the end? Did Christian deserve his demise? I mean symbolically maybe what physically happened to him was what he put Dani through emotionally. Like she was burning and felt paralyzed inside so in return he gets literally burned and paralyzed. You almost wanna cheer and cry at the end. I almost feel bad for Christian at the end of the film. This film is a masterpiece though. Hereditary is a masterpiece as well. This Director sure does know how to create wonderful pieces of work for sure.
Seemed more like a long examination of a toxic relationship, but I definitely agree the film uses ritual and the importance of community to portray how these things can help one overcome grief. The most important rituals all seem geared towards creating a catharsis and balance, with sharp moments of pain and suffering balanced out by a cathartic release. However, I am surprised that Wisecrack does not examine how these things are just another part of a different toxic relationship in communal form. All the ritual is seduction in a flowery way. It may seem genuine, but if you look closer it is horseshit. Life cycles sound nice, but even in the ritual it becomes apparent that the whole thing is needless because it requires great effort to force a supposedly natural cycle. Couple this with the fact the cult lies just as much as Christian. They make Danny feel wanted and beloved by tricking her with drugs and throwing entire contest to make her feel like a winner. They even speak gibberish back to her to make her more entranced. This is also how they got dubious consent out of Christian and then got Danny to order his death, through endless drugs and trickery. It is all smoke and mirrors to make the cult feel good, but the happiness is just another form of essentially a high (ie a lie or a trick). If Danny's world before the cult was constant darkness, their world is constant light. They are both extremes that cloud one's perception of reality. Danny at best will be like Pelle, overcoming grief caused by the cult through the cult and convincing themselves it is all okay.
Bang on. Felt like the cult was just as manipulative the whole time I was watching it, and actually pitied Dani for being led into it naively when she was just traumatized and looking for love. Difference is that I felt that way while ALSO thinking her boyfriend was a manipulative douche the whole time, where as most of the conversation I've seen on this film has been by people talking about siding with one or the other.
Yeah, i dunno how Wisecrack didn't pick up on those canned, disengenuous smiles the girl was being met with. Though ironically, i could see the director actually wanting bad acting to be used in scenes like those. The girl smiled at the end, having finally accepted the trade off of one illusion for another, when all along real happiness would have been found in discovering her own inner strength.
Rather than preying on our secular fears of religion, I thought the movie was more a critique of moral relativism. Early on we are put on edge by the foreignness of what is happening, but we are encouraged to reassure ourselves that we should be tolerant of other cultures, even to the point of accepting elder suicide if it's for ancient cultural reasons. If their moral system allows this to happen, should we say "oh well" and accept it? Or should we fight back against what we see as wrong according to our moral system? Unfortunately, the movie avoids truly addressing the question by going a step too far and revealing the cult to be unambiguously sadistic, but it sure makes for great watching.
omg this is such a good point!! Thru out the whole movie i still thought it was totally unacceptable what they did but i was never like "we should fight this" even tho its morally wrong...but also is it? Idk this is confusing but its fascinating ti think about lol
Agreed. I think the British couple had the most appropriate response to it. I believe there's a limit to moral relativism, and some things should be considered objectively wrong, like encouraging public suicide/murder
Honestly that is a debate within moral relativism too iirc. Where do you get to call something as wrong and offensive in general? Where is that line? Is it right to draw that line at all? If they truly believe that their life is over at 72, is it not similar to euthanasia? (Just playing a little devil's advocate here because it is a very interesting topic)
When you said about the circle of life thing being attractive to Dani and then Dani sees her mom and dad in the crowd in the one scene just made me think
I must say, I am so impressed by how dreams are represented in the movie. They're so accurate at how things work when we dream and how odd it feels like.
Definitely! The way I interpreted it was kind of like a spectrum with the two extremes - Christian and the Harga. On one hand, Christian lacks any emotional empathy towards pretty much anyone in his life. His relationship with his friends is incredibly shallow as we see when he steals Josh’s thesis. Dani, of course, experiences more of this lack of empathy from Christian because she’s his girlfriend and he was her number one shoulder to lean on - whenever she had a problem or she was upset about something (like when Simon “left Connie” by herself) she went to him and his only response was utter indifference. On the other hand, the Harga are empathetic to the point where it comes off completely forced and shallow, and it is quite that. They frame this for the audience by having the Harga “empathize” by literally joining in on the intense emotion that the person(s) is feeling. That’s not empathetic; empathy doesn’t require you to actively join in on someone’s strong pain, suffering, joy, sadness, etc. it’s about understanding and being able to connect with a person despite not quite knowing what they’re experiencing or how they’re feeling. The Harga’s way of empathizing feels incredibly arrogant because it tries to indicate that they somehow understand Dani and other people’s pain simply because they are able to emote with her/them. Like, “yes guys, thank you so much for screaming and writhing as if you were experiencing unbearable pain so I can feel your empathy as I burn in this sacrificial hut. Thanks.” I think people often take it the wrong way and see this empathy as a good thing for Dani, when in reality it’s as you say: toxic, just in a different way - on the other end of the spectrum in fact. In my opinion, it’s a really good way to frame a psychological horror movie because it causes such a divisive opinion and perspective for viewers which to me is a good thing.
Something I only just noticed: When Dani is being carried on the plinth, you can see the face of her dead sister in the trees. Gave me chills all over again.
Mirroring the emotions of a grieving person or someone experiencing emotional flashbacks back to them in full intensity is about as opposite to emotional support as it gets. People in this scenario need someone to coregulate with and someone who can contain their emotions.
@@yasminy.7243 It’s been said that the reason she see’s them is because in a way she’s convincing herself that she’s home. The drugs are playing a part in that as well.
What a mesmerizing film. That ending smile, holy shit. I believe that smile was a sigh of relief for Dani. When Christian and her friends burned away so did her miserable life. She smiles as she "grieves and celebrates" the loss of her parents and friends and is reborn alongside them into her new family. I felt so unsettled after this. The whole film just felt wrong. Gonna be one that sticks with me for a while I think.
I remember thinking, as they walked out of the woods into the clearing where the Harga were gathered, ‘What do they do during the winter?’ That night, I dreamed about what they did in the winter. Yes, this is a movie that wriggles its way into your brain like a parasite. (BTW, winter is a bad scene too.)
As a Swede, I can tell you that the most unrealistic aspect of the movie is there actually being sunny weather on midsummer eve.
I am Latvian and we have our own Midsummer festival - Līgo celebrations. Or the other name - day of Jānis - Latvian name for Saint John. And it's believed it always rains on Līgo. We have a proverb in Latvia - Līst kā pa Jāņiem. It literally means "Raining like on Jānis day", it's an old fashioned way to describe a heavy rain outside.
Its so dumb just like the rest of the horror movie try to been serious.
Oh The Sweet irony of your post!
Haha sannaste jag hört
This is true
Later in the film when they started burning the 9 people, I remembered what the guy said to Dani before: "Both of my parents died in a fire." Shiver.
Brandon A. English whoaaa I didn’t even make that connection!
Nah. This particular ritual of burning sacrifices happens only at an interval of 90 years * the rest happens every year... So what Pelle said about his parents was just a way to make Dani feel closer to him.
I figured they were killed and burned in that forbidden hut thingy mid movie tbh.
*PELLE not Mark
Athira Raj you can edit your comment if you want, just press the 3 dots next to it and press edit
Interesting analysis! I feel like one important point was missing though: Two of the cultists were given a naturopathic sedative during the final burning ceremony and told that it would prevent pain and fear. It seems to work well at first (as a placebo), until one of them catches fire and clearly experiences intense fear and pain. That horrific scene demonstrates that the cult's focus on empathy is nothing more than an empty lie (and Dani remains a victim who is being manipulated by others).
I was reading all sorts of reviews and synopses last night after watching this and I didn’t see that brought up at all! Good catch! I also noted that they didn’t give it to Christian and in the context of what you said I could see there being more significance to that than simply that they were punishing him or something.
@@ayekantspeylgud there was one part where they basically said Christian was wicked and they hoped he would repent or something, before they lit the triangle place on fire
Is there a control group? I would not jump to conclusions without a randomized trial of that sedative, with half the victims receiving the thing and the other half getting placebo. Jokes aside, I really do disagree. They know it's painful, that makes any sacrifice worthy. And they yell in pain outside, showing and living their empathy. Their culture requires this f'd up ritual, so they do it together, without questioning any of it. That is left for us, the audience
Interesting observation - but I don't think this proves their empathy is a lie per se. Certainly opens the door to questioning their rituals though. Whether the yew sap was a lie, a placebo, a paralyzing agent, a tradition, or whatever else, the cultists are still hardwired to feel/emulate empathy for each other as a result of their rituals. So while the cult *may perpetuate lies (which isn't plainly obvious, still requires assumptions), the shared empathy is real.
@@ITsATRAPPPP The shared empathy is definitely real but it seems that their intention for sharing their feelings isn’t necessarily because they genuinely care for each other, they do it because it keeps the group together. I’d say that’s one of the key components to their relationship. Kinda weird tbh I kinda see it like a transaction.
Let’s make a deal! You help me carry my burden and I’ll help you carry yours!(could be positivity too btw)
So coming back to the main point maybe it is a lie that they don’t see themselves and I’d guess it’s something they realize as they get older but at that point it’s probably too late lol
A thing that fricked me out is when Mark said: what's skin the fool?
And like half an hour later a girl says: I'll show you. And then he is never seen again (alive).
Would you mind explaining better
Not being rude, just did not understand the whats skin the fool line
@@alexvaleriano2508 he got skinned for disrespecting their ancestors making him a fool
wait i think he read it somewhere or he heard it from somewhere and it was probably cause he peed in the tree thing
@@alexvaleriano2508 skin means to remove the skin from a person and fool because he is stupid. There is a scene in which they play that game and then they actually skin the fool.
Basically Dani jumped from a toxic relationship with a man to a toxic relationship with a whole community
its evolving
but in reverse
Well she's free to leave.
wuhoo life Is she though? It is a cult, after all
@@wuhoolife because trying to leave worked out so well for the british couple
@@wuhoolife well the others were free to leave, but uhh did you watch the same movie?
As an anthropology student, the most horrifying part of the movie for me was when Josh started snapping pictures of sacred texts against the wishes of the community.
Same xp
A dumb character.
The Swedes remedied that pretty quickly
That honestly seemed out of character to me at first, but I realized that he wanted a massive edge on Christian's thesis at that point.
With flash, no less, omg
The most crazy thing for me was I just kept waiting for them to try to escape, that never happened!!
same im so frustrated
If only they listened to dani
They were high off their asses man.
Yeah, if they only didnt try to sabotage each other. But then again I'm pretty sure the community would have tried everything to make them stay.
Same. Grrr
My least favorite thing is people assume that Dani is now happy with the Harga like she hasn’t been on hard drugs the entire movie and won’t be hit with a world of pain the second she sobers up and realizes what happened to her.
hard drugs? she wasn't doing coke or meth
@@saint2600 she was taking hallucinogenics bro- that fucks you up
@@bugsyboy it can, but i wouldn't consider it a hard drug . im just nit picking tho .
a lot of places are looking into legalization for shrooms bc it can help with mental illness, unlike shit like meth
@@saint2600 They are some of the hardest drugs. Cock is only addictive, mushrooms change your entire life. Being hard isnt always bad.
@@cmen6895 Cock is addictive? Being hard isn't bad???? 🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐
why does he look like one of the character in midsommar with that hair.
lmaoo u right
A chance for Faramir captain of Gondor to show his quality.
Dude, his hair is so damaged and fried. He needs to shave that shit and start over.
Agreed
😂
I love that this horror movie started off at night and sad and ended in daylight with a character happy. Because in most traditional horror movies it’s flipped and I love that this is the new face of horror 😌
Same
This movie sucked.
@@dbodooley your mom sucked
With a character insane. The ending is the same as In The Mouth Of Madness.
This is the new face of horror? It's a pile of crap!
i feel like Pelle is the actual villain in this film. He's the one that lures them into the community really.
I don’t think he knows he’s being a villain. I think he thinks he’s truly doing the right thing.
And is he? It’s hard to say. He’s a good guy depending on who you ask, how you view certain ancient cultures and how you view religion/“cults” (aka religion - time, religion is just cult + time).
No shit
It's his job to attract tourists to them so they can do their voodoo sacrifice stuff and find new queen for their tribe.
@@Jay-qh6uv he made out with her and wanted her to break up with her boyfriend by manipulating them
Yeah that dude was a dick. Both selfishly taking advantage of danis vulnerability and deceiving people to get sacrificed
As someone who has lost 3 family members in an actual house fire, this movie hit me right in the feels. I had to leave in the beginning because it was so similar to my experience. I would never wish this pain on anyone.
Sorry that that happened to you :(
I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't dare to watch past the 1 hour mark because I didn't wanna see old people jump off a cliff, but I hope you have someone to talk to for support. All the best
I'm sorry for your lost
I hope you’re doing well, stay strong!
Sorry for you’re loss. Hope you are strong and happy wherever you are
What about Dani's 27th birthday at midsummer being at exactly her own "midsommar" since the age between 18 and 36 is the "summer" of the people?
Ooh, good observation! I didn't put that together.
That's probably one of the reasons why Pelle was happy she was going and also why he knew so much about her birthday too.
@@m1m1snake In the original script, Pelle and Dani ave an extended conversation in Mark's apartment about their star signs and whatnot as well
Holy shit, good catch
Her parents also died in the winter at the end of the cycle
Pubes in your pie: the greatest horror of all
Then stay away from human cake man
So he ate a cream pie?
@Asholee Nicole it wasn't period blood... She just cut her vagina it was mentioned In the painting lol
Enter Maxmoefoe and Filthy Frank
For a moment I thought it was a human meat pie, and I was like, -they didn't waste anything-
I’m actually really confused as to why Pelle would go so far as to nearly finish a degree in anthropology just as a ploy to sacrifice 4 of his friends and rejoin the Hårga people.
Because the ritual happens once every 90 years. Pelle gives up years of his life, but two of his 'brothers' give up their lives. At the end, Pelle is adorned with a crown of reeds, or grass and it's heavily implied he will be rewarded greatly.
i was also confused about pelle as to why he was allowed to leave the cultist village to go off to college in america. like i know it's to gather sacrifices, but i thought the village was pretty strict about no one leaving.
@@shaf2317 They don't seem that strict. The guy he refers to as his 'brother' just before they drop shrooms introduces them to the English couple that he says he also met travelling. It seems they send their family off far and wide.
@@MikeeTeevee but it seems risky, don't ya think? like what if one of the villagers go off to travel somewhere else and develop new mindsets and start actually realizing how fucked up the harga is, and they tell everyone. seems pretty risky for the harga.
@@shaf2317 I mean, yeah in the grand scheme of things, if you go into that much depth it doesn't particularly make sense because cults tend to keep people close to bombard them with their ideals, but in the context of the lore of the film, they're definitely only going to lure people to be murdered. I think Pelle is soft on Dani which is why she doesn't get murdered and gets the opportunity to be assimilated into their group.
Simon - AIR (kept in the air with lungs released)
Connie - WATER (being drowned)
Josh - EARTH (buried towards the earth, legs up)
Christian - FIRE
4 newcomers are sacrificed for the elements to be supportive of the village.
Mark - JESTER
Stuffed like a puppet with a jester's cap symbolizing him acting without any reflection. Because he doesn't have any sense of consequences (pissing on the tree), so he can be used as a puppet - so they wear his skin, his image; he is empty nonetheless.
Well spotted, thanks!
They "skinned the fool" with Mark.
Someone in a comment somewhere highlighted that there is a scene where it's asked what game the kids are playing and it's called Skin the Fool. Then Mark asks "What's Skin the Fool?" That is just ... Not answered...
Then much later, randomly, that woman who has been eyeing him the whole time says "I'll show you." Mark has no idea what she's referencing, but follows her anyway and is not seen again alive.
In Dante's Inferno a thief is punished by burying him with foot upward toward the air.
I always knew Jester was the fifth element
when was connie drowned? how do we know she was drowned? when did that happen😭
One of my colleagues pointed out that the Blood Eagle lungs might only *appear* to be breathing because Christian is not viewing through a sober perspective.
Late response but its very much possible that he was still breathing. Blood Eagle was meant to be a slow torturous death. Even when you are flayed you are still alive but you cannot move or anything. You are just stuck there in agony as you slowly die over a long period of time. Vikings were really messed up.
@@TheRandomLetsplays Exactly.
After delving into it a little more, I read that it's not possible to survive that kind of brutal procedure. Of course we can never test it like he said but we can infer.
Christian definitely was tripping balls, several other times in the film you could see the trees and flowers "breathing."
Just another layer of the mind fuck the whole situation for the victims really is.
i agree he was on fucking shrooms
@@TheRandomLetsplays Even later response. But no. When your ribs are removed from your spine to tear out your lungs through the hole in your back, you are not going to slowly die over a long period of time.That's almost instant death. It's not even certain if Vikings ever did this irl anyway. All we have is some references in semi-mythological sagas. You are full of shit.
can we please stop saying the Harga are empaths who give Dani the emotional support she needs? What they’re doing is love bombing and thats cult tactics 101.
Seems they’re both? A disturbing cult that has built a foundation in the concept of empathy and give Dani the emotional support she so clearly is desperate for?
You're applying abusive irl cult concepts to a fictitious cult from a movie (that is clearly full of empaths who give Dani emotional support)... Not sure why you're so intent on people ignoring a major theme of the film.
fjordexplorer my point is that the apparent empathy is part of the cult strategy to lure her in. It is conditional - the condition being the possibility to gain her as a member.
@@emipeesally313 they aren't worshipping anything?? They are literally performing ritual human sacrifice... the whole movie is about rituals and worship.
@@emipeesally313 and where did the culture start from? it's a culture centered around the worship of nature. The movie is inspired by Norse religion/paganism hence why they use runes in their rituals. These rituals arent just play days as culture there is huge mythological and spiritual meaning behind them that is stems back to ancient religions. Yes it is their culture but it is a culture of religious/spiritual beliefs.
I can't even _imagine_ what it must've been like to experience this on the big screen in theater-silence. I watched it on my laptop with a friend and I still felt claustrophobic and panicky throughout.
Hobi Hope It felt like we all, a group of strangers, had gone on a strange journey together and we were all connected somehow as a result. That aspect was eerie too and not something I had experienced at a horror movie at the cinema before
It was intense.
I just had a issue through the whole movie because my chair squeaked and the movie was always very quite
Want an actual good movie that makes you feel that? Watch Jacob's Ladder.
Fr me and my mom felt mad depressed and weird after the movie
Easily the most intense movie I’ve EVER seen in a movie theatre. I will never forget it.
I don't know if this was the Directors intent, but that a big part of initiating people into cults, gangs and secret societies is to bind you to them by making you complicit in their activities. So making Dani select the 9th sacrifice wasn't just a simple ritual in my book, they made her participate in the sacrifices by making her choose.
They were incorporating Dani into ritual from first introduction to Father Odd... He greets the group individually with "Welcome" ... Then tells Dani "Welcome Home."
She is made to sleep in the quarters appropriate to her life "season" (while everyone else does as well, this doesn't negate her involvement in this form of ritual).
Pelle draws a portrait of her wearing a flower crown that she had not worn at that point.
She sees women picking flowers backwards and gets inspired to pick flowers for Christian... An odd gesture from a woman to a man in American culture, but for Harga, women pick flowers to "have visions of their mate" via their dreams.
She gets invited to help in the kitchen to prepare a meal for the cult. No one else does.
She is forced to participate in the dancing ritual (and wins)
She recites the blessing of the crops and hosts the ritual ....
Dani participates in the cult the entire movie. One could even argue the first introduction was taking shrooms upon arrival.
you cant look me in the eye and tell me Jack Reynor isn't just chris pratt with a vicodin problem
He's the Seth Rogen we have at home
CypressGod that shot when he’s in the bear it’s basically Chris Pratt
THANK you, the whole movie I was so distracted by his goofy facial expressions, VERY Chris Pratt.
to me he was a weird mix between chris pratt and the guy who plays iron fist
he looks like chris pratt and seth rogan had a child :D
My favorite part of this movie was during the sex scene when the older lady in my theater started laughing and then everyone started laughing
Nucky Mancini it was hilarious
@@nuckymancini7013 it might have been an uncomfortable laugh as a reaction it happens when nervous with some people, and laughing is contagious
@@PreferablyPurple Just like yawning.
Nucky Mancini it was funny and the whole theater started laughing so it was my fav part bc all of us ~bonded~
@@chloekovac4886 Now form a cult with them and sacrifice foreigners, it'll be a ride I've been told.
Ah yes, the ancient pagan tradition of sacrificing a bird by throwing it off a cliff.
Iirc they tie the bird up so it cant fly
Just gotta throw it hard enough.
Or throw a penguin
I hear African swallows are more difficult to sacrifice than European swallows.
I assume they break the wings first.
I think this is one of the best films that shows why people fall for cults. The sun soaked idealic landscape and "shared empathy" illustrated how enticing it could be to someone in Dani's broken and lonely state, and hides the true evil underneath.
All religions (the difference between a religion, a cult and a mythology is only the amount of followers and whether or not it is still in practice) offer a sense of community, love and relationships that transcend oneself. Yes they love-bomb. Yes they demand sacrifices and adherence to tradition. But the fact remains that humans have always felt drawn answering the questions of the world around them and their place within it.
Everyone seems to overlook the fact that there is period blood in his drink too
that whole scene i was wondering why nobody wondered why his drink was very noticeably darker
I thought it was her piss
nobody overlook that, dont feel so special
@@half.blight they're talking about in the movie not the people watching. Anyway do you need help? You obviously need help if you're so ready to attack people.
@@half.blight yeah man, like turk said, i was talking about the fact that they didn't acknowledge that in te movie
Who hurt you bro?
I never imagined any of this to be something that represents Swedes as a whole somehow. I thought it was pretty clear that this was meant to be a pretty isolated community, similar enough films have been made that take place in the US.
dajmasta94 Exactly. I think they spendt entirely too much time in this video explaining what was an accurate representation to midsommar celebrations and what was made up. Like... it’s a *fictional horror movie*, it’s already assumed that most of this is exaggerated or completely made up.
It made me think that they were just adding fluff to the video to make up for the lack of analysis.
Yeah but Jewish directors that are afraid of traditional and rural non-Jewish society.
I don't think it would be as beautiful it took place in say, appalachia, lol...
I interpreted it as a cult disguised as a Midsummar
People are very stupid.
Plot twist...they're still mushroom tripping on that hill and the rest of the movie only happened in Dani's head.
HuggiMa that would be awesome!
If only...
"lets go Dani, you slept the entire trip"
Bruhhhhhhhhh woah
GOD I WISH
I never thought the cult members were being genuinely empathetic. They were being intentionally manipulative to carry out their sacrificial ritual. They deceive, drug, manipulate, murder, and indoctrinate to make their group identify with these sacrifices as part of the process. They trust Pelle’s instinct and he must have told them why she would be a perfect May Queen, as someone who experienced deep trauma and was in an emotionally strained relationship. She was more vulnerable to their manipulative tactics. It was all calculated. They needed her as much as they needed Christian. I love how subtle they were about pagans burning a a Christian in an animal costume. I absolutely love this movie, but fail to see how anyone wouldn’t see the cult as harmful and evil.
Oooo the pagans burning a “Christian” thing…..that’s some deep thinking right there I didn’t even realize! Nice catch!
100 percent lol. They knew everyone but Dani was gonna die they just wanted to lure them into a false sense of security so they wouldn't dip/raise red flags to the others too soon for the festival to last as long as it needed to.
"Their language is empathy", but it isn't real empathy though. It's false and manufactured, not genuine.
Sadly
Yep, my thoughts exactly. Faux empathy. Dumb af lol.
emotional manipulation and lovebombing, also used in... Toxic relationships. So while she feels accepted by the community, she basically exchanged one toxic relationship for another even more toxic one.
@Jimmy Strudel 👏
Empathy can be related only to the tribe, similar as conservative empathy. It doesn't have to be universal as progressive empathy. And empathy aren't contrary to sacrifice, as sacrifice itself can be the result of empathy. One can't understand another culture using one's own culture lenses.
Honestly, the most horrifying part of watching this movie, at least for me, was that when Dani was crowned as May Queen and brought off to her throne, I actually felt happy for her. I felt happy that she was joining this awful human-sacrificing cult.
That's how they meant it. They meant for you to experience the same peace and euphoric state she was in. Really well done directing
I hated that part, she was stoned as fuck and she wasnt understanding anything at all, made me feel so uncomfortable
Diego_d4c that’s basically another premise of the movie. The cult uses drugs to influence their community and control ppl into their sacrifices. They use constant psychedelic visuals through as a reminder that the characters are under the influence.
she finally has found a sense "of place" in the world and it ends as on a positive note, aside from our judgement of the cult, because we (the viewers) are outsiders as she and her friends once were.
I told my sister that the ending was happy and that's what's disturbing about it. I was smiling with Dani
The "rape" of Christian was a part not only to get new blood into the cult, but they also wanted to separate the couple. I think they wanted Dani to win the May Queen authority to further separate them. It wasn't by accident that she won the dancing contest. It was orchestrated. This is something I've noticed many commenters to overlook- they were both manipulated and sex was part of equation. The scene tried to underline this as well, while Christian was cheating on Dani, Dani was doing her own "fertility ceremony", blessing the crops as the May Queen.
They wanted her into the cult, and her hating him. But the shock and the sadness of the ending is, that they both were lost people without real direction, unable to change their lives. So they were malleable to the cult.
That's what cults do. The break peoples old connections to lure you in.
They were there for her, but maybe only because they wanted her to join in by distancing her from him. That is left somewhat an open question. Which works. The smile in the end, I think, is great because it's about so many things: joy, liberation - but I think that in a way, it's insane. She's gone crazy, but she's free. But whether the cult is good for her or not, is left a mystery.
What do you think her role would be, as a young woman? A baby making machine.
They needed Christian for only for a short while. Her, they need to keep her longer...it is left open, whether she is able to make that choice herself.
Fantastic take!! I noticed too that the movie deliberately downplays the need to frame her smile as either totally good or bad.
She smiles at the end?? So? She's joined a cult for Pete's sake.
Definitely a baby making machine,they only need women to reproduce more offspring.
Well..throughout the movie you can see Christian was also trying to distance from Dani though. I mean right at the start, he was in a dilemma: he wanted to break up with her but he couldn't at that moment since she had just lost her family.
It does seem as if they intended to recruit Dani from the start. But since her participation in the trip was all a last minute decision it makes me wonder how things would've played out for the guys if she never went.
@@louisbourbon8973 You could argue that Pelle was recruiting Dani since well before they left on the trip. It's Pelle's job to go out and recruit. And he says to her that he's the most excited about her going. On top of that, he remembered her birthday, which was happening during the midsummer celebration and it was also the midsummer of her life, since she was turning 27(halfway through her "summer" years). So Dani was the perfect victim and Pelle knew it.
I watched that movie with my mother on Christmas
Everybody was awake that Christmas day!
Lol you're evil.
@@Gabster1990 she actually saw it before me
So you posted this on the trailer and the same dude commented the same reply? Crazay
😂 You caught me!
Midsommar, to me, is about going from cold, isolated trauma to warm, familial insanity.
It's a Grimm's fairytale about how vulnerable the traumatized individual is to a damaging collective.
Great comment. It brings to mind the church gatherings where people sing in tongues en masse, and not one single person stops to ask "what is this fuckery of a ritual" they see as normal and celebratory of their sane beliefs.
“How vulnerable the traumatized individual is to a damaging collective”
Nailed it
@@p_eople6789 bad example, if its not damaging then they could mumble whatever they want if it makes them happy.
Thats why cults are so seductive to vulnerable people.
@@p_eople6789 I'm not even Christian but that's a very very bad example imo. Talking in tongues may seem weird to you (and me!) but it's not inherently harmful to anyone. Especially not to those uninvolved with the religion.
Coachella: The Horror Movie
Luke Wilson 🤣
More like Burning Man
Coachella is like a horror movie to some introverts like me
Lmao
Fyre Festival - farmville edition
For me it seemed like it was about the horror of toxic codependency
Tim Jackson Theres a scene cut from the movie but appears in the screenplay where Dani gets lost high in the woods and screams for Christian and then her Dad. Implying that she sees Christian as a Dad which definitely supports the theory that she’s codependent.
@@wophful I recall a recent Philly defranco deep dive on Cult deprogramming and honestly she is the perfect model of susceptible to cult indoctrination. no support no empathy her life getting utterly destroyed and the current people around her slipping away as she gets closer to the harga.
Tim Jackson not just codependency but grief, gaslighting and loneliness as well
The film (from my perspective) painted Christian as not a good partner/person in general. Even to his friends, he was kind of a dick, so I feel it was way more about the importance of empathy. Dani isn’t more dependent for emotional warmth than average (especially considering her situation).
DJ Howard @
I’m pretty sure that her “acceptance” was actually her “breaking point.” After all of that trauma breaking her, she’s immediately shown immense love while being horsefed whatever drugs those are. Like, the thing that was in her boyfriend’s drink and the powder blown in his face? Yeah, it practically put him under mind control and even paralyzed him. Pretty sure you can put together “sudden affection after forced trauma + hella weed = accept everything around you and your brain isnt your anymore.” Sheesh.
You're sane.
I always felt that Pelle was a devil in disguise, taking advantage of the Dani and Christian's poor relationship and also her family tragedy to tear them apart and offer them as sacrifies
you’re right. that’s what cults do.
same like who would think it will be a good idea to bring someone already broken to a place where they perform such horrific cults which would probably leave then uncomfortable and disturbed, which they were
''in disguise'' i mean i think its pretty straightforward he doesnt have good intentions
@@human6791 yeah but those kinds of people are the easiest to indoctrinate specifically because they're vulnerable
@@mcc-ru1mt yeah! He knew what would happen to all of them, it was pretty clear to us as viewers, especially on the re-watch. And he willingly pushed Christian towards mating with Maja. He wanted to break Dani completely and get him out of the way. Still, I must admit he was charming about the whole thing
the biggest twist for me was when i realized the guy isn't played by Chris Pratt
The movie shows psychodelic effects quite nicely.
Szafranowy Kaznodzieja totally agree. Pretty accurately portrayed what it’s like to be on mushrooms
I think people who have not tried psychedelics may not understand it
@@heisenberg1732 maybe, I am unable to tell from my perspective, perhaps I should be more precise, I think the movie shows the visual aspect of psychodelics quite nicely :)
It showed also the feeling of connection with others and things quite nicely .
It needed more breathing walls.
Misery loves company. And Dani's misery is only satisfied when others begin to cry with her. Wrapping her up in a warm blanket of flowers, like any toxicly loving person you encounter.
I think this movie was also about codependent people who are unable to live alone
This actually Greta Thunberg's Biography. That's why there's an Extinction Rebellion "Upside down Dagaz Rune" on her dress. Her boyfriend "Christian" is the Patriarchal Society that Greta wants to burn down. In any case, Greta Thunberg's Biography is a ripoff of The Wicker Man, a much better film. Sorry Millennials and Zoomers, it's all been done before. LOL!
This movie, for me, was scarier than Hereditary because I found myself feeling strangely happy...which I didn't realise untill the credits started rolling. When I did, it disturbed me deeply. I was kinda ashamed for feeling that way.
So, deep for me. But I can understand why people dislike this film too. It's slow-paced and subtle horror. Imo it's a very niche film, not everyone's cup of tea.
I think the practical effects during the cliff scene are terrible. A multi million dollar movie should not have b movie effects. Maybe it was intentional for some weird reason.
I too felt rather happy after, and for me it was about the ritual of validating her emotions in a way her "boyfriend" never did
I'm guessing you felt disturbed because Dani found what she was looking for after all these horrific things happened. Basically, she not only accepted the horrific killings and goings-on, but she also embraced them and helped them along in order to finally feel the connection of family she desperately wanted. I'm guessing she never got that from her own real family.
Why this is particularly disturbing is because we do this too, though maybe not to this degree. In order to find our own happiness and sense of family, there are things that we accept that could be, at the very least, disturbing to others who view it from the outside.
Feeling ashamed about being strangely happy at the end means you have the empathy to see beyond your own comfort.
That's my take on it.
Its interesting in the prospective of the viewer, as someone who's been in a relationship and subconsciously not invested but also doesn't have the strength to break up with said partner due to her depression and in a way, being the only person she can cling to/ depend on; I felt sympathy for Christian. It's an internal struggle of caring for said person but also fighting for personal desire and needs. You don't want to hurt the person cause you still care for them, but in the end you're only making it worse.
It’s not subtle at all. There is no progression or transformation, just a vulnerable young woman being sedated into murder.
The weirdest part for me: if they do the sacrifice only every 90 years, it means, no living member of the community participated in that ceremony ever. Didn't even see one as a child. A whole generation lived their lives without doing it. they have no living memory of it, not to mention routine - yet, everything works like clockwork.
(yeah, I know, it's only that last part that's new, but there is a lot of murdering/preparing dead/half-dead bodies in the process, and no one seems squeamish or doubtful about it.)
Plus, their religion is a living thing that grows and changes, so how come this particular ceremony with 90 years intervals is set in stone?
72 year old people jumping off cliffs and the other midsommar celebrations are repeated every year, so I guess those routines could be kept alive quite easily. All the detail that we, the audience, know is essential about the 90-year-tradition is "sacrifice 9 people (including whichever 72year olds would commit suicide that year) every 90 years", everything else about the routine, such as the yellow house and bear-costume etc, could just as well be a newly interpreted routine from their books, we wouldn't know. They could have interpreted their books, say, a few years ago, and figured out their expected routines for the 90-year-tradition. Since it doesn't seem to be too much to do around Hårga, they could have prepared and practiced for a long time after that interpretation. That could give an explanation to their ever-changing dynamic religion. And since the old people of Hårga are willingly dying for their cultural tradition every year, the notion of sacrifice would not be so foreign to them.
@@andrew_nayes From what I understand they hold ritual festivals regularly. The Mayfair Queen is picked yearly. Another aspect of it happens every 9 years, and another every 18. Only the sacrifice on the last day of the festival is a part of the 90 year ritual. As for how they knew exactly what to do, the elders who experienced the last one are gone, but not the children they taught it to. Their society is sustained by passing on their traditions and transcribing them in that big book. Or on the walls of their homes. Everything that happens in the movie is depicted in the tapestries and painting shown throughout. The opening credits is a bit of a spoiler warning if you're paying attention.
yeah the movie doesn't really make sense in a lot of ways
I also have been trying to figure out which rituals happen only every 90 years, and which happen annually. Since the attestupa happens every year for those that reach 72, and apparently they crown a May Queen each year, and since Pelle says that his parents burned up in a fire, I get the feeling that "once every 90 years" is just a ruse to lure outsiders into "experiencing something special, once in a lifetime" whereas it's just leading the lambs to slaughter.
Yes, the math is really, REALLY DUMB, and Mr. Ginger Hippie Narrator couldn't even get that right, citing 96 years. Huh?
the beginning of Midsommar is one of the most disturbing scenes in a movie I’ve ever seen. I almost never get upset by things in film or tv, but I felt sick during that scene, and thought about it for days after. It was just such a real depiction of grief and trauma, the music was dreadful and Florences wailing was brutal
Agreed. What a performance. A little too real, which says everything about the production and acting.
When I saw the beginning of Midsommar for the first time I was in a room full of friends and I had to excuse myself to go “pee” but I really cried and sent my sister a text asking her how she was doing. I continued to watch up until the first mushroom trip and then excused myself to go do homework because I could tell I was not in the right headspace to watch the movie. Last night I decided I was and watched all of it, and holy fucking shit. I caught myself almoooost appreciating the cult for picking Dani up and then realized they almost indoctrinated me, this movie was super well done.
When I saw the beginning of Midsommar for the first time I was in a room full of friends and I had to excuse myself to go “pee” but I really cried and sent my sister a text asking her how she was doing. I continued to watch up until the first mushroom trip and then excused myself to go do homework because I could tell I was not in the right headspace to watch the movie. Last night I decided I was and watched all of it, and holy fucking shit. I caught myself almoooost appreciating the cult for picking Dani up and then realized they almost indoctrinated me, this movie was super well done.
Honestly, her acting must be what distracted people into thinking this movie is good. I've never seen grief portrayed so well.
@@Mutantcy1992 yeap she was great. The beginning of this movie and the actress were the saving points
Dani traded a toxic relationship for an even more toxic one, and really becomes irredeemable in my eyes as a character because she is truly in part responsible for Chris’ death, who people don’t seem to understand is a major victim. He was literally raped and then chosen to burn alive because of it.
Yeah I don't see how people act like this is an empowering moment for Dani. Also i'm pretty sure she's so traumatized at this point that she's basically a vegetable
Dawg she was drugged and manipulated in her most vulnerable state and deliriously discovered her lover engaging in ritualistic intercourse. She wasn’t given the context (how he was raped)
@@jackalexandeshe was basically a drugged off, manipulated, traumatic and a deceived individual
i dont think Chris is a major victim, the Harga girl offered him the drink and also told him its use, Chris rejected at first but then he took a look at the red hair Harga girl and decided to drink it, i mean Chris could make a choice there and he chose to be drugged
@@tammy6 I mean he did but if someone tells you there’s stuff in your drink you would assume it will not be that bad and just make you dizzy or something not fully tripping balls and if someone in there own home offered you a drink you would kinda be pressured to drink it
I like how in the movie, everytime that the characters are high, you can see the background and some other part of the picture, moving and bending.
and this is exactly how it looks on LSD:D
Yeah, I think the psychedelic effects were done extremely well.
In particular, when Mark starts freaking out a bit towards the beginning, they put a kind of effect on his voice that definitely felt like auditory distortions you get while tripping.
@@Mutantcy1992 jep, I mean I can only speak for the 1P variant but: YEAH!
Yup, my experiences with shrooms tell me that this was somewhat accurate, kuddos to the person that did the effect
anyone else notice how the "meat" on the table towards the end of the movie with Dani being crowned may queen wasn't exactly normal? like, it looked like human or something.
also, the guy's lungs weren't breathing during the blood eagle ritual, christian was tripping out when he saw them, and every time tripping happened in the movie, the audience trips with them, seeing plants breathe, and lungs breathing and stuff.
whenever you take a drug like shrooms, or LSD (acid), people say everything around you looks like it “breathes”. a lot of things were “breathing” if you looked, the flowers on the headbands, the food (obviously), the plants, and probably more. a really nice detail that they took care to add. they’re literally on drugs 24/7 which is why this whole movie is almost like a fever dream. i’m honestly never going to forget this movie, ever.
@@gimmiemedkit i think same, and yeah, i can speak first hand, shit breathes when you're high on lsd, lol
@RingaDingDoItToEm like how you would if you were flayed open like that for the 3 days he was missing, right?
It’s literally a Viking torture technique called “blood eagle” & they’re alive the whole time. So, he was actually suppose to be breathing. I caught that a lot of shit was breathing, but his lungs were supposed to be because he was still alive.
@@jennajune2101 he was missing for at least 2 days before he was discovered again. I'm not claiming that he couldn't have been alive during the ritual of the blood eagle, but I'm highly suspect of him staying alive with no eyes, being flayed open, with exposed lungs and internal chest cavity, all the while being suspended 4-5 feet in the air by his blood vessels.
I mean wow, it's really cool that you could stay alive that long after suffering that ritual, but i'm claiming that the homeboy in the movie is D E A D when you see him, and it looks like he's breathing because chris was tripping balls on acid. It's not far fetched to claim that either considering we see other shit breathe that shouldn't be, like flowers, or the meat that people are eating, or whatever the fuck else.
christ
Not even for a single moment i thought this was something the swedes do. I think the director made it really clear that this is a small community, or accurately a cult. Deep for me.
Yeah sometimes they swing and miss.
yep, I never thought this was actually a swedish thing, I just thought that it was a self-contained culture
We do, but we don’t talk about it.
That's the point. Most people wouldn't do this and I do like how a group a Swedes were chosen over let's say an isolated tribe Africa since it's very easy to assume the worst when a group of people are people of color.
Its as Swedish as many cults in America are 'Christians.'
I think this film is brilliant. A horror film in broad daylight that reveals the entire plot at the get go… but still manages to be disturbing. I like that they frame the whole thing on an incredibly predictable plot. The movie is about everything in between the elements of the story story… difficult emotional situations, uncomfortable visuals, and complex world building. It’s a movie I’d read a book about even though the plot is pretty much standard cult horror.
As someone who’s gone through a really bad break up WHILE also grieving over a tragic death, I can tell you this movie is very accurate of all the emotions you go through when dealing with that.
Kyle Texxas damn me too, made me think back and actually you’re right
I also think that somebody that has never experienced such strong emotions or is not really an empathetic person, probably does not like/get the movie as much.
Ya I think that's what made the movie very disturbing and sickening to me thinking about how easily that could have been me if I were in this situation. It brought me back to a completely empty feeling and uggh this movie really gets to me
Same!!
dani's arc is so perfect her finding a family in the end was very satisfying even tho it's creepy as hell
She doesn't though.
Gregory House she thinks she has though and that’s what makes it scary. it’s also a movie about indoctrination
Sure Christian was such a dick, but him being burned alive was a bit too far
Party Boi yeah the ending was dumb
uh yeahhhh...totally satisfying. My thought exactly.
"The people at the library looked at us weird."
As a reference librarian, I can tell you that what you were researching was not the strangest thing I've ever had to look up for someone.
What was it?
Even 6 months later I lowkey want to know.
Can we please know? Lol 😅
TELL US
Tell us, please
Is there an alternative ending where they're actually tripping on mushroom tea and it was all just a bad trip?
Literally was thinking that was gonna be the plot twist LOL
You can see her dead sister's face in the trees at 3:03
Thank you! Wonder how many of these I missed, cuz I watched it twice once high and once drunk. Favourite movie of 2019 but im not sure I dare watch it sober!
Oh wow good catch
Wow
OH SHIT
WHOAH.
The hidden meaning I first noticed while watching this in theaters is FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT TAKE A FIRST DATE TO GO SEE THIS MOVIE.. WAIT AT LEAST TILL DATE FOUR
Saw this with a guy for our 2nd date. There was no 3rd date because he didn't think the boyfriend did anything wrong. This movie saved me so much time and is a great way to smoke out assholes - 10/10 would recommend
@@heathers8540 Hey, the boyfriend was the biggest asshole!
So, you single now?
@@msavli1069 lmaoo
@@heathers8540 dodged a bullet friend
Heather Simmonds question though, yes, he was emotionally unavailable. Not saying he’s a good guy, not saying he didn’t deserve karma. But, did he deserve to die burning in a bear carcass while paralyzed?
At 7:08 when we see Simon strung up into a Blood Eagle, he is NOT breathing and alive.
He is dead. Very dead.
Christian was still tripping balls and his mind was seeing that, just like Dani seeing plants move and flowers breath
The script says he was very much alive
i think he’s *barely* alive
Nah he is barely alive. The blood eagle tactic is used for a slow painful death and I doubt the filmmakers would have a blood eagle without making it the most scary. (Having it alive while Christian seeing it)
The first 12 minutes of Midsommar are unparalleled, particularly the revelation of her family tragedy.
Honestly, as an introverted and deeply private person, having a whole group of people surrounding me and compulsively sharing my feelings makes me cringe in my skin. Horror movie, indeed ':D
If you are in sober state for sure but if you take some drugs that allow you to low your guard and let go fear , you'll probably end up dancing ,singing, crying if necesary around people that in some way accept you like in the movie .
Same. I absolutely hate not knowing where I’m going and what’s happening. And all the touching. Ergh
Even for extroverts, that would be freakish irl.
@@josecanal7556 That manipulate you, you mean.
As an introverted and private person, I'd like to experience a whole group of people surrounding me and compulsively sharing my feelings. Might be interesting and informative idk
The most horrifying and repulsive moment was the ginger-on-ginger action.
why doesnt this have more likes
Do you also think they were tryin to conceive another oracle
Totally agree
So ginger...phobic
Yea
The flower dress Dani wears at the end is just so hilarious and adorable to me, it cracks me up so hard.
I thought it was a bit disturbing. Colorful flowers generally symbolize joy and harmony, yet the dress was, ironically, large, hard for her to move in, and she experienced nothing but (seemingly) grief while wearing it.
She looked like a beautiful monster. Just like the community
If you took away the flowers it would probably look like a cage. It physically restricted her movement, no way to run.
Her prison looks pretty but it's still a prison.
@@stefanieallen4645 this
To me she looked like a flowery slug. I had a little chuckle when I saw her crawling around.
After watching several of these analysis videos on the film I still find it crazy that no one talks about how at the beginning when Pelle shows Dani a picture of the May Queen he says "this was last year's may Queen" IMO implying she will end up being sacrificed anyway the following year when a new group of outsiders comes in and before a new may queen is crowned *mic drop*
Maybe they do the May Queen part yearly, but not the sacrifice part? I figured they kept Dani to diversify the bloodlines to prevent inbreeding, just like Christian was encouraged to have sex with the one of the Harga. Or maybe Pelle got that pic from some other Swedish Midsommer celebration?
If Ari Aster ever shows up to a horror con or some other convention, I just want to ask, "So....how was your childhood?"
He'll probably regale you with a long winded story that takes at least an hour to actually start.
@@justGBD BAHAHAHA
The lungs breathing is a psychedelic affect, often when hullicatining colours and objects pulse, very similar to what you see in the food on the table scene.
And the flowers on Danny's dress
The Blood Angel was a real form of torture where the victim would be alive as the take his or her lungs out of their back to make "wings", so I think he actually was alive.
He was supposed to still be alive. I can attest to seeing inanimate objects breathing while on hallucinogens though ;)
It’s actually called blood eagle, and no he is not alive. Your diaphragm is what allows your lungs to take in air, when the lungs are removed you can no longer breathe. It’s just a hallucination.
@@anglerbrook6713 big fax. Lungs wont work outside of the provided negative pressure inside the body
When the Swedes went down to the floor with the girl and screamed and cried with her in sympathy for her pain and shock, I got chills and tears. One of the most horrifying scenes I've ever seen. Proves horror is not only jump scares.
lol what
But at the same time, in an odd way, it was quite sweet. It’s like they were fully feeling those emotions with her. When you’re devastated, it’s helpful to have people to share that with you and know how you’re feeling, makes you feel much less alone. But I also agree, absolutely horrifying too hahaha
@@seaslug2638 I loved that scene so much. It was such a beautiful contrast to the beginning of the movie. When Dani's parents die, Christian merely lets her cry in his lap and pays no mind to her grief beyond his hollow "how you doing?". Her new "sisters" on the other hand, fully share her pain and grief. It was so horrifying and yet strangely beautiful.
For me was the opposite, kind of nice the way they think about themselves as part of a unity
Yea that part gave me all the chills, I don’t care what some “critics” say about this movie, I thought it was unique and really brought out some emotions in me. It left a lasting impression and that’s why I loved it.
This film was originally given an NC-17 by the MPAA. According to Ari Aster, around 30 minutes was cut from the final film mainly due to content. The director's cut released shortly after its theatrical run restores this footage.
Most of the Swedish dialogue spoken by the Hårga natives is deliberately not subtitled, in order to create the sense of isolation for the audience and especially for the foreign visitors.
When the film was released in Sweden, rather than eliciting fear in the audience, many people laughed. Many Swedish critics praised the film as an excellent black comedy.
Mark displays an extreme phobia of ticks, which is based on Ari Aster's real-life fear of bugs and illness. Like Mark, Aster wore two pairs of socks over his jeans to ensure he would not receive bug bites.
Despite the Swedish setting, the film was mostly shot in Hungary.
Dani's surname is Ardor (visible on the computer screen in several shots), Latin for "flame."
Despite sharing the same title and being horror movies set in Sweden, this film and the Danish cult classic "Midsommer (2003)" are not related.
Despite the film taking place entirely in sunlight, it does not contain one shot of the sun. The film's trailer contained one shot of the sun. A shot of the sun has been reinserted in the director's cut of the film.
Ariana Grande is a fan of the film, calling it one of her favorite films of 2019. She tried (and failed) to buy the May Queen Gown used in the film at an auction. She also threw a Midsommar-themed birthday party for herself on her 27th birthday.
Klaudia Csányi's debut.
Despite being the main characters and with the exception of cries and screams, neither Dani nor Christian speak in the last twenty-five minutes.
During the meal where meat pies are served, Christian has a glass of reddish juice while everyone else has yellow juice. An image earlier in the film suggests that this may be because his drink has been spiked with menstrual blood.
The strange mating ritual in the movie has very little to do with actual midsummer celebration in Sweden. It is however a fact that the 9 out of the 10 most common birthday dates in Sweden are all during April. 9 months after midsummer and July, the most popular month for summer vacations, that is.
This is the fifth A24 film to be released nationwide without a platform release prior. The others were The Witch (2016), Free Fire (2017), It Comes At Night (2017), and Hereditary (2018).
Much to the chagrin of Swedish horror fans, the film was not released during midsummer in Sweden, but a few weeks afterwards
You're talking as if Christian and his friends would have been spared if they hadn't been condescending towards the commune. They were specifically brought there to be killed as the required 4 outsider sacrifices. They were right to be apprehensive of the whole religion.
Sometimes Wisecrack dives too deep into symbolism and interpretation that they forget to reconcile it with common sense.
Truthstream Media does a lot better analysis of this movie. Leave it to Wisecrack to miss the symbolism of the boyfriend's name, Christian.
While its obviously true that they were brought to be sacrifices and little to nothing would probably stop that from happening, we do know that Pelle specifically chose them and its also implied that he's done it before. Early in the movie it says that Pelle always chooses good ones or something along those lines. Pelle saw something that made him choose to bring this group of guys to the festival to be sacrifices.
That's true, but part of the horror behind the movie and one of its key points was to make you feel like Christian and his friends got what they deserved even though we all know that he very much didn't. It's a movie that purposefully fucks with your sense of morality and does it effectively, at least for me anyways. Simon and Connie are a clear indication that even if Christian and his friends were good people, they would have been sacrificed anyways. Simon and Connie's death pissed me off btw, I really liked their characters.
@Cynthia Murphy Damn millennials!!! Oh look it's 5 o clock time to abuse my kids and watch fox news 😎
I don't think they were going to kill Josh until after he snuck in and took pictures. I assumed (until he died of course), they wanted him to survive, so he could attract more people to their cult, talking about their "wonderful" practices.
Sometimes I bemoan the fact that I'm bald. Then I see certain haircuts and breathe a sigh of relief.
Topcliffe a shaved head is a sign of confidence so don’t feel too bad about it.
@@KingCraze22 I like the way you think :)
@@lunarcat632 LMAO TRUTH
Lol! Cruel but hilarious!!!
😂😂😂😂😂😂
As a Swede who's into a lot of witchy and Norse mythology stuff... Yes, menstrual blood is a great lovespell according to the old practices. As is sweat, but I imagine it's harder to portray, haha. Sacrifices were often burned or thrown into lakes/the sea/swamps, too, which might play into the old people jumping off the cliff?
Oh, and the runes Reid and Dagaz are reversed/twisted on her dress.A journey she did not want has brought her to a horrible place that still grants peace?
Finally, Sweden is one of the most secular countries in the world. And the Midsummer celebration is 100% pagan, Christianity was never able to insert itself into it and it most likely pre-dates even what we today know as Viking traditions. So it's definitely deep to show something deeply religious as a community in a country that's lacking a lot in faith.
@@supaleetkillah eyup, the Swedish word would be "ättestup" in reference to the cliff itself. I totally forgot about it because as you say, we most likely didn't really practice it.
@@LoveSasukeKai How can you forget about Ättestupa? Damn man... show some Swede!
@@LoveSasukeKai DID YOU JUST ASSUME YOUR OWN GENDER! :O
Jokes aside, I can relate to forgetting single obscure things. But throwing old people off cliffs because they're old and senile... that's some funny, funny stuff. Sounds eerily like our current old-folks homes to boot.
You think I'd stick around after that cliff incident? I'd be 🏃🏽♂️💨
Upon watching the film for the third time you notice little details...like how when the group was introduced to a Harga elder, he shakes everyone’s hand, but embraces Dani and says “Welcome Home!”. Yikes...boned from the start.
the absolute most horrifying part of this movie is how whenever someone cried or screamed, everyone else would start screaming/crying too. when Dani was crying and had those girls with her and they kept imitating her,, that was terrible. It's already really annoying when ur siblings do it to mock u but when some psycho ikea cult does it?? no thanks
yeah that was cool :-) imo she found happiness because they cried and felt with her.
@@timnic9242 that's rly interesting!! Like I see so many ppl saying how great that moment was and that it felt carthatic to them but to me it felt horrifying and enraging tbh
That just reminded me of improv class
The whole point was to show that they were joining with her in her emotions. To show that she wasn’t alone in the pain she was feelinh
@@sokkvabekkr5973 it was super cathartic
Well, I don't really feel like the pagans were meant to be depicted as an answer to the problems shown earlier in the film. Keep in mind that they had literally zero empathy for everyone foreign they killed in the film. Blood eagling someone or crisping someone alive because your God demands it is not very empathetic. They only have empathy for their own, even their screams start only when one of their own starts burning. This sort of "us and them" attitude is characteristic of our modern world as well as their ancient world, no real difference there. If anything I think the film shows a vulnerable person being sucked into what she thinks is a more understanding group. You know, exactly how cults work. The colours being brighter and and music more uplifting by the end simply show Dani's viewpoint.
Also their "empathy" doesn't prevent them from horribly killing their own. If you beat me to death with a hammer or burn me alive I'm not gonna be consoled by the fact that you felt bad about it for 5 min.
Well obviously joining a cult isnt an appropriate answer to losing your family. The movie is supposed to show you how cults convince people to join. You and I already know that the shit cults do is evil, but to people that join them, like Dani and people who join cults in real life, it’s seen as the answer to their loneliness, the finally are “welcomed home” (something one of the members tell dani when she arrives). My point is WE know the cult is evil, but Dani doesnt care BECAUSE of what happens at the start. So to Dani, the cult IS the answer to the first 20min even tho in reality it’s a terrible answer
I got the distinct impression that their cries and gestures when their people started burning where fake and over the top/exaggerated, like they were making a show for their God so the God would see how much their sacrifice meant to them. Possible the same thing when the dude survived falling off the cliff, although they did seem a bit more genuinely upset then, although it still had the vibe of putting on a show of emotions.
@@Theo-ix4um Just FYI, even people who are aware of cults and their “evil” often join them if they are exposed to them for long enough.
exactly, and they didn't have no say whether they wanted to participate in the sacrifice ceremony at all. Either they were drugged for compliance, or were shut down by force
Let me tell you guys that this cult rituals and sacrifice are far gone and rare but those toxic relationship is lurking us everyday
When they rolled out the bingo ball I was screaming , idk why but that moment was so funny to me.
I laughed at it too.
Same. I felt like it didnt fit into the movie
It immediately made me think of The Lottery, which I read once in 6th grade and idek how I remembered it lol
you laugh when taken by surprised fright, i do too
@@vanessamercedes7675 I thought it did. You never read the story " The Lottery" when you were in middle school?
I always interpreted the film as a terrifying depiction as to how people can be indoctrinated into cults. Alluding to the way vulnerable people get seduced by extremist organizations because they feel ostracized or disconnected from their community at large.This parallels Dani’s own journey and willingness to overlook a cult that MURDERS people to find community. I don’t think we’re supposed to empathize with a community that ritually kills and murders Dani’s “friends” (and presumably plenty of other unfortunate guests). We’re supposed to be horrified by the fact that cults prey on vulnerable people, and that in this state of vulnerability, these victims are willing to excuse (and eventually believe) horrible shit for the sake of community. And even more terrified that this is happening today.
Yes, I feel the same way. People generally think that people who join cults are just weirdo's when they are just regular people trying to find their place in the world.
I think it shows how awful American suburbia is, when a murderous death cult is preferable to her upbringing because at least there's a sense of community.
i just watched a few days ago and i'm stuck on the interpretation that it's not just how easily people can be indoctrinated, but the complacency that people exhibit when it comes to these things. i related it immediately to fascism and Nazism especially after reading the original screenplay where Sweden's hand in the Nazi regime is directly referenced by Josh. it's a fable about abusive relationships in EVERY aspect, personal and societal, and the people who let it happen without saying or doing anything. eventually after each person is killed, there's no one left to speak for the one who was the most complacent, naive, and privileged: Christian. it really starts to fall in line with dystopian fiction, too, in this sense. such a great movie with so many layerssss!
This was my interpretation as well. I'm unsettled by how "sweet" and "endearing" some viewers seem to have found the scene when Dani is wailing and the women are mimicking her. They could be seen as sympathizing with her, but it's important to not forget that they played a HUGE role in why she feels so heavily betrayed in that moment. They're just going through the motions and manipulating her. She doesn't give into their ritual in the end because they're kind people. She caves in and submits. They broke her emotionally and cut her off from everyone. It's very similar to the end of 1984.
@@Jess-737 It's funny how you extrapolated a criticism of American suburbia onto America in general. Also, nowhere did I imply that it is only the USA that has these issues. I live in Canada, and its suburbs definitely have the same problems.
the period blood in the food is definitely a thing. I'm guyanese (located in south America) and i've heard of woman doing that to men to make them fall in love
0
Yeah it's a thing in traditional Greek folk magic too. Disgusting but still...
I am German and I did that to my (then future) husband.
😧
Albgardis Tausendschoen vile😟
I think that's a thing everywhere. I live in the jungle part of Perú, and is also a thing. Although, the new generations don't believed in that thing
Okay two things
1) this movie was actually amazing the scene with the crime scene and her sobbing on the couch gave me chills for minutes after.
2) am I the only one who actually kind of feels for Christian? I feel like he’s so realistic of a character and I honestly would have hoped to save him AND Dani at the end of it.
If you mean "real" by "gaslighting narcissist" then I'd agree, but I don't feel bad for him in the slightest.
He ONLY became unsettled and scared once he realized the Harga were winning at gaslighting and manipulating him versus the other way around...
I find it especially brilliant that Christian is told in the burning ritual that as "the bear" he represents the Hargas "most unholy of affekts (sins)"
Whats the most unholiest of sins? That they gaslight and manipulate innocents to keep their way of life going *by necessity*... It is a sin that cannot be avoided but is the most heinous
christian was a terrible bf but it's weird when people say he cheated on dani when he was fucking drugged and raped (and possibly to break dani even more and then "empathise" with her) like that's messed up man
I saw someone once jokingly describe the plot of this movie as “PhD student ignores red flags and the warnings of his friends and gets burned alive in a foreign country.”
He wasn’t a great guy. But ultimately he was drugged and coerced into sex and then burned alive for it. I’m not sure the punishment fits the crime.
@@chojay13how did he gaslight? Do you just love throwing that word around?
@@cozierferret7274 idk why people say this, he wasn't a bad person, he wasn't abusive (from what we saw at least). their relationship had just died and that happens, y'know. he felt bad for her and she clung hard to him because she had no one else. he probably didn't feel in love for a very long time and was very negligent to her emotional needs. it was just a bad relationship, i wouldn't make any other judgements about christian from this tbh
3:03 did you catch Dani sister's face on the trees?
cp1925 woah wtf, are you sure it’s her?
@@giacomopiccinini9157 when her sister is found dead she has that expression and if you look twice you can see the hose attached to her mouth.
@@clarapilier Good find! Thats fucking deep and disturbing to even include the hose.
what the fuck.
man your comment fucks me up for real. This will haunt me for days.
another thing that may had dani be enchanted by the cult is the fact that they control death. To someone that had just lost her family, that ritual must made her feel more confortable around them (??? in some really strange way)
A comment on the suicide ritual: a friend who took anthropology classes pointed out to me that there is an academic article about how various cultures handled old age and eventually their death. Some nomadic cultures would just leave elders behind, to die, some would actively kill the elders, while yet others, and here it is where it gets relevant, cheered for and, in general expected, that elders would commit suicide. Jumping off cliffs was in fact a method that has been documented by western scholars.
Boomers take note.
This is what "ättestupa" means, but it is generally considered a myth created in later times. There is no evidence there was ever a real tradition like that in Sweden.
In Avatar The Last Air Bender when Aang leads two different tribes across the mountains they discuss this. Even letting on that they may leave elders behind as part of their nomadic lifestyle. That whole episode like many is just an anthropology lesson in disguise by the creator using his undergrad degree.
I, as a Scandinavian, don´t think there was a tradition for old people to kill themselves, but the vikings did actually offer human beings. When a king or queen was burried, they killed several slaves to be burried with them. True.
The dumbest part of the movie are the people who watched it and thought that Dani was liberating herself from a bad relationship and this was a happy ending. She’s been subsumed into a psychopathic cult!
She was in a pretty good relationship. Christian was there the entire time for her even after her being an emotionally vulnerable person
The one thing that threw me out of my seat was Christian drinking his orange drink, while everyone else's was yellow. I gagged so hard.
The opening scene is exceptional and where ari aster really thrives.
i made the same comment. the untimely family death will be the mark of Aster
Yeah. its definitely endings tho where he always drops the ball and poops the bed
would you guys recommend i watch hereditary? i heard its much scarier and i am 15. but i watched midsommar and didn’t think it was that bad, just unsettling. i never felt like throwing up. but maybe it was not as scary bc i am swedish and have attended many a normal midsommar celebration lol. anyway lemme know what you think :) pls if you wan
Marshmallowmann i disagree entirely. that’s the whole build up and it’s the most satisfying part of the movie.
lemon boy hereditary is definitely a scarier movie. it’s about a ghost/demon so it’s more of a horror movie. it’s definitely scarier but totally worth it. hands down my favorite horror movie
Not sure why it isn’t immediately mentioned this film is about a break-up
Because this channel isn't particularly deep.
How so?
@@kailaleegibbons6143 literally Ari Aster says it himself that this is a breakup movie on at least 5 different interviews, anyone with a single brain cell and google will be able to find that quote in a minute??
And i'm sure that if they fact checked swedish and norse mythology to this extent, they'd know he said that.
It's also implied when they explicitly said Dani chose these people over Christian.
You guys don't sound very "dEeP" rn lol
@@MrSkelanimals "chose these people over Christian" are you sure? It seemed to me like the implication was that she got revenge for being cheated on.
Ian Lindo it’s more about how Christian wasn’t a positive and supportive person in Dani’s life after her family died. It’s not about revenge, it’s the cycle of grief and what kind of support a person needs at that time, in this instance- Dani’s relationship with Christian was toxic and stagnant, so in the end when the Swedes were mimicking her cries (plus the effect of the drugs) it gave her a false sense of family and comfort. Listen to Dead Meat’s podcast on this, there was SO much I missed from this
This film is definitely unique and deep. At first glance it just seems like a cult horror movie but there are deeper meanings and subtle nuances that leave room for interpretation. So many questions left unanswered. So many things happening behind the scenes. I can appreciate a film that has you thinking about it long after it's been viewed. Mixed emotions for different characters. Like did all the "bros" deserve their demise and is Dani truly happy and loved in the end? Did Christian deserve his demise? I mean symbolically maybe what physically happened to him was what he put Dani through emotionally. Like she was burning and felt paralyzed inside so in return he gets literally burned and paralyzed. You almost wanna cheer and cry at the end. I almost feel bad for Christian at the end of the film. This film is a masterpiece though. Hereditary is a masterpiece as well. This Director sure does know how to create wonderful pieces of work for sure.
Seemed more like a long examination of a toxic relationship, but I definitely agree the film uses ritual and the importance of community to portray how these things can help one overcome grief. The most important rituals all seem geared towards creating a catharsis and balance, with sharp moments of pain and suffering balanced out by a cathartic release. However, I am surprised that Wisecrack does not examine how these things are just another part of a different toxic relationship in communal form. All the ritual is seduction in a flowery way. It may seem genuine, but if you look closer it is horseshit. Life cycles sound nice, but even in the ritual it becomes apparent that the whole thing is needless because it requires great effort to force a supposedly natural cycle. Couple this with the fact the cult lies just as much as Christian. They make Danny feel wanted and beloved by tricking her with drugs and throwing entire contest to make her feel like a winner. They even speak gibberish back to her to make her more entranced. This is also how they got dubious consent out of Christian and then got Danny to order his death, through endless drugs and trickery. It is all smoke and mirrors to make the cult feel good, but the happiness is just another form of essentially a high (ie a lie or a trick). If Danny's world before the cult was constant darkness, their world is constant light. They are both extremes that cloud one's perception of reality. Danny at best will be like Pelle, overcoming grief caused by the cult through the cult and convincing themselves it is all okay.
Exactly! Why did Wisecrack not pick up on that.
Bang on. Felt like the cult was just as manipulative the whole time I was watching it, and actually pitied Dani for being led into it naively when she was just traumatized and looking for love. Difference is that I felt that way while ALSO thinking her boyfriend was a manipulative douche the whole time, where as most of the conversation I've seen on this film has been by people talking about siding with one or the other.
Yup, spot on!
nah its just a simple horror cliche movie, lying itself something more
Yeah, i dunno how Wisecrack didn't pick up on those canned, disengenuous smiles the girl was being met with. Though ironically, i could see the director actually wanting bad acting to be used in scenes like those. The girl smiled at the end, having finally accepted the trade off of one illusion for another, when all along real happiness would have been found in discovering her own inner strength.
I’m in love with Florence Pugh
Paul Marion She reminds me of a younger Scarlet Johansson... there’s such a raw authenticity about her. Perfectly cast!
Jen Graham Well she is in the Black Widow movie so...
same
Watch The Little Drummer Girl! Good show with her as the main character. Her acting was amazing.
The film was a shiny turd but she was excellent. The best element of the film was her performance ☆ she's a more talented version of Kate Winslet
Rather than preying on our secular fears of religion, I thought the movie was more a critique of moral relativism. Early on we are put on edge by the foreignness of what is happening, but we are encouraged to reassure ourselves that we should be tolerant of other cultures, even to the point of accepting elder suicide if it's for ancient cultural reasons. If their moral system allows this to happen, should we say "oh well" and accept it? Or should we fight back against what we see as wrong according to our moral system? Unfortunately, the movie avoids truly addressing the question by going a step too far and revealing the cult to be unambiguously sadistic, but it sure makes for great watching.
omg this is such a good point!! Thru out the whole movie i still thought it was totally unacceptable what they did but i was never like "we should fight this" even tho its morally wrong...but also is it? Idk this is confusing but its fascinating ti think about lol
Agreed. I think the British couple had the most appropriate response to it. I believe there's a limit to moral relativism, and some things should be considered objectively wrong, like encouraging public suicide/murder
Whatever the director's intentions were with this weird ass film, THIS should be the takeaway.
Honestly that is a debate within moral relativism too iirc. Where do you get to call something as wrong and offensive in general? Where is that line? Is it right to draw that line at all? If they truly believe that their life is over at 72, is it not similar to euthanasia? (Just playing a little devil's advocate here because it is a very interesting topic)
I remember crying in the beginning, that beginning actually made me burst into tears. Ill never forget it.
When you said about the circle of life thing being attractive to Dani and then Dani sees her mom and dad in the crowd in the one scene just made me think
I must say, I am so impressed by how dreams are represented in the movie. They're so accurate at how things work when we dream and how odd it feels like.
Really, the only thing I was thinking after watching this is
“I really hope people won’t think this is how Swedes are.......”
No way. I know Swedes aren't anything like that. I watched Girl With the Dragon Tattoo! They're all awesome cyberpunk hackers!
Interesting my thought was "I really hope swedes aren't really like that"
if they are like that, fine. i think it's pretty cool
WHAT?! You mean Sweden doesn't have all their elderly throwing themselves off cliffs and isn't full of murderous cults?! You don't say...
Nah, we think of you as Minecraft playing, Reddit Reviewing, Brofisting UA-camrs...
As a swede, I want to say we don't say "as a swede"...
Sounds more like switching from one toxic relationship to another even more f-ed up one.
UA-camVoice that’s how I saw it too
Pretty much
That's how it was explained by some of the people making the film.
Definitely! The way I interpreted it was kind of like a spectrum with the two extremes - Christian and the Harga. On one hand, Christian lacks any emotional empathy towards pretty much anyone in his life. His relationship with his friends is incredibly shallow as we see when he steals Josh’s thesis. Dani, of course, experiences more of this lack of empathy from Christian because she’s his girlfriend and he was her number one shoulder to lean on - whenever she had a problem or she was upset about something (like when Simon “left Connie” by herself) she went to him and his only response was utter indifference. On the other hand, the Harga are empathetic to the point where it comes off completely forced and shallow, and it is quite that. They frame this for the audience by having the Harga “empathize” by literally joining in on the intense emotion that the person(s) is feeling. That’s not empathetic; empathy doesn’t require you to actively join in on someone’s strong pain, suffering, joy, sadness, etc. it’s about understanding and being able to connect with a person despite not quite knowing what they’re experiencing or how they’re feeling. The Harga’s way of empathizing feels incredibly arrogant because it tries to indicate that they somehow understand Dani and other people’s pain simply because they are able to emote with her/them. Like, “yes guys, thank you so much for screaming and writhing as if you were experiencing unbearable pain so I can feel your empathy as I burn in this sacrificial hut. Thanks.” I think people often take it the wrong way and see this empathy as a good thing for Dani, when in reality it’s as you say: toxic, just in a different way - on the other end of the spectrum in fact. In my opinion, it’s a really good way to frame a psychological horror movie because it causes such a divisive opinion and perspective for viewers which to me is a good thing.
@Ethan W. Yes, these Harga were merely imitating emotions, which makes them come off as creepy and alien, certainly not genuine.
Something I only just noticed: When Dani is being carried on the plinth, you can see the face of her dead sister in the trees. Gave me chills all over again.
MxMagpie timestamp?
@@Vacated204 3:03 At the top left corner, the trees form a face looking at Dani.
@@silenthero2795 damn so creepy
Menstrual blood being added to a beverage is a known Hoodoo practice.
In Brazil there's also a tale about making coffee with your menstrual blood to get the man you like
@@meloderieugif2294
Jesus I'm Brazilian and I never heard of this thing ( just wanna point out we don't normally do this )
in Latin America we call it ''amarre'', but specifically when a woman wants to 'tie up' a guy she likes to be with him forever and stuff
@@zoetv2170 in México is called "toloache" or "amarre" as well
@@antoniodejesusgonzalezjuar5393 yes! Or "agua de calzón"
Mirroring the emotions of a grieving person or someone experiencing emotional flashbacks back to them in full intensity is about as opposite to emotional support as it gets.
People in this scenario need someone to coregulate with and someone who can contain their emotions.
When she sees her mom after winning the dance. I was shook.
Her father and sister were there as well.
I don't think they were real? Might be the drugs or her going insane
@@yasminy.7243 It’s been said that the reason she see’s them is because in a way she’s convincing herself that she’s home. The drugs are playing a part in that as well.
Midsommar: Bitches be trippin’.
lol...why is this not the no. 1 comment!?
#BEEwitchedBITCHESbeeBITCHES
Oooooo shit!!!!!
that sounds like how the boyfriend would summarize it
Anthony Gregory Swedish pussy got my man acting strange
What a mesmerizing film. That ending smile, holy shit. I believe that smile was a sigh of relief for Dani. When Christian and her friends burned away so did her miserable life. She smiles as she "grieves and celebrates" the loss of her parents and friends and is reborn alongside them into her new family.
I felt so unsettled after this. The whole film just felt wrong. Gonna be one that sticks with me for a while I think.
She's played by Florence Pugh as going insane, and in the script she is detailed as going insane. So, no it wasn't.
ah yes thank you Gregory House you have cracked the case. Your medal is in the mail.
I remember thinking, as they walked out of the woods into the clearing where the Harga were gathered, ‘What do they do during the winter?’ That night, I dreamed about what they did in the winter. Yes, this is a movie that wriggles its way into your brain like a parasite. (BTW, winter is a bad scene too.)
She cleansed herself of a toxic relationship for welcoming a crazy more toxic community. This movie was formulaic like his last and not good.
@@TheVeregat which is quite similar to the way real world cults operate?
13:49 am i crazy or was this scene not in the movie, where is this from??
Yea you're not. I wonder where it came from
Director's cut