Hey Ryan! Did you ever watch The Cell with Jennifer Lopez? I feel like the movie is unfairly judged sometimes. Definitely check it out-- even it you don't like it or cover it, the visuals are the star of the show and will stick with you.
Dude I watched it right before sleeping and I kept waking up in the middle of a nonsense thought about the movie. Did not sleep well. Loved the movie. If a movie can weasel it's way into my head and wont leave. I gotta take a closer look at it
joker Darker some characters are deliberately pretentious. Symbolizing our lack of knowledge to how other cultures live and our expectation that they don’t live too different from us so we have this idea that things we do wouldn’t effect their everyday lives.
@joker Darker Cultures are pretty much cults.... each has thier own rules, may seem excessive from the outside, punishments seem necessary to the residents, ....or not but either way the rules set by the cultures hirarchy, whatever it may be, have to be followed.... i dont see much difference
@@theblocksays Now I want some sort of Ari Aster/Aphex Twin collab. Not sure how'd it'd work but I'm sure it would be weird as hell and I'd be here for it.
peacechickification well, facing the reality is cruel indeed sometimes. If someone complains about reality is too harsch for her, well, it still stays cruel...:) btw there is no oppinion I dont agree with, there is only a fact that she is as unmature as a simple natural situation gives her creep. Which is quite funny.
Rastinfilm I’m sorry- but how often do people actually throw themselves off heights to their death? And however often it is, doesn’t make it any less traumatic. Talk in circles as much as you want, laughing at this human that perceives this horrible scene as horrible just makes you cruel. There’s no reason why you should be trying to convince this person viewing a sad tragic event such as that isn’t tragic and jarring. Yeah it happens, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t tragic.
My dad offered to take me to the movies because he wanted to hang out, and he knew I wanted to see this movie. I went into the movie completely blind because I didn't want to be spoiled.
I watched this with my brother and dad, and at the end we just looked at the credits rolling completely quiet until my dad said... “So who wants pizza.” Edit: I just came back to this video and saw my comment had 3.6k likes and liked by Ryan. I am on the floor lol.
Did anyone else watch this movie and just think "wow, this cult must have a great event planner"? I mean they just went seamlessly from one activity to another for days. Breakfast at 9, Attestupan at 10.30, blood eagle tourist at 11.30, giant feast at 1, choral rape in the afternoon, bear dissection at 4. They just never slowed down.
I personally enjoyed the film a lot but I think the ending is way darker than what some people think. Dani ended up being a part of the cult, brainwashed and manipulated. That is extremely messed up and is way more fearful than your usual jump scares since this is something very real and can happen to anyone who is emotionally vulnerable.
She wasnt brainwashed and manipulated. She was already breaking down. The drugs opened her up to the influences, making it easier for her to break down even more. At the end she had found her family. People who would love her the way she never was, give her a shoulder to cry on. Her new family. I dont think they brainwashed her or anything. Although the drugs were to make it easier for Dani to break down.
Midsommar, hereditary, the witch, us and get out. There's been a lot of really good horror films in the 2010s. I'm starting to think that psychological horror may be coming back in a big way.
Don't forget 'The Lighthouse', which was also done by Robert Eggers (The Witch). With Eggers, Aster and Peele at the forefront, id in fact argue Horror in Film never was quite as great as it is now. At least according to my taste which relies heavily on the uncanny. Hell, Lighthouse even feels like something that has been approved by H.P. Lovecraft himself.
@@HomerS95 i still havent watched The Lighthouse because it didnt get released in my country. Its sad, but im still waiting for the digital release tho
I lost my brother to suicide so I feel a lot with this movie. It was heartbreaking for me and I felt so alone, still do, as the protagonist does. I felt so much with the movie. It was great while also disturbing.
@@sumilal5108 quite a common practice actually, cars release that bad gas i can't remember, so people will link the escape thingy that relases that gas and smoke to some type of tube, usually through the car window while in the car, so they'll suffocate, in the movie she taped it to her mouth, you should do some research to fact check though if you're really interested, a movie that showcases this better is 2009's polytechnique
I also love how Dani, despite her mental illness and trauma, is the only person with the brains and common sense to point out odd suspicious things or say that staying might be a bad idea. Being mentally ill doesn't mean you lack sense or perception.
other subtleties i love about midsommar: when mark says "family", that is what triggers dani's bad trip. when they first arrive in Hårga, everyone is greeted with a "hello" whereas dani is greeted with a "welcome home"
I noticed the first one but since I didn't see anyone talking about it, I thought it was just my imagination. I think Pelle used the word "family" intentionally a couple of times as well, the first one back when they were talking about their trip to Sweden. I didn't notice the second one though, good observation.
Also if you rewatch the scene where they walk through the giant gate and Pelle introduces them to one of the leaders, the leader shakes everyone else’s hand but gives Dani a hug instead. I immediately picked up on that, they were definitely targeting her. It makes sense because cults look for vulnerable people. Pelle was also very direct with letting Dani know he was glad she was coming before they left the US. It’s clear that he was scheming as soon as she agreed to go
@@ItsRuve agreed, the trailer itself told everyone that Dani was always the intended victim. Their intended may queen. Idk that I buy the whole “cult murdered the family” idea but I do think their recruiter pelle noticed an opportunity in Dani because Christian wanted to break up with her and she had just lost everyone else.
Mate stop posting these in the middle of the night I wanna sleep without having my mind contemplating the meaning of life and how death damages us and scares us in a deeply profound way
I read one version of the unreleased script for this film and the end smile of dani was described as ‘manic’ or unhinged. Her final smile symbolises her final detachment from reality.
That was apparent to me at the end as well. Don't see it as a happy ending in any way, shape or form. She just became a hollow body by this point and we don't know what is reserved for the May Queen after all ends. She was probably executed later or used for breeding for all we know
The ending somehow reminded me thematically of the ending of *The Wicker Man*, where it’s this sense of false hope for the future. Instead of the villagers singing in celebration for next year’s bountiful crop, we have Dani smiling for a bright happy future that will never come.
*_It's a good thing that both Heredity and Midsommar avoid any current horror tropes like jumpscares or body horror and it focuses more on realistic fear and personal struggles. At least both of them doesn't need sequels._*
Axelgrey exactly I think both really lean on body horror to make people feel the way they do. Hereditary had all the shots of Charlie’s head and the mother decapitating herself at the very least. Midsommar to me was majority body horror, especially the cliff scene, the blood eagle, and all the corpses set up at the end.
They have lots of body horror (which I love). However what I also love about both films is that they feel more like mature, adult horror than the majority of horror films in the decade
Body horror is a pretty reasonable trope to have. Everyone has a body, so seeing that body destroyed, abused, and contorted just gets to most people. The same way jumpscares get to most people. Just because its a common trope doesn't mean it's bad, or that it can't be used in effective ways.
Sometimes, I sit back and wonder how Ari can have such a sick and twisted brain to write stories like this.. He has become my most anticipated director, can't wait for what's next
@@mhd1442 For me it's not about the story, it's abot how Ari tells the story. The photography, the angles and how he directs the actors to give the best of them.
To interpret this as a happy ending is BAFFLING to me and I think changes depending on your personal life and views. This is a very bleak ending, the manipulation of an emotionally destroyed woman ends up working out and she becomes part of the cult. That’s a horrific ending.
Hollinger strikes me as a silly minded fool. He thinks the murder of Christian is perfectly understandable because the guy “couldn’t accept his own feelings” on Dani. What? And Hollinger is the same guy who earlier said Christian was an arsehole because of his attitude. But Hollinger can understand murder if the victim isn’t attuned to their own feelings. Wow.
@@carolinafine8050 he’s a close minded fool sometimes. Whoever wrote up his analysis for him clearly took inspiration from critical reviews which we all know is trash.
I don’t think the ending was happy at all. She lost her mind and is just being manipulated yet again. This time by not one person, but an entire group of people. Who will flay you alive if you try to leave.
@@leomount9037 he was literally about to break up with her before he found out her parents died. People have stayed in unhealthy relationships for far less altruistic reasons. Plus the girlfriend was costly l clearly an emotional wreck even before her loss, and even she admitted to leaning on her boyfriend too much. At the same time, her boyfriend simply isn't in tune with what he really needs and wants, which lead to him making stupid decisions repeatedly. That's called parasitic co-dependence.
@@leomount9037 that's the part of the film that bothers me the most. Maybe it's intended. So, her boyfriend is used as a sacrifice to deliver her to the proverbial happiness she was looking for... And is somehow deserved. Maybe the horror is in the fact our protagonist, while looking to be free from a sour situation, finds herself in another even more insane situation.
@SOBEK I think she was manipulated by Christian ,when she told pelle that she had to remind him it was her birthday or it was her fault him not remembering .But about the group they weren't manipulating her they were feeling the same sharing the pain I thought it was so sincere and beautiful after her sister and then her boyfriend controlling her life .
Yes. Cults do this- they separate people in order to control them. How I see it, they used Christian to get him to get one pregnant, but Dani... I don't it was just by chance she became the May Queen. They wanted to further create a deeper rift between them in order to make him more lonely, more desperate, and her more included. They orchestrated the events but left the final choice to her - either Christian, her old life, or the cult. But after her seeing him betray him, of course she would hate him. So they do what cults do...manipulate. Divide and control, subtly. She will probably become a baby maker for them. A male, they don't need for long.... young woman, new blood, of course, she was perfect, malleable and lonely, broken. So yeah. The smile in the end... it's both liberation from her old life, but also insanity. Insanity and loss of individual self, because, in good and in bad, the cult in the collective represents collective over individual. It is left open, whether it is good for Dani or not, but it would be extremely naive to think joining them was purely accidental or by Dani's own choices. That's what their relationship was... Two people without true connection, lost and somewhat broken, unable to change the situation. The cult represents the external force that brings on the change, whether you want it or not. It's both sad, and beautiful, to lose and change through loss. That's why I liked the ending so much. It was terrible, yet there was a sense of liberation, even though what kind of freedom Dani would have afterwards, is kinda left open. Her smile in the end, also represents a bigger personal change and loss than "just" the loss of relationship, of Christian - her loss of her old individuality in exchange of the collective self. Loss of ego over collective. Another reason why the smile is so damn haunting and the ending is so powerful. That smile is so ambivalent, so full of different emotions and meaning. Loss, change, chaos, liberation but perhaps not for a personal freedom. Yet, maybe, that's what she wants after life has broken her down. But yes, the cult and their actions were the last straw. After all, these are the people who killed outsiders for their sacrifices in cold blood. Manipulated and used them. And they especially were able to do so to Christian and Dani, because they were so unhappy, lost and confused. That's what cults do. They both were used to bring new blood to the cult. And that's kind of fucked up.
The ending, when the cult members who were "happy" to be selected as sacrifices are being burned, was the moment the film really settled for me. I watch a lot of horror and related genres and I have never felt so deeply saddened. In my opinion, that scene is the thesis of the film. At one point those cult members were welcomed into the community, by birth or like the main cast. Cult members are honored to be selected as sacrifices because their traditions have taught them to be. Then as soon as those members are alone in the building, their demeanors change, and as the fire reaches them, even more so. You can interpret it in a variety of ways. But for me it struck as how broken people are often easily mislead into trusting anyone who offers what they think they need because they believe it will quickly heal them. The reality being that when the broken people are separated from the misleaders again, they find that they are still as broken as they were before because psychological healing is an internal process, and not one that can occur strictly by the work of others. In this case, total dependency on others for their healing results in their deaths, and those cult members died as miserably broken as they were when they entered the cult. Even though they are technically receiving one of the highest honors of their tradition.
Exactly as I was saying. Nobody can save anybody its an internal healing. people actually think that dani somehow was saved. What's gonna happen when it's time for someone to take her place? It isnt Gonna end well that for sure. And what I find unforgivable is that she picked the cult over her bf who was trying so hard with her and what did he get for it?
This movie hits differently if you’ve never been in a toxic relationship before. I’ve never seen the ending as a twisted “happily ever after”. To me, it’s just a girl that has been manipulated in her vulnerable state by the insanity of a cult that offers conditional love in exchange for her silence and compliance. To call the ending an allegory for finding inner peace through positive support groups just feels wrong in this case, because the support group in question is more than a little malicious. Still, the film is phenomenal no matter how you decide to interpret it.
even know i haven't seen the movie it seemed Christian thought maybe he could still work things out with Dani and thought maybe we can still keep what we have still going even when tragedy with Dani family happen He knew If he break things up with her this would make Dani more depressed and worried she might do something like her sister did showing he at least thinking before acting
It's surprising to me how you interpreted the film so much differently than I did. This movie felt like an endless rollercoaster downwards. I find the ending so sad actually. Like... in the end she can finally smile but she is stuck in this cult and stuck in all these lies. The people don't really care for her, they care for their agenda. They are kept there with no possibility to leave. Instead of facing her problems she is stuck in this bubble and fed with drugs to feel numb. Truly horrorfying.
The thing is, I don’t think dani would want to leave at that point, she’s not stuck or anything as every part of her that used to be “Dani” has died. She literally has no one to return to and the smile is like a fresh start, a sunshine after the winter of her life just like the Sun in the mural smiling at the beginning of the film. She found a family and a sisterhood who grieves with her and accepted her.
Huh, I feel like you overlooked an entire theme of this movie - it's also about toxic dependency. I mean we watch Dani meander through an entire movie in a relationship with a guy that's lying face down, dead in the water. But then we got a cult, pretending to be a family she never had(the modus operandi of cults in general) and even roofie-ing her with natural drugs to keep her in a constant state of just wanting to go with the flow of things. They can't even smile sincerely to her, but she plays along anyway because they're being nice and attentive to her, all the same. She smiles warmly at the end, but just because she made it to the end doesn't make her a Survivor Girl. She smiled because at long last she finally accepted the trade-off of one illusion for another, rather than becoming her own person. It's the rebound to end all rebounds.
That's what I was thinking. Toxic dependency. Yes, I agree that it's okay for you to depend on others when facing tough times but I also agree that you shouldn't sacrifice their lives when they're not there for you. But you need to learn to pick yourself up. Those smile & cries weren't a sincere understanding on her pain, it was just their way of life. When someone cries, you also cries. But no actual understanding of pain. I felt sorry for Christian a little, yes it was a douchebag move of him to not being up front with her but does he deserves to be burned alive for not being a better boyfriend? No. Does he physically and emotionally abusing her? No. Not in a way that's more damaging to her than she already is due to her family tragedy. He's just an immature cowardly douchebag.
It depends. If you take it as literal, then yes you're right. If you view it as allegorical, then I think the story was one of not clinging to life fearfully, and being willing to let parts of yourself die so that new things can begin to grow.
I like this review more than his. It seemed like she was in that sad state because of Christian when he was literally drugged and cursed to do the cults bidding as well. Ryan Hollinger made it seem like christian was the antagonist of the film when it's literally the CULT lmao man hater.
This movie legitimately made me have a panic attack the first time I saw it. My mom had just died and something about the grief in the film hit me hard
I just got done watching this and I think i'm also somewhat panicking from it. I just came on UA-cam now trying to find something to help with this because I don't really have anyone to talk to. I hope you're doing okay
When she was wailing in her bfs lap after her family had died....tears just started rolling down my face....bc I had felt that before. When my dad died....all I could do was sob ....bc I had felt the deeply saddened before...i really felt it in my heart...
I understand that hurts alot, my mother died recently, and I can see what you mean about all of this too. But, I hope you can learn to live on in peace cause I'm currently working on trying to not loose track of the optimistic person I am. I guess that's why I take interest in this movie because it's a very unusual look at grief and it's process. But anyways I hope you have a good day😁
I saw this movie 6 months to the day after my mentally ill mother had passed away as well, it was so raw and triggering at the time but looking back at how I felt watching it now I know it weirdly helped me to process my own grief. I hope that you are doing well, if you need anybody to talk to I am here.
I dunno. I kinda felt that after all the shitt4y things she went through, it was her smile at the end that reinforced the fact that she's finally snapped and has gone insane just like the rest of her new "family."
I may be a female and haven't watched the movie, but listening to all of these sypnosises about the ending,,, yeah it wasnt happy at all. It was about someone who felt so lost and alone that she finally snapped and found a "family," which manipulated her into never leaving, becoming an accomplice to murder and accepting her fate.
Something I found interesting and extremely disturbing about this film the two times I saw it was the elder suicide scene and the way it was edited. Not only is it extremely hard to watch because of the extremely intense realism of the injuries faced by suicide and a giant mallet to the face, but Ari Aster seems to be forcing the audience to be completely silent as it happens. The sound design is done in a way where it is fully quiet except for the characters freaking out over what happened in front of them. When I was first watching it happen, I was in utter shock. I was shaken to my very core at what I was being put through. But I felt like I wasn’t allowed to express it because of how quiet it is. In a way, it’s Aster showing his grip on the audience and bringing us closer to the peace the cult feels in watching it happen. In their cult it’s seen as natural and peaceful, so it only makes sense to symbolize that peace the cult feels with complete and utter silence. It is absolutely horrific in ways a lot of horror movies aren’t and that’s why it’s in my top five films of all time.
Open Doors haha, you mean the realistic rubber masks/props? it looked quite funny. And what about the usa guys' reactions? verry realistic, wasnt it? crap.
b r o o k e the film was quite okay until that scene. even the scene itself was ok, i also hate cgi, i agree. But i never forgive mistakes on storytelling and unrealistic (unlogical) reactions from the actors. That is bad script and/or actor leading,falling into full scope of responsibility of the director! NO ALIVE PERSON ON EARTH would have stayed in that scary place after that suicid situation! Traditions? Whatafuk?! Next tradition is eating us alive?! comeon! that's massive dumbshit!
Rastinfilm Thats not entirely true. People react to trauma in very different ways. Some of them tried to leave, some of them wanted to stay. And also, after something like that, anyone unfamiliar with the ceremony would go into stress-induced shock and not be able to move.
Rastinfilm And as the film goes on, it explains why they all accept it as completely normal. It’s because that group has been around for hundreds of years and every generation has seen it happen from a young age so they’re completely desensitized. You should educate yourself on psychology a little bit more. I don’t have much psych knowledge but from what I know, the way the characters reacted was normal and expected.
This film really did something for me when I saw it. My longtime girlfriend had broken up with me before Christmas 2018 while I was going through a spell of depression and only worsened my mental state. I then lost 2 cousins and a close friend in the time between January and August. I was doing bad for a longtime and almost completely shut myself off from the world. During that time I started experimenting with psychedelics for the first time to try shaking me out of my depression and see things differently. It helped somewhat but not enough, drugs never really do, neither do bottles of whiskey. But seeing this in July after a turbulent 7 months affected me in a way I was not expecting. I saw it 4 times in the theaters and was obsessed. In September I finally started to feel like I could begin anew, I cleaned up, got a cat and had a cousin move in with me to get me out of the house. I rewatched this recently on Blu Ray and realized just how cathartic this movie was for me at a very rough time. I now have an entirely new appreciation for it and am very thankful this movie was made. Just thought I'd share a positive experience with this film since it seemed to fuck up everybody else's day in the comment section. Haha. Cheers, Ryan!
So glad to hear you're doing better. I'm currently on a downward mental spiral from family abandoning me and losing my job all at the same time. Secluded, no friends, drink/drugs. I'm desperate to try psychedelics to snap myself out of this, but ive been depressed all my life. Did the psychedelics truly not help???
@@ceIIardoor I don't encourage drug use at all. Psychedelics are unpredictable and everyone's experience is different. But for me, the depersonalization effects helped me relate to others more and opened me up to acknowledging there is only one person like me in the world and it would be a disservice to my loved ones to end my life for selfish reasons. LSD definitely helped me but I'd encourage you to talk to people about you're problems. If you can't afford a therapist, some random person at a bar. 😂 It helps greatly to have an objective person to unload your grief on. I would encourage open dialogue before experimenting with psychedelics. I know its hard, especially if you're depressed and introverted, but never rely on drugs. That opens doors that are hard to close if you get too deep in it.
Same man. I got trough a tough break up by watching horror movies. I don't know why but I felt restless after it and those movies kept my mind off him for awhile and on the gruesome scenes. I obviously didn't like gore but hey it was better than rotting away and getting anxiety attacks and not sleeping well.Still his movies are more art then horror so I must say they captivated me.
That....was a disturbing analysis. The amount of people saying the ending was good and they’re happy for her is very alarming and really sheds light to how many people are susceptible to being indoctrinated into cults.
I’ve learned that nowadays people’s morals have kinda diverted from what is societally good. They think they can justify irredeemable actions. They also let themselves get manipulated by obvious traps that abuse their moralistic views on life. I dunno people are just going crazier as time goes on.
Think of it as a critique of the shallowness and isolation of outside society rather than as an endorsement of human sacrifice. Human sacrifice is bad? NO SHIT, really? That's obvious, now dig a little deeper.
These comments frustrate me. It's a film! A story! Irl I don't think bad boyfriends deserve death or that violent pagan cults are cool, but in the context of this story it's a cathartic abs satisfying conclusion.
@@jescerie7382 What's cathartic about burning people alive? Especially someone whom you loved? Because he couldn't relate to your extremely rare traumatic experience? Because he "cheated" under the involuntary influence of drugs? There's nothing cathartic about that ending.
@@MRJTD99 agreed. If we should just accept the ending as "happy" because it's metaphorical, then we need to complete the analogy, meaning think about that metaphor in an expanded sense to include what Christian did to deserve it, if he really did, what Dani gained/lost along the way, etc. You can understand the idea that she is now free from a clearly toxic relationship while still hating what it took for her to get there. It's in this metaphor that as a consequence of him being raped by this cult, he must now die an (what looks like) agonizing death when it could've been another member of the cult. Just because she looks happy and feels free (even just metaphorically) in the end doesn't mean she truly is. I mean, is she free from her troubles are is she now literally and figuratively dependent on this new group (which she could probably never choose to leave should she ever come to the realization that what happened was horrendous). This is a horror film after all...and honestly, a great one imo...just not one I'd call empowering.
Like why do ads for mobile games always have to say “Let’s Play” before the title of their game? Like we don’t know they’re only saying it because it’s a popular phrase~
There was parts of this Film that made me laugh out loud...not because any thing was funny, but just from the sheer insanity of it. Like when you are super uncomfortable..
Nothing wrong with that, our theatre in Stockholm laughed at a lot of the film...some parts were legitimately (intentionally) goofy from a Swedish perspective, but I got the feeling that a lot of people were laughing at the other parts because they felt so disconcerted
Ari Aster said in an interview that he's going to move away from the horror genre for a while and work with some other genres. That will be really cool and I'm excited to see what he can do with other genres and and how he can make his movies stand out like he did with Midsommar and Hereditary. He's definitely one of my favorite directors for the way he can make his horror movies different to every other horror movie. I will definitely go see his other films.
It’s funny how people think she’s been truly liberated/happy or that they want to feel this same catharsis (she’s being indoctrinated into a cult.). Of course, she smiles-she’s let go and gotten rid of everything that would make her ‘Dani’. Everything about her-her life, her experiences, her boyfriend-she hated it in the end. She’s only “free” because she’s not a real person anymore. She’s a face, and a body, and an illusion of contentedness, just as the Harga cult intended her to be. She is covered in colorful flowers here whereas normal society was dark, bleak, filled with shadows. That’s the point of a cult. You have been made promises (family, favors, stability) for your self-identity in return. To me, the most horrific moment in the film was Dani’s smile. The implication of her dissolution as a person with self-identity was terrifying. She chose what made her feel like she was someone, not knowing their intention was the complete opposite.
@YSV Rao Finally someone saying that. Despite Christian being mostly a selfish asshole he kinda wanted to do good. He was going to break up with her and then the murder-suicide happens leaving her depending on him, she was clingy and shouldn't even be in the trip with them for instance. His lack of emphaty is intensified by his lack of control in his life, he can't choose a subject to study, he can't leave her because of what happened and he can't even get to choose whether he fucks that redhead or not. He is ultimately flawed however still a victim of his fate, not justifying his dickness but his life definitely sucks too.
@YSV Rao I don't think people believe a real person would deserve that, but being fictional it's a lot easier to feel a fictional fate is warranted. They can tell the difference between fiction and reality, and indulge in harmless opinions based on this knowledge. It's perfectly healthy to indulge in fiction on such ways. Normal and natural.
@@chaossmith3864 I have to disagree here. I believe a vast majority of people blur the line between the distinctions of reality and entertainment. Take a look at the vitriol given to the actress of Skylar White, Ann Gunn, for her performance on Breaking Bad. Then there are the Star Wars actors and actresses who have been harassed into isolation and fear. The Kardashians are hated in large part due to how they were portrayed on their reality television. Reality television, which is heavily edited, produced, and scripted by Hollywood executives. And that's just examples of negative portrayals of people based on their acting roles. The positive ones are arguably more numerous.
I was impressed by the first LSD trip in this movie, too. A lot of movies do way too much, but the small detail in this was incredibly accurate in my opinion. The way the grass moved, the moments of peace, time passing, the slight anxiety/triggering bad memories and then full on panic leading to a bad trip is very accurate.
i actually felt the opposite way about the ending, where i was wondering how she could possibly escape the situation and return to normal life and when she smiled i realised.. 'oh, shes stuck' because shes finding acceptance in the cult that i sure wish she wasnt. its unnerving because you know despite all that happened you know she'll stay by choice which is the nature of a cult. a much worse ending than happy and safe.
a peaceful resolution ??? i wasn't left with that feeling after watching at all? the swastika, the white supremacy of the cult, and how easy it was to pull dani in, dani going from one toxic relationship with a guy into another very toxic relationship with a whole cult, were all so uncomfortable to watch, but i also felt like dani's death was (obviously) still coming during midsommar, even though we didn't see it during the movie. there are no may queens anywhere. you see their pictures but where are they? why doesn't dani meet a single one? the parallels that happen with the old couple and dani as may queen. the midsommar event lasts 9 days, the end of the movie didn't fullfil those 9 days, it was very obvious to me that dani was still going to die soon after the movie's events. the ending didn't feel peaceful to me at all (which made it great to me)
A good cult movie criticizes society for how it drives characters to want to be part of a cult, but also criticizes the cult for being dehumanizing and controlling. Midsommar was a great cult movie (did all of the above with the addition of exploring a specific character’s psychology).
Ikr. I found myself relating to her in too many ways, even though I’ve never been through the kind of grief or relationship problems that she experiences
You can relate to a emotionally distressed woman who clings to people who she gives bad vibes too, doesn’t get the memo that people don’t want to be around due to her behavior and then mind washingly deciding to kill her significant other who was also drugged into having sex with woman without his fully aware consent and then burned for it later? In another movie and if another person was playing her character, they would be called a mentally distressed psychopath.
@@bobybrown1999 No, I think you've got that wrong. Her boyfriend was dismissive and completely unsupportive of her during a major emotional trauma, and unless I've forgotten, attempted to bring her along on their trip anyway, even though she didn't want to. She was not aware of his escapade until later, and he was also just a low person in general, attempting to steal the other guy's research thesis. She acted that role very well and exuded a humanness which is palpably obvious to an attentive audience, and not especially common in film.
Personnaly, I think that the main themes were loneliness. We can clearly see how much each caracter is self absorbed in his own world. The american students come from the individualist world of the "I" and the "Me first". On the other side, the cult is all about "us". The main caracter lose her "self" and sense of identity as she is progressively depaterned by the cult. They use drug to make her more vulnerable and suggestible. They lovebomb her and mirror all her emotion so they become a reflection of herself. At the end she becomes part of the madness of the "us" of the cult... Anyway it was a master piece !
It really does look like the real thing? I never dared to watch a real death recording I thought it would haunt me for life. That scene looked so fake to me.
Cee Bee it looks like the real thing to me. If you get grossed out/scared easily then I wouldn’t recommend to watch any thing similar to the scene that is real. I don’t get affected by stuff like that but other people do.
Seriously though, I don't know if Ari Aster has some personnal grief story or is just extremely fucked-up, but these scenes are some of the most heavy fucking things I've ever saw in a movie... Like geez, don't want to see that kinda shit ever again... Great movies tho
I watched this movie three weeks ago and there are moments where I start thinking about it again and it disturbs me. Like I can't explain it's level of uncomfortable. Hereditary had me shook right after watching it but it's like midsomar was meant to be this long burn in my subconscious never letting me get back to fully being normal...but it's just a movie I'm over thinking about.
I am extremely scared of the amount of people that consider the end of Midsommar as positive. Dani falls in the grasp of a murderous cult and becomes an active member of it. Becomes a murderer of her own. HOW IS THAT POSITIVE ?!
I’ve seen midsommar twice: one with my mother and again on my first date with my current boyfriend. Every time I watch it I find that I relate to it more and more and I find that I connect with it more than hereditary. Idk, I feel midsommar hit that one nerve I never wanted to know I had
Neat. We both loved hereditary and we chose the last day of it being played in theaters as like a hang out movie, we didn’t really start going out until afterwards lmao. It is still p bold tho 🤣🤣
Yeah, I watched it at midnight and didn’t go to sleep probably past 3. I had to wake up at 6 to go to work and I wasn’t even tired because I kept thinking about the movie the whole day.
"Midsommar comes to a peaceful resolution that is rarely seen in horror movies, where we know for a fact that Dani is safe from the evils that brought her down to begin with, death be damned. Because at the end of the day, what truly matters to her is finding the happiness she's been sorely missing." I respect the sheer effort and insight you put into your videos, but it's like we watched two totally different Midsommars. I can't think of a more incorrect take-away from this film than this. It's also a very dangerous way to view real life.
@@uberspessmann9604 there are literal symbols in the movie that were and are used by neo-nazi cults, here's an article about it: www.truthdig.com/articles/in-midsommar-silent-white-supremacy-shrieks-volumes/
In a way midsommar did come to a "peaceful" conclusion and she did find that "happiness" (more like mania) she'd been looking for, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a horrific ending. Idk if Ryan didn't catch that or didn't mention it, but he did say she was "safe" which is so untrue its mind-boggling. Her /body/ may be safe but her mind is far from it. And her body is only safe until the time of the cult's choosing, even if she goes along with it "willingly" like the elders.
midsommar and hereditary are the realest depictions of grief i have ever seen. when i was 15 my cousin was brutally murdered, and dani and annie's screams of grief is exactly what you would expect from a person discovering that their family is dead in a tragic and horrific way. i had to step away.
I love horror movies. But gosh, when I walked out of the cinema, I went blank, feeling so sick and I have never felt the same way before after seeing a movie. I couldn't walk, or even talk, I was as white as this page background. Ari Aster got me.
Ari Aster called Midsommar a perverted Wizard of Oz, which I can totally understand. Dani=Dorothy (led on this journey into a strange new land and grows up) Christian=Cowardly Lion (too afraid to be honest with Dani) Josh=Tin Man (heartlessly treats the cult like a science experiment) Mark=Scarecrow (the idiot who never understands how disrespectful he’s being and doesn’t see the obvious danger in front of him as he walks off to his death)
Not only was the old people suicide one of the most disturbing scenes ever...they...KEPT...SHOWING...THE SMASHED IN HEAD. At some point I just started joking that they paid a lot for that dummy and they really wanted to show it off
“Requiem for a Dream” is one of only a few movies that really “shook” me. Always good when you can find a movie that does that, especially when you watch tons of movies.
Watch Perfect Blue. It's the anime film that inspired Requiem, and imo it's actually better because animated films can do so much more with visuals, and Satoshi Kon knew that and that's why his anime films wre so good Hollywood straight up stole a lot of his work.
Josh wasn't bad, except for one vice; ruthless ambition. In pursuit of his thesis he defiled the Hårga's holy book. Now maybe they'd planned his death anyway, but by defying the elder's prohibition to photograph, he definitely surrendered 'innocence'.
He was bad in their eyes. He wanted to use knowledge for his personal gain. He only cared about their history and tradition as subject matter. And he was a rationalist. They had much older, more nature-based values. You can see him in the tapestry right at the beginning carrying a huge pile of books. Plus he was a moral philosopher... No wait, that's The Good Place, nevermind.
petercox9 That’s what he got for spending his time hanging round psychoass white people Dude shoulda just did his thesis in Africa he’d be alive smh Damn sure taught me a lesson
If Dani lets Christian live, it's likely the cult kills them both. So, I believe in those moments of decision, she ultimately chose the lesser of two evils, and to protect herself; at least she gets to live. At that point, she is not considering the cult her new family, but more as her captors. It's like taking Stockholm Syndrome to a whole different level! And, the smile she gives at the very end is her giving into her captors, and literally going insane. Here is the last line from the script that reinforces what i'm saying: A SMILE finally breaks onto Dani’s face. She has surrendered to a joy known only by the insane. She has lost herself completely, and she is finally free. It is horrible and it is beautiful.
@@Morgan-oq7uj because she already knows too much about the cult. Everyone that is brought there meets some kind of fate. They killed the other 2 guys in the movie for snooping around and doing things that could out the cult about its existence. Her leaving was damn near impossible towards the end of that movie. She didn't have anything else and knew her relationship with Christian was as good as dead anyway. The other guy that was looking to leave got killed as well. It was her making a decision over her life or his and Dani being broken over the the weird cult sex he was having with that one girl surrounded by a bunch of other women. He became paralyzed, so there was no real way for her to escape with him anyway.
Horseman Secretariat they wouldn’t have killed her they had the 2 choices and they knew what she would choose anyway. she just saw him cheating on her the final straw and now all he can do is slump in a chair, she knew she needed him to die for freedom, and he needed to die because honestly existence then on would have been torture. And her smile was more like release she now has a family who cares and her past literally vanished into smoke, of course she is still sad but her smile is a realisation not a mental break.
"A SMILE finally breaks onto Dani’s face. (For some, this smile might recall the photo of Dani in her parent’s bedroom at the beginning of the film.) She has surrendered to a joy known only by the insane. She has lost herself completely, and she is finally free. It is horrible and it is beautiful. " ... ya im not gonna go with a okay ending on this one
I thought the ending was chillingly bleak. A cult preying on and grooming a broken person into coming to feel that what they’re doing is acceptable when she otherwise wouldn’t. Her eyes look so dead at the end, as if she feels better on an emotional level but has completely lost all self-identity in order to be a part of a group that makes her feel good about herself. She’s been treated so poorly that she’s willing to give in to the first group that will accept her, even if that group specifically lures in outsiders to kill them. Personally I just didn’t read the film as being about liberation so much as it was about how ideologies, and potentially dangerous or cruel ones that position themselves against others, can lure in rational people by making them feel accepted.
@@icantthinkofaname1009 I don't see it as liberation, really. But it definitely speaks to community. A lot of people in their twenties and thirties have broken social systems with no real family. They don't, in the parlance of the film, feel held. In terms of that community killing people, I mean, I killed a bunch of people for college money and I'm a hero. So it's about context. Not saying it's right or wrong, just that each community has their own moral system.
@@icantthinkofaname1009 it's honestly a bit concerning seeing so many people in the comments say how much they wish what she gets at the end. She literally got indoctrinated into a cult when she was at her lowest, is that completely lost on people after a couple of cute filters and some smiles? The ending doesnt give me happy vibes at all.
Saw a lot of people shit talking this movie lately. Which sucks because there's a lot of clear passion and creativity in the film. Feel like some people genuinely just didn't get the vibe it was going for. That sort of 70s Psychedelic Horror feel.
@@confidential5743 Well there are horror movies like Friday the 13th or Descent. Then there's horror movies like Exorcist or Hereditary. They have different feels, and different ways of scaring people.
"I feel the only people who were really "uneasy" or "unnerved" during this movie are people who dont watch a lot of horror films." God, I get so tired of seeing this comment.
when i saw the elders suicide scene, i had to turn off the movie and wait to watch it till the next day. i really shook me a lot, more than any other scene.
Hereditary is one of my favourite horror films. The acting, the scares, the list goes on. It was the first I’ve seen like it However, Midsommar took me to a place. It was emotionally exhausting, terrifying, yet hugely attractive to the eye in the way it is filmed and how it is in daylight mostly throughout the film. Ari Astar is an INCREDIBLE director
My story about seeing this movie is funny. I was going with a group of friends, one of whom had a little brother who was attending the movie with their mom and his girlfriend, and their movie ended as we were getting to the theater. When we saw them, the girlfriend looked ill, the boyfriend was just shaking his head and telling us that he doesn’t even know what to say. All the mom did was go right up to my friend and say “we are having a talk when you get home.” And they left. And while watching the movie I just couldn’t even imagine what watching that with a parent would be like. I think I would run out of the theater.
Honestly for some reason I think my mother would just get bored. Or just say 'I don't need this shit in my life, why do you torture yourself with movies like these?' She has seen some horrible shit in her life, she has a defense mechanism to block stuff out now and not become invested.
I truly loved this movie, and I think it’s interesting to look at it as Dani being brainwashed by the (seminazi-like) cult at the same time as the audience is. Also Danis grief is so clear when you notice her sisters face in the trees and when she’s hallucinating, she sees her parents. I think she feels as though she found her place and her “roots” literally become a part of the ground underneath her. It’s sad to see and feel her hopefulness and comfort at the end, because it’s a skewed family - or, what she considers a family and love. She wants to feel so needed and so much like a part of something, she’ll do anything. It’s not hopeful or happy, it’s sad and harrowing.
I used to smoke a ton of weed, and generally was a party child in my youth. Then I was struck by a loss so great and unexpected it had colored every facet of my life since. I tried to go back to the way things were. I tried to do the things that used to make me happy. Instead, they were terrifying. When Dani takes the mushrooms and says "they're laughing at me!" I felt so seen. I have experienced that trip. And it is so hard to put into words, feeling so raw and exposed, like a child who just annoys whoever they're around no matter what they do. You are trying to continue on like nothing had changed, like you have not changed. Accepting that this is impossible is the first step. Nothing will ever be the same and that is neither good or bad. It just is.
@@vadacarter2441 in christian's apartment there are several paintings which have similar themes to what happens. for instance there one of a giant bear surround by people, one of a woman covered in flowers. If you go back and watch it im sure you'll find more evidence
Just after I started my last relationship, my then girlfriend went through a horrible personal tragedy which absolutely warped the dynamic between us - I was the only person able to support her through it, but while I liked her and wanted to spend time with her, I wasn't passionate enough about her to devote myself to helping her wholeheartedly. Bit by bit, I restructured my whole life around helping her through it, to the point where taking care of her became more or less my primary duty, and one morning I woke up and realized that the only reason I was still together with her is that "I love you... but I don't love you as much as you need to be loved right now" wasn't an impulse I could bring myself to act on. And I never could. She could be a profoundly manipulative and abusive person, and I don't take full blame for the situation I found myself in, but even when she wasn't being coercive I was still being cowardly. So yeah this film fucking got me.
Electric Whelk Have you listened to the album Hospice by The Antlers ? Its about an abusive relationship similar to what you’ve been through. Might be cathartic in some way.
I completely missed out on the movie when it came out. After watching this review I gave the movie a chance and my god... this truly was an experience. I got so tired of all these horror movies which relied on jumpscares all the time, this one was quite refreshing. I had to get used to the much slower pacing but the subtlety of the horror is amazing. What I loved the most were Dani's emotional development (which perfectly shows why people get into cults so easily) and the fact that the movie just let the characters disappear and only left a few hints to suggest what's going on so we as the audience can figure out that all of them met a rather unfortunate fate. I cant help but get some Wicker Man vibes. Midsommar might not be my number one horror movie but it's definitely in my top 5
this video was on my feed for like WEEKS about six months ago so i finally watched midsommar and now i'm coming back much later to watch your video so i just figured i'd let you know that life came full circle and i'm pretty high and thank you for indirectly forcing me to watch one of my now favorite horror movies
*Hey, let me know what you want me to cover in 2020!!*
Why HEREDITARY Broke Me: ua-cam.com/video/_JHXWUongeM/v-deo.html
Hey Ryan! Did you ever watch The Cell with Jennifer Lopez? I feel like the movie is unfairly judged sometimes. Definitely check it out-- even it you don't like it or cover it, the visuals are the star of the show and will stick with you.
How about don't look now
Let me go through all your uploads to make sure you haven't talked about my suggestion already. 😅
You did, I'll have to watch that after this.
okay hear me out ... when do we eat
This movie was so insane that I didn’t even have an opinion on it until 24 hours after it
Dude I watched it right before sleeping and I kept waking up in the middle of a nonsense thought about the movie. Did not sleep well. Loved the movie. If a movie can weasel it's way into my head and wont leave. I gotta take a closer look at it
I still don’t have an opinion of it
joker Darker some characters are deliberately pretentious. Symbolizing our lack of knowledge to how other cultures live and our expectation that they don’t live too different from us so we have this idea that things we do wouldn’t effect their everyday lives.
Sam I still have no opinion months later.
@joker Darker Cultures are pretty much cults.... each has thier own rules, may seem excessive from the outside, punishments seem necessary to the residents, ....or not but either way the rules set by the cultures hirarchy, whatever it may be, have to be followed.... i dont see much difference
"Why Hereditary BROKE ME"
"Why Midsommar BROKE ME"
"Why does Ari Aster keep BREAKING INTO MY HOUSE AND SMASHING MY LIMBS WITH A BASEBALL BAT"
More like with a fireplace poker XD (a 'The Strange Thing About the Johnsons' ref)
So..many...creepy....AphexTwin'esq......faces in Ari Aster films.
No it's because he saw the movies so many times in theatre that he lost all his money!!
Whoop. I think you just leaked the title for Ari Aster's next film
@@theblocksays Now I want some sort of Ari Aster/Aphex Twin collab. Not sure how'd it'd work but I'm sure it would be weird as hell and I'd be here for it.
The elders suicide was one of the most brutal movie scenes I’ve ever seen
Amanda Cooper haha, you are a joke :)
Rastinfilm why is this comment necessary? Just because you don’t agree doesn’t make this person a joke. All your comment does is make you cruel.
Really? The elders do that ever year put here in Sweden. It’s pretty normal.
peacechickification well, facing the reality is cruel indeed sometimes. If someone complains about reality is too harsch for her, well, it still stays cruel...:) btw there is no oppinion I dont agree with, there is only a fact that she is as unmature as a simple natural situation gives her creep. Which is quite funny.
Rastinfilm I’m sorry- but how often do people actually throw themselves off heights to their death?
And however often it is, doesn’t make it any less traumatic.
Talk in circles as much as you want, laughing at this human that perceives this horrible scene as horrible just makes you cruel.
There’s no reason why you should be trying to convince this person viewing a sad tragic event such as that isn’t tragic and jarring.
Yeah it happens, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t tragic.
I wonder how many innocent couples chose this as a date movie. Oops.
pearliemae773 BRO, i did that with a date and after the date, he was like “Uhh Well that was...something” that’s what he Said after the movie
Lmao my boyfriend and I planned on seeing this on our first date but I left my ID at home...maybe it was for the best haha
watched this with my ex and.... he reminded me a lot of christian at the time and it was HILARIOUS how much i could feel with dani
@@ulvevin same.
Me. :(
Everyone in the comments saying they watched this w their parents...
HOW?
Honestly same. My dad wouldn’t be able to last. I watched it alone for greater effect, and it was a very graphic film. It was amazing.
We all LOVED Hereditary so we thought "Hey this might be more or less the same!" I was wrong
My dad offered to take me to the movies because he wanted to hang out, and he knew I wanted to see this movie. I went into the movie completely blind because I didn't want to be spoiled.
My dad would fall asleep. The most dad thing to do.
Haha I watched Hereditary and this with my parents haha and they are super Catholic.
I watched this with my brother and dad, and at the end we just looked at the credits rolling completely quiet until my dad said... “So who wants pizza.”
Edit: I just came back to this video and saw my comment had 3.6k likes and liked by Ryan. I am on the floor lol.
Pizza time
My dad actually left during the sex scene lmao, most awkward moment of my life maybe
@@mhd1442 damn. That's rough buddy.
“Cowabunga Dude! Make Mine Supreme!!”-Michelangelo TMNT
Me
Did anyone else watch this movie and just think "wow, this cult must have a great event planner"? I mean they just went seamlessly from one activity to another for days. Breakfast at 9, Attestupan at 10.30, blood eagle tourist at 11.30, giant feast at 1, choral rape in the afternoon, bear dissection at 4. They just never slowed down.
They always had the exact number of seats at the table.
DildoSnuggie Magic Vitamins! And Swedish kool.aide
i mean it was one of their biggest festivals and they must have been preparing for years as it said that that midsommar was 1 in 90 years.
The Swedish are very efficient.
Plausible everything comes in Ikea's Modular Cult kit
I personally enjoyed the film a lot but I think the ending is way darker than what some people think. Dani ended up being a part of the cult, brainwashed and manipulated. That is extremely messed up and is way more fearful than your usual jump scares since this is something very real and can happen to anyone who is emotionally vulnerable.
She wasnt brainwashed and manipulated. She was already breaking down. The drugs opened her up to the influences, making it easier for her to break down even more. At the end she had found her family. People who would love her the way she never was, give her a shoulder to cry on. Her new family. I dont think they brainwashed her or anything. Although the drugs were to make it easier for Dani to break down.
@@fluffy6628 the drugs make sure she stays and is dependant
Biggus Dickus IV mmm no
@@fluffy6628 ok the drug opened her to influences but yea they didn't brainwash her sure dude.
R U D Y she was breaking apart on her own already. The drugs made it easier for her to break completely. They did not brainwash her. Thats retarded.
Midsommar, hereditary, the witch, us and get out. There's been a lot of really good horror films in the 2010s. I'm starting to think that psychological horror may be coming back in a big way.
Don't forget 'The Lighthouse', which was also done by Robert Eggers (The Witch).
With Eggers, Aster and Peele at the forefront, id in fact argue Horror in Film never was quite as great as it is now. At least according to my taste which relies heavily on the uncanny. Hell, Lighthouse even feels like something that has been approved by H.P. Lovecraft himself.
@@HomerS95 i still havent watched The Lighthouse because it didnt get released in my country. Its sad, but im still waiting for the digital release tho
@BrandNew really mad that i couldnt experience it in theaters
It follows, and soon Antlers. Even the Babadook, these movies are saving the genre
I prefer a movie messing with me long after I've seen it then solely relying on temporary terror via jump scares
the shot of the dead sister was one of the most gruesome things i've ever seen in my entire life
I lost my brother to suicide so I feel a lot with this movie. It was heartbreaking for me and I felt so alone, still do, as the protagonist does. I felt so much with the movie. It was great while also disturbing.
@Cory Nazworth i've already seen it
I never quite understood how she killed herself, like what is that??
@@sumilal5108 quite a common practice actually, cars release that bad gas i can't remember, so people will link the escape thingy that relases that gas and smoke to some type of tube, usually through the car window while in the car, so they'll suffocate, in the movie she taped it to her mouth, you should do some research to fact check though if you're really interested, a movie that showcases this better is 2009's polytechnique
@@sumilal5108 i think it's the exhaust of the car from the garage that she inhaled and connected to their parent's room. Excuse my english
I also love how Dani, despite her mental illness and trauma, is the only person with the brains and common sense to point out odd suspicious things or say that staying might be a bad idea.
Being mentally ill doesn't mean you lack sense or perception.
The river ritual in the director's cut highlighted that part of her.
The other couple freaked out in the beginning, especially the other girl, so they were killed off immediately
but she indeed fell for the same things she was against as the movie proceeds
And the person who allowed the cult to brainwash her and kill her boyfriend who was drugged and force into sex. I guess she’s really "smart"
She wasn't mentally ill tho. She was heavily traumatized, suffered from PTSD and was tripping balls half the movie.
other subtleties i love about midsommar: when mark says "family", that is what triggers dani's bad trip.
when they first arrive in Hårga, everyone is greeted with a "hello" whereas dani is greeted with a "welcome home"
I noticed the first one but since I didn't see anyone talking about it, I thought it was just my imagination. I think Pelle used the word "family" intentionally a couple of times as well, the first one back when they were talking about their trip to Sweden.
I didn't notice the second one though, good observation.
Haley Crivello look up the film theory that the cult was responsible for killing Dani’s family.
Also if you rewatch the scene where they walk through the giant gate and Pelle introduces them to one of the leaders, the leader shakes everyone else’s hand but gives Dani a hug instead. I immediately picked up on that, they were definitely targeting her. It makes sense because cults look for vulnerable people. Pelle was also very direct with letting Dani know he was glad she was coming before they left the US. It’s clear that he was scheming as soon as she agreed to go
@@ItsRuve agreed, the trailer itself told everyone that Dani was always the intended victim. Their intended may queen. Idk that I buy the whole “cult murdered the family” idea but I do think their recruiter pelle noticed an opportunity in Dani because Christian wanted to break up with her and she had just lost everyone else.
The guy tells dani his parents also died in a fire ..
Mate stop posting these in the middle of the night I wanna sleep without having my mind contemplating the meaning of life and how death damages us and scares us in a deeply profound way
@Celtic FC Europa League Winner 2020
Why would it? What a weird thing to say.
I’m an insomniac, I like having something to think about while I can’t sleep.
Celtic FC Europa League Winner 2020 shut up
@Celtic FC Europa League Winner 2020 I suppose the redundancy is satisfying.
Celtic FC Europa League Winner 2020 god tier reply
Midsommar had the best representation of what it's actually like to be high and tripping that I've ever seen in a movie.
Yeah, you can tell the visual effects people had few trips.
The look on Christian's face when he's sitting at the table panic tripping had me in stitches
Watch Mandy, it will change your mind
So incredibly accurate to being high on shrooms, I couldn't believe it!!
it's not like a super hard experience to depict, honestly.
I read one version of the unreleased script for this film and the end smile of dani was described as ‘manic’ or unhinged. Her final smile symbolises her final detachment from reality.
That was apparent to me at the end as well. Don't see it as a happy ending in any way, shape or form. She just became a hollow body by this point and we don't know what is reserved for the May Queen after all ends. She was probably executed later or used for breeding for all we know
It's described, if I remember well, as 'a happiness known only by the insane'.
That's how I interpreted it too.
The ending somehow reminded me thematically of the ending of *The Wicker Man*, where it’s this sense of false hope for the future. Instead of the villagers singing in celebration for next year’s bountiful crop, we have Dani smiling for a bright happy future that will never come.
Jesus Christ when I saw this poster at the movie theater I thought it was a romantic film or something to do with that genre. I was so wrong
Lmao that's why I didn't watch it until I was told it was horror
WELCOME TO HELL ! OMG, how young you could be...:O
Reminds of how I thought Event Horizon was a Sci-Fi film, boy was I wrong.
Oh you poor, poor thing...
lol, I thought it was based on a Shakespeare play for way too long.
*_It's a good thing that both Heredity and Midsommar avoid any current horror tropes like jumpscares or body horror and it focuses more on realistic fear and personal struggles. At least both of them doesn't need sequels._*
How does it avoid body horror? There's a full on blood eagle setup. And faces smashed in with hammers.
Axelgrey exactly I think both really lean on body horror to make people feel the way they do. Hereditary had all the shots of Charlie’s head and the mother decapitating herself at the very least. Midsommar to me was majority body horror, especially the cliff scene, the blood eagle, and all the corpses set up at the end.
They have lots of body horror (which I love). However what I also love about both films is that they feel more like mature, adult horror than the majority of horror films in the decade
Body horror is a pretty reasonable trope to have. Everyone has a body, so seeing that body destroyed, abused, and contorted just gets to most people. The same way jumpscares get to most people. Just because its a common trope doesn't mean it's bad, or that it can't be used in effective ways.
Have you watched the movies? Both of them are filled with body horror lol.
Ari Aster has a fascinating mind. So far, he didn't disappoint me. Lets see what other weird ideas he has left.
Sometimes, I sit back and wonder how Ari can have such a sick and twisted brain to write stories like this.. He has become my most anticipated director, can't wait for what's next
@@mhd1442 For me it's not about the story, it's abot how Ari tells the story. The photography, the angles and how he directs the actors to give the best of them.
He evidently had 10 screenplays written out before filming 2 of them (hereditary and Midsommar). Interested to see what the other 8 are.
Some of Ari's amateur work is on UA-cam; look up The Strange Things About The Johnson's
hear me out
Ari Asters crazy mind
with
Junji Itos crazy mind
To interpret this as a happy ending is BAFFLING to me and I think changes depending on your personal life and views. This is a very bleak ending, the manipulation of an emotionally destroyed woman ends up working out and she becomes part of the cult. That’s a horrific ending.
Hollinger strikes me as a silly minded fool. He thinks the murder of Christian is perfectly understandable because the guy “couldn’t accept his own feelings” on Dani. What? And Hollinger is the same guy who earlier said Christian was an arsehole because of his attitude. But Hollinger can understand murder if the victim isn’t attuned to their own feelings. Wow.
@@carolinafine8050 he’s a close minded fool sometimes. Whoever wrote up his analysis for him clearly took inspiration from critical reviews which we all know is trash.
I don’t think the ending was happy at all. She lost her mind and is just being manipulated yet again. This time by not one person, but an entire group of people.
Who will flay you alive if you try to leave.
@@leomount9037 he was literally about to break up with her before he found out her parents died. People have stayed in unhealthy relationships for far less altruistic reasons. Plus the girlfriend was costly l clearly an emotional wreck even before her loss, and even she admitted to leaning on her boyfriend too much. At the same time, her boyfriend simply isn't in tune with what he really needs and wants, which lead to him making stupid decisions repeatedly. That's called parasitic co-dependence.
@@leomount9037 that's the part of the film that bothers me the most. Maybe it's intended. So, her boyfriend is used as a sacrifice to deliver her to the proverbial happiness she was looking for... And is somehow deserved. Maybe the horror is in the fact our protagonist, while looking to be free from a sour situation, finds herself in another even more insane situation.
@SOBEK I think she was manipulated by Christian ,when she told pelle that she had to remind him it was her birthday or it was her fault him not remembering .But about the group they weren't manipulating her they were feeling the same sharing the pain I thought it was so sincere and beautiful after her sister and then her boyfriend controlling her life .
Yes. Cults do this- they separate people in order to control them. How I see it, they used Christian to get him to get one pregnant, but Dani...
I don't it was just by chance she became the May Queen. They wanted to further create a deeper rift between them in order to make him more lonely, more desperate, and her more included. They orchestrated the events but left the final choice to her - either Christian, her old life, or the cult. But after her seeing him betray him, of course she would hate him.
So they do what cults do...manipulate. Divide and control, subtly. She will probably become a baby maker for them. A male, they don't need for long.... young woman, new blood, of course, she was perfect, malleable and lonely, broken.
So yeah. The smile in the end... it's both liberation from her old life, but also insanity. Insanity and loss of individual self, because, in good and in bad, the cult in the collective represents collective over individual. It is left open, whether it is good for Dani or not, but it would be extremely naive to think joining them was purely accidental or by Dani's own choices.
That's what their relationship was... Two people without true connection, lost and somewhat broken, unable to change the situation. The cult represents the external force that brings on the change, whether you want it or not. It's both sad, and beautiful, to lose and change through loss.
That's why I liked the ending so much. It was terrible, yet there was a sense of liberation, even though what kind of freedom Dani would have afterwards, is kinda left open.
Her smile in the end, also represents a bigger personal change and loss than "just" the loss of relationship, of Christian - her loss of her old individuality in exchange of the collective self. Loss of ego over collective.
Another reason why the smile is so damn haunting and the ending is so powerful. That smile is so ambivalent, so full of different emotions and meaning. Loss, change, chaos, liberation but perhaps not for a personal freedom. Yet, maybe, that's what she wants after life has broken her down. But yes, the cult and their actions were the last straw.
After all, these are the people who killed outsiders for their sacrifices in cold blood. Manipulated and used them. And they especially were able to do so to Christian and Dani, because they were so unhappy, lost and confused. That's what cults do. They both were used to bring new blood to the cult.
And that's kind of fucked up.
Leo Mount i've come to realize that, generally, not always, men don't see how he was "manipulative" while girls do.
i was ready for midsommar spoilers, not hereditary spoilers...
If you haven't seen Hereditary by now, you goofin'.
@@ceeb420 Life struck me C. Babs :
@It’s Ma’am ! ok nerd.
@It’s Ma’am! Bitch how? There was no spoiler alert or warning lol
There should have been a spoiler warning.
The ending, when the cult members who were "happy" to be selected as sacrifices are being burned, was the moment the film really settled for me. I watch a lot of horror and related genres and I have never felt so deeply saddened. In my opinion, that scene is the thesis of the film. At one point those cult members were welcomed into the community, by birth or like the main cast. Cult members are honored to be selected as sacrifices because their traditions have taught them to be. Then as soon as those members are alone in the building, their demeanors change, and as the fire reaches them, even more so. You can interpret it in a variety of ways. But for me it struck as how broken people are often easily mislead into trusting anyone who offers what they think they need because they believe it will quickly heal them. The reality being that when the broken people are separated from the misleaders again, they find that they are still as broken as they were before because psychological healing is an internal process, and not one that can occur strictly by the work of others. In this case, total dependency on others for their healing results in their deaths, and those cult members died as miserably broken as they were when they entered the cult. Even though they are technically receiving one of the highest honors of their tradition.
Exactly as I was saying. Nobody can save anybody its an internal healing. people actually think that dani somehow was saved. What's gonna happen when it's time for someone to take her place? It isnt Gonna end well that for sure. And what I find unforgivable is that she picked the cult over her bf who was trying so hard with her and what did he get for it?
Agreed
Absolutely agree. Best summary i read in the comments yet.
you hit the nail in the head! great analysis
WHOA WHOA WHOA, I NEVER HEARD THIS THEORY BEFORE BUT THIS MAKES PERFECT SENSE TO ME AND I LOVE IT AND I LOVE YOU, WOW.
This movie hits differently if you’ve never been in a toxic relationship before. I’ve never seen the ending as a twisted “happily ever after”. To me, it’s just a girl that has been manipulated in her vulnerable state by the insanity of a cult that offers conditional love in exchange for her silence and compliance. To call the ending an allegory for finding inner peace through positive support groups just feels wrong in this case, because the support group in question is more than a little malicious. Still, the film is phenomenal no matter how you decide to interpret it.
even know i haven't seen the movie it seemed Christian thought maybe he could still work things out with Dani and thought maybe we can still keep what we have still going even when tragedy with Dani family happen He knew If he break things up with her this would make Dani more depressed and worried she might do something like her sister did showing he at least thinking before acting
It's surprising to me how you interpreted the film so much differently than I did. This movie felt like an endless rollercoaster downwards. I find the ending so sad actually. Like... in the end she can finally smile but she is stuck in this cult and stuck in all these lies. The people don't really care for her, they care for their agenda. They are kept there with no possibility to leave. Instead of facing her problems she is stuck in this bubble and fed with drugs to feel numb. Truly horrorfying.
LI TH more horrifying is. These comments that support the cult.
The thing is, I don’t think dani would want to leave at that point, she’s not stuck or anything as every part of her that used to be “Dani” has died. She literally has no one to return to and the smile is like a fresh start, a sunshine after the winter of her life just like the Sun in the mural smiling at the beginning of the film. She found a family and a sisterhood who grieves with her and accepted her.
It's Irrelevant yeah that’s how I interpret it as well
"Don't join any cults..." Good advice.
My thoughts exactly
Huh, I feel like you overlooked an entire theme of this movie - it's also about toxic dependency. I mean we watch Dani meander through an entire movie in a relationship with a guy that's lying face down, dead in the water. But then we got a cult, pretending to be a family she never had(the modus operandi of cults in general) and even roofie-ing her with natural drugs to keep her in a constant state of just wanting to go with the flow of things. They can't even smile sincerely to her, but she plays along anyway because they're being nice and attentive to her, all the same. She smiles warmly at the end, but just because she made it to the end doesn't make her a Survivor Girl. She smiled because at long last she finally accepted the trade-off of one illusion for another, rather than becoming her own person. It's the rebound to end all rebounds.
Agreed! This feels a lot more like a vulnerable person being groomed by a cult than anything else.
right.. and so many interesting themes and metaphors that he never went into...I feel like this video offered nothing
That's what I was thinking. Toxic dependency. Yes, I agree that it's okay for you to depend on others when facing tough times but I also agree that you shouldn't sacrifice their lives when they're not there for you. But you need to learn to pick yourself up. Those smile & cries weren't a sincere understanding on her pain, it was just their way of life. When someone cries, you also cries. But no actual understanding of pain. I felt sorry for Christian a little, yes it was a douchebag move of him to not being up front with her but does he deserves to be burned alive for not being a better boyfriend? No. Does he physically and emotionally abusing her? No. Not in a way that's more damaging to her than she already is due to her family tragedy. He's just an immature cowardly douchebag.
It depends. If you take it as literal, then yes you're right.
If you view it as allegorical, then I think the story was one of not clinging to life fearfully, and being willing to let parts of yourself die so that new things can begin to grow.
I like this review more than his. It seemed like she was in that sad state because of Christian when he was literally drugged and cursed to do the cults bidding as well. Ryan Hollinger made it seem like christian was the antagonist of the film when it's literally the CULT lmao man hater.
This movie legitimately made me have a panic attack the first time I saw it. My mom had just died and something about the grief in the film hit me hard
I hope you're doing ok now. 💜
I just got done watching this and I think i'm also somewhat panicking from it. I just came on UA-cam now trying to find something to help with this because I don't really have anyone to talk to.
I hope you're doing okay
When she was wailing in her bfs lap after her family had died....tears just started rolling down my face....bc I had felt that before. When my dad died....all I could do was sob ....bc I had felt the deeply saddened before...i really felt it in my heart...
I understand that hurts alot, my mother died recently, and I can see what you mean about all of this too. But, I hope you can learn to live on in peace cause I'm currently working on trying to not loose track of the optimistic person I am. I guess that's why I take interest in this movie because it's a very unusual look at grief and it's process. But anyways I hope you have a good day😁
I saw this movie 6 months to the day after my mentally ill mother had passed away as well, it was so raw and triggering at the time but looking back at how I felt watching it now I know it weirdly helped me to process my own grief. I hope that you are doing well, if you need anybody to talk to I am here.
I dunno. I kinda felt that after all the shitt4y things she went through, it was her smile at the end that reinforced the fact that she's finally snapped and has gone insane just like the rest of her new "family."
The fact that anyone, let alone a majority of viewers, found the ending happy baffles me.
@@carolfromhr9900 Who tf found it happy?
@@rockfella27 My sister, Ryan, and many other commenters think that Midsommar was a female empowerment film for some reason.
@@carolfromhr9900 Make your sister watch Death Proof (2007) and they'll love it. Total women empowerment.
I may be a female and haven't watched the movie, but listening to all of these sypnosises about the ending,,, yeah it wasnt happy at all. It was about someone who felt so lost and alone that she finally snapped and found a "family," which manipulated her into never leaving, becoming an accomplice to murder and accepting her fate.
So I just had a big realization after finishing the movie.. at the beginning Pelle talks about how he lost both of his parents in a fire...
Oh dang how did i miss that!!
Nice. I've read theories and interpretations for this movie; this is the first time I've seen this idea presented.
But isn’t this sacrifice made only every 90 years?
Angad Singh no it’s every 90 years
Wow
Something I found interesting and extremely disturbing about this film the two times I saw it was the elder suicide scene and the way it was edited. Not only is it extremely hard to watch because of the extremely intense realism of the injuries faced by suicide and a giant mallet to the face, but Ari Aster seems to be forcing the audience to be completely silent as it happens. The sound design is done in a way where it is fully quiet except for the characters freaking out over what happened in front of them. When I was first watching it happen, I was in utter shock. I was shaken to my very core at what I was being put through. But I felt like I wasn’t allowed to express it because of how quiet it is. In a way, it’s Aster showing his grip on the audience and bringing us closer to the peace the cult feels in watching it happen. In their cult it’s seen as natural and peaceful, so it only makes sense to symbolize that peace the cult feels with complete and utter silence. It is absolutely horrific in ways a lot of horror movies aren’t and that’s why it’s in my top five films of all time.
The sound design in this film is so brilliant
Open Doors haha, you mean the realistic rubber masks/props? it looked quite funny. And what about the usa guys' reactions? verry realistic, wasnt it? crap.
b r o o k e the film was quite okay until that scene. even the scene itself was ok, i also hate cgi, i agree. But i never forgive mistakes on storytelling and unrealistic (unlogical) reactions from the actors. That is bad script and/or actor leading,falling into full scope of responsibility of the director! NO ALIVE PERSON ON EARTH would have stayed in that scary place after that suicid situation! Traditions? Whatafuk?! Next tradition is eating us alive?! comeon! that's massive dumbshit!
Rastinfilm Thats not entirely true. People react to trauma in very different ways. Some of them tried to leave, some of them wanted to stay. And also, after something like that, anyone unfamiliar with the ceremony would go into stress-induced shock and not be able to move.
Rastinfilm And as the film goes on, it explains why they all accept it as completely normal. It’s because that group has been around for hundreds of years and every generation has seen it happen from a young age so they’re completely desensitized. You should educate yourself on psychology a little bit more. I don’t have much psych knowledge but from what I know, the way the characters reacted was normal and expected.
This film really did something for me when I saw it. My longtime girlfriend had broken up with me before Christmas 2018 while I was going through a spell of depression and only worsened my mental state. I then lost 2 cousins and a close friend in the time between January and August. I was doing bad for a longtime and almost completely shut myself off from the world. During that time I started experimenting with psychedelics for the first time to try shaking me out of my depression and see things differently. It helped somewhat but not enough, drugs never really do, neither do bottles of whiskey. But seeing this in July after a turbulent 7 months affected me in a way I was not expecting. I saw it 4 times in the theaters and was obsessed.
In September I finally started to feel like I could begin anew, I cleaned up, got a cat and had a cousin move in with me to get me out of the house.
I rewatched this recently on Blu Ray and realized just how cathartic this movie was for me at a very rough time. I now have an entirely new appreciation for it and am very thankful this movie was made.
Just thought I'd share a positive experience with this film since it seemed to fuck up everybody else's day in the comment section. Haha. Cheers, Ryan!
So glad to hear you're doing better. I'm currently on a downward mental spiral from family abandoning me and losing my job all at the same time. Secluded, no friends, drink/drugs. I'm desperate to try psychedelics to snap myself out of this, but ive been depressed all my life. Did the psychedelics truly not help???
@@ceIIardoor I don't encourage drug use at all. Psychedelics are unpredictable and everyone's experience is different. But for me, the depersonalization effects helped me relate to others more and opened me up to acknowledging there is only one person like me in the world and it would be a disservice to my loved ones to end my life for selfish reasons.
LSD definitely helped me but I'd encourage you to talk to people about you're problems. If you can't afford a therapist, some random person at a bar. 😂 It helps greatly to have an objective person to unload your grief on.
I would encourage open dialogue before experimenting with psychedelics. I know its hard, especially if you're depressed and introverted, but never rely on drugs. That opens doors that are hard to close if you get too deep in it.
Same man. I got trough a tough break up by watching horror movies. I don't know why but I felt restless after it and those movies kept my mind off him for awhile and on the gruesome scenes. I obviously didn't like gore but hey it was better than rotting away and getting anxiety attacks and not sleeping well.Still his movies are more art then horror so I must say they captivated me.
@@S019978 Thanks for the reply, I appreciate your input.
Bitch ain’t no one got time to read all dat!
That....was a disturbing analysis.
The amount of people saying the ending was good and they’re happy for her is very alarming and really sheds light to how many people are susceptible to being indoctrinated into cults.
I’ve learned that nowadays people’s morals have kinda diverted from what is societally good. They think they can justify irredeemable actions. They also let themselves get manipulated by obvious traps that abuse their moralistic views on life. I dunno people are just going crazier as time goes on.
Think of it as a critique of the shallowness and isolation of outside society rather than as an endorsement of human sacrifice. Human sacrifice is bad? NO SHIT, really? That's obvious, now dig a little deeper.
These comments frustrate me. It's a film! A story! Irl I don't think bad boyfriends deserve death or that violent pagan cults are cool, but in the context of this story it's a cathartic abs satisfying conclusion.
@@jescerie7382 What's cathartic about burning people alive? Especially someone whom you loved? Because he couldn't relate to your extremely rare traumatic experience? Because he "cheated" under the involuntary influence of drugs? There's nothing cathartic about that ending.
@@MRJTD99 agreed. If we should just accept the ending as "happy" because it's metaphorical, then we need to complete the analogy, meaning think about that metaphor in an expanded sense to include what Christian did to deserve it, if he really did, what Dani gained/lost along the way, etc. You can understand the idea that she is now free from a clearly toxic relationship while still hating what it took for her to get there. It's in this metaphor that as a consequence of him being raped by this cult, he must now die an (what looks like) agonizing death when it could've been another member of the cult. Just because she looks happy and feels free (even just metaphorically) in the end doesn't mean she truly is. I mean, is she free from her troubles are is she now literally and figuratively dependent on this new group (which she could probably never choose to leave should she ever come to the realization that what happened was horrendous). This is a horror film after all...and honestly, a great one imo...just not one I'd call empowering.
Midsommar absolutely left me in a dark hole for a few days. I felt incredibly exposed and raw after watching it.
Ryan: “Let’s talk about the cult, itself.”
_LeT’s PlAy RaId ShAdOw LeGeNdS_
Me: Sounds about right~
I got a tiktok advert.Feels kind of appropriate somehow
lol i got a mentos ad🤣
I got a perfume ad for Wanderlust that played that song, "Somewhere Beyond the Sea". Made me think of the city of Rapture.
As if anyone is stupid enough to go near that trash game 😂
Like why do ads for mobile games always have to say “Let’s Play” before the title of their game? Like we don’t know they’re only saying it because it’s a popular phrase~
There was parts of this Film that made me laugh out loud...not because any thing was funny, but just from the sheer insanity of it. Like when you are super uncomfortable..
Nothing wrong with that, our theatre in Stockholm laughed at a lot of the film...some parts were legitimately (intentionally) goofy from a Swedish perspective, but I got the feeling that a lot of people were laughing at the other parts because they felt so disconcerted
@@elgatonegro1703 I totally Can relate..
Ari Aster said in an interview that he's going to move away from the horror genre for a while and work with some other genres. That will be really cool and I'm excited to see what he can do with other genres and and how he can make his movies stand out like he did with Midsommar and Hereditary. He's definitely one of my favorite directors for the way he can make his horror movies different to every other horror movie. I will definitely go see his other films.
@@portapotty69
To each their own.
The scariest part of this movie for me is when Ulf is wearing Mark’s face and you just had to put it in there twice for the added spice!
Agreed. Saw the movie for the first time ago for 12 hours ago, and I can't get it out of my head.
It’s funny how people think she’s been truly liberated/happy or that they want to feel this same catharsis (she’s being indoctrinated into a cult.). Of course, she smiles-she’s let go and gotten rid of everything that would make her ‘Dani’. Everything about her-her life, her experiences, her boyfriend-she hated it in the end. She’s only “free” because she’s not a real person anymore. She’s a face, and a body, and an illusion of contentedness, just as the Harga cult intended her to be. She is covered in colorful flowers here whereas normal society was dark, bleak, filled with shadows.
That’s the point of a cult. You have been made promises (family, favors, stability) for your self-identity in return.
To me, the most horrific moment in the film was Dani’s smile. The implication of her dissolution as a person with self-identity was terrifying. She chose what made her feel like she was someone, not knowing their intention was the complete opposite.
great analysis! I agree with you.
@YSV Rao Finally someone saying that. Despite Christian being mostly a selfish asshole he kinda wanted to do good. He was going to break up with her and then the murder-suicide happens leaving her depending on him, she was clingy and shouldn't even be in the trip with them for instance. His lack of emphaty is intensified by his lack of control in his life, he can't choose a subject to study, he can't leave her because of what happened and he can't even get to choose whether he fucks that redhead or not. He is ultimately flawed however still a victim of his fate, not justifying his dickness but his life definitely sucks too.
@YSV Rao I don't think people believe a real person would deserve that, but being fictional it's a lot easier to feel a fictional fate is warranted.
They can tell the difference between fiction and reality, and indulge in harmless opinions based on this knowledge. It's perfectly healthy to indulge in fiction on such ways. Normal and natural.
@@chaossmith3864 I have to disagree here. I believe a vast majority of people blur the line between the distinctions of reality and entertainment. Take a look at the vitriol given to the actress of Skylar White, Ann Gunn, for her performance on Breaking Bad. Then there are the Star Wars actors and actresses who have been harassed into isolation and fear. The Kardashians are hated in large part due to how they were portrayed on their reality television. Reality television, which is heavily edited, produced, and scripted by Hollywood executives. And that's just examples of negative portrayals of people based on their acting roles. The positive ones are arguably more numerous.
@@slaughterhome I disagree that it's a vast majority, sorry.
I was impressed by the first LSD trip in this movie, too. A lot of movies do way too much, but the small detail in this was incredibly accurate in my opinion. The way the grass moved, the moments of peace, time passing, the slight anxiety/triggering bad memories and then full on panic leading to a bad trip is very accurate.
Sammy Van Dankstein everyone experiences drugs differently as well I remember the breathing distortions on shrooms
The one and only time I've done lsd, the carpet I was sitting on started breathing which led to an immediate bad trip, shits weird
i actually felt the opposite way about the ending, where i was wondering how she could possibly escape the situation and return to normal life and when she smiled i realised.. 'oh, shes stuck' because shes finding acceptance in the cult that i sure wish she wasnt. its unnerving because you know despite all that happened you know she'll stay by choice which is the nature of a cult. a much worse ending than happy and safe.
a peaceful resolution ??? i wasn't left with that feeling after watching at all? the swastika, the white supremacy of the cult, and how easy it was to pull dani in, dani going from one toxic relationship with a guy into another very toxic relationship with a whole cult, were all so uncomfortable to watch, but i also felt like dani's death was (obviously) still coming during midsommar, even though we didn't see it during the movie. there are no may queens anywhere. you see their pictures but where are they? why doesn't dani meet a single one? the parallels that happen with the old couple and dani as may queen. the midsommar event lasts 9 days, the end of the movie didn't fullfil those 9 days, it was very obvious to me that dani was still going to die soon after the movie's events. the ending didn't feel peaceful to me at all (which made it great to me)
I don’t even watch horror movies. I just really love listening to the way you break them down as a film fan myself.
Same boat
@@0278fmoran how dull can you be
@@0278fmoran Sure buddy, feminism is the reason you can't get laid
Shian Lmao
@@0278fmoran "imaginary snuff film" great term buddy. right up there with "victimless war crime" and "non-venomous venomous snake"
"Peein' n' suffering"
Literally replayed that part more than 4 times cause I didn't know what he was saying and that's what it sounded closest to.
people with STDs can relate
I'm glad someone else said it!
i came here for this
I thought it was my fault that I couldn’t understand 😂
A good cult movie criticizes society for how it drives characters to want to be part of a cult, but also criticizes the cult for being dehumanizing and controlling.
Midsommar was a great cult movie (did all of the above with the addition of exploring a specific character’s psychology).
Dani was one of the most sympathetic and relatable characters I've seen in a horror film.
Ikr. I found myself relating to her in too many ways, even though I’ve never been through the kind of grief or relationship problems that she experiences
You can relate to a emotionally distressed woman who clings to people who she gives bad vibes too, doesn’t get the memo that people don’t want to be around due to her behavior and then mind washingly deciding to kill her significant other who was also drugged into having sex with woman without his fully aware consent and then burned for it later? In another movie and if another person was playing her character, they would be called a mentally distressed psychopath.
@@bobybrown1999 No, I think you've got that wrong. Her boyfriend was dismissive and completely unsupportive of her during a major emotional trauma, and unless I've forgotten, attempted to bring her along on their trip anyway, even though she didn't want to. She was not aware of his escapade until later, and he was also just a low person in general, attempting to steal the other guy's research thesis. She acted that role very well and exuded a humanness which is palpably obvious to an attentive audience, and not especially common in film.
Man. That movie made me feel so uncomfortable.
I can Bearly handle it.
Christian had a GRIZZLY demise.
Badumtss 🥁
Nah, I feel it was on fire.
OK AHAHAH
What can I say, these type of horror films are the new Hottest thing!
Its incredible how quickly Ari Aster has become my favorite director
@L Franco absolutely agree. His vision is just so strangely human and deep. Can't wait to see what he makes next!
Right ?? Dude released two horror movies in one year and both are fucking masterpieces
Yes!
A24 is best movie distributor!!!!
Personnaly, I think that the main themes were loneliness. We can clearly see how much each caracter is self absorbed in his own world.
The american students come from the individualist world of the "I" and the "Me first". On the other side, the cult is all about "us".
The main caracter lose her "self" and sense of identity as she is progressively depaterned by the cult.
They use drug to make her more vulnerable and suggestible. They lovebomb her and mirror all her emotion so they become a reflection of herself.
At the end she becomes part of the madness of the "us" of the cult...
Anyway it was a master piece !
The elder suicide looked SO real. Seeing videos of that actually happening to people, it looks identical. Could be traumatizing for many people :/
How the fuck did you watch videos of that actually happening?
@@Jennyfisch liveleaks is a thing.
@@deadsoon Something tells me I'm not gonna want to look that up
It really does look like the real thing? I never dared to watch a real death recording I thought it would haunt me for life. That scene looked so fake to me.
Cee Bee it looks like the real thing to me. If you get grossed out/scared easily then I wouldn’t recommend to watch any thing similar to the scene that is real. I don’t get affected by stuff like that but other people do.
The intro shot after its revealed what her sister has done was menacing. The music was just so grim
Jonbroetchen one of the scariest parts honestly
That scream through the phone though, reminded me of when charlies body was found in the car in Hereditary
Seriously though, I don't know if Ari Aster has some personnal grief story or is just extremely fucked-up, but these scenes are some of the most heavy fucking things I've ever saw in a movie... Like geez, don't want to see that kinda shit ever again... Great movies tho
I watched this movie three weeks ago and there are moments where I start thinking about it again and it disturbs me. Like I can't explain it's level of uncomfortable. Hereditary had me shook right after watching it but it's like midsomar was meant to be this long burn in my subconscious never letting me get back to fully being normal...but it's just a movie I'm over thinking about.
I thought it was very romantic
I feel like ya either gassing it or just some bitch ass niggas
It's a demonic cult... Jesus saves
You sound like me, certain movies disturb me so much that I'm still thinking about them weeks after and midsommar is one of them movies
The brightness of it helps.
the first 20 mins of this movie best opening scene for a horror movie ive seen
I just, I can’t let this movie go. It keeps haunting me, I think I’ve got to do a whole studio ghibli marathon to feel good
Don't watch grave of the fireflies.
And don’t think about my neighbor totoro too much.
their smiles was honestly the scariest and most disturbing part to me
For me, it was the sun in the opening shot on the tapestry.
@@sarahdaydream9682 teletubbies flashbacks eh? lol
I feel like something must have been wrong with me because I didn't even noticed how their faces were odd.
The directors cut adds soooooo much more to the film. It really adds more value and depth! Another great vid Ryan! Really admire your writing!
I am extremely scared of the amount of people that consider the end of Midsommar as positive. Dani falls in the grasp of a murderous cult and becomes an active member of it. Becomes a murderer of her own. HOW IS THAT POSITIVE ?!
Yep and she murders a rape victim with the ultimate form of victim blaming. There's nothing positive in that whatsoever.
This movie made me fascinatingly uncomfortable, I love it.
I’ve seen midsommar twice: one with my mother and again on my first date with my current boyfriend. Every time I watch it I find that I relate to it more and more and I find that I connect with it more than hereditary. Idk, I feel midsommar hit that one nerve I never wanted to know I had
Choosing it as a first date option is bold af
Neat. We both loved hereditary and we chose the last day of it being played in theaters as like a hang out movie, we didn’t really start going out until afterwards lmao. It is still p bold tho 🤣🤣
@@gatsu6906 Once it hits Netflix, it's gonna be my go-to Netflix and Chill movie.
DadisDad 🤣🤣🤣
DadisDad Incel alert 🚨🚨🚨
I heard it broke a *lot* of people. Ari Aster has his groove and by God, he sticks to it!
Yeah.....by being awful
@@TimeBomb014X bro what
Phoenix Wohlfeil I liked the movie too but are you really surprised some people didn’t like it lol
Yeah, I watched it at midnight and didn’t go to sleep probably past 3. I had to wake up at 6 to go to work and I wasn’t even tired because I kept thinking about the movie the whole day.
Dude is just like “what if the movie is an esoteric ritual with some shocking gore”
Took me half the video to realize “peein’” was “pain”
"Midsommar comes to a peaceful resolution that is rarely seen in horror movies, where we know for a fact that Dani is safe from the evils that brought her down to begin with, death be damned. Because at the end of the day, what truly matters to her is finding the happiness she's been sorely missing."
I respect the sheer effort and insight you put into your videos, but it's like we watched two totally different Midsommars. I can't think of a more incorrect take-away from this film than this. It's also a very dangerous way to view real life.
@@yozora7850 "neo-nazi cult"
Are you saying that because they are white?
@@uberspessmann9604 there are literal symbols in the movie that were and are used by neo-nazi cults, here's an article about it: www.truthdig.com/articles/in-midsommar-silent-white-supremacy-shrieks-volumes/
In a way midsommar did come to a "peaceful" conclusion and she did find that "happiness" (more like mania) she'd been looking for, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a horrific ending. Idk if Ryan didn't catch that or didn't mention it, but he did say she was "safe" which is so untrue its mind-boggling. Her /body/ may be safe but her mind is far from it. And her body is only safe until the time of the cult's choosing, even if she goes along with it "willingly" like the elders.
@@ChibiRandom13 Nordic runes existed long before nazis lmao
@@iAmDe123 dude no duh but the nazis used them and neo-nazis to this day still use them to identify each other
2:50 "...whereas HEREDITARY is about peein'..."
HELL YEAH
I had to replay that part 4 times cause I didn't know if that's what he was really saying
I love Florence Pugh's eyes.
A very talented actress.
Best frown in the business
and her nose is literally perfect
She’s as stocky as a refrigerator which is kinda refreshing.
midsommar and hereditary are the realest depictions of grief i have ever seen. when i was 15 my cousin was brutally murdered, and dani and annie's screams of grief is exactly what you would expect from a person discovering that their family is dead in a tragic and horrific way. i had to step away.
I love horror movies.
But gosh, when I walked out of the cinema, I went blank, feeling so sick and I have never felt the same way before after seeing a movie. I couldn't walk, or even talk, I was as white as this page background. Ari Aster got me.
Ari Aster called Midsommar a perverted Wizard of Oz, which I can totally understand.
Dani=Dorothy (led on this journey into a strange new land and grows up)
Christian=Cowardly Lion (too afraid to be honest with Dani)
Josh=Tin Man (heartlessly treats the cult like a science experiment)
Mark=Scarecrow (the idiot who never understands how disrespectful he’s being and doesn’t see the obvious danger in front of him as he walks off to his death)
Good point!
Like that idea
This film made me reflect on my own loneliness and i spiraled down to a drepressive episode
I hope to find my own family someday as Dani
Have you heard of Scientology? We are always welcoming of new family
JKKing Family and cult are two different things.
@@jeffreykann213 Forget Scientology, come and join us Thighentologists.
@@VernulaUtUmbra I'm interested.. Tell me more..
Nerdmation Studio don’t tell that to people because cult recruiters will take advantage of lonely depressed people.
Not only was the old people suicide one of the most disturbing scenes ever...they...KEPT...SHOWING...THE SMASHED IN HEAD. At some point I just started joking that they paid a lot for that dummy and they really wanted to show it off
Both hereditary, and midsommar are two of the best horror movies we've had in recent time in my opinion.
“Requiem for a Dream” is one of only a few movies that really “shook” me. Always good when you can find a movie that does that, especially when you watch tons of movies.
Watch Perfect Blue. It's the anime film that inspired Requiem, and imo it's actually better because animated films can do so much more with visuals, and Satoshi Kon knew that and that's why his anime films wre so good Hollywood straight up stole a lot of his work.
At least One of Christian’s friends, Josh wasn’t that bad. He was least hostile towards Dani. All he wanted was to focus on his thesis.
@petercox9 FACTS lol
Josh wasn't bad, except for one vice; ruthless ambition. In pursuit of his thesis he defiled the Hårga's holy book. Now maybe they'd planned his death anyway, but by defying the elder's prohibition to photograph, he definitely surrendered 'innocence'.
He was bad in their eyes. He wanted to use knowledge for his personal gain. He only cared about their history and tradition as subject matter. And he was a rationalist. They had much older, more nature-based values. You can see him in the tapestry right at the beginning carrying a huge pile of books. Plus he was a moral philosopher... No wait, that's The Good Place, nevermind.
petercox9 That’s what he got for spending his time hanging round psychoass white people Dude shoulda just did his thesis in Africa he’d be alive smh
Damn sure taught me a lesson
@@angelit161 It was Christian fault that he got killed. Christian should've came up with his own thesis.
“You clearly weren’t watching the movie”
Bruh I never even heard of this movie I’m just chillin, I like your videos!
after i watched this in the theatre i had to go to the bathroom to cry cause the entire movie gave me an anxiety attack
Celina Burns I watched it last night and it definitely gave me an anxiety attack so hard that I actually felt deattached from reality like 2 minutes
If Dani lets Christian live, it's likely the cult kills them both. So, I believe in those moments of decision, she ultimately chose the lesser of two evils, and to protect herself; at least she gets to live. At that point, she is not considering the cult her new family, but more as her captors. It's like taking Stockholm Syndrome to a whole different level! And, the smile she gives at the very end is her giving into her captors, and literally going insane.
Here is the last line from the script that reinforces what i'm saying:
A SMILE finally breaks onto Dani’s face. She has surrendered to a joy known only by the insane. She has lost herself completely, and she is finally free. It is horrible and it is beautiful.
Zane That makes more sense to me! Thanks!
.....no....
Why would the cult kill dani if she didn't choose Christian? Because they want her to make her own sacrifice?
@@Morgan-oq7uj because she already knows too much about the cult. Everyone that is brought there meets some kind of fate. They killed the other 2 guys in the movie for snooping around and doing things that could out the cult about its existence. Her leaving was damn near impossible towards the end of that movie. She didn't have anything else and knew her relationship with Christian was as good as dead anyway. The other guy that was looking to leave got killed as well. It was her making a decision over her life or his and Dani being broken over the the weird cult sex he was having with that one girl surrounded by a bunch of other women. He became paralyzed, so there was no real way for her to escape with him anyway.
Horseman Secretariat they wouldn’t have killed her they had the 2 choices and they knew what she would choose anyway. she just saw him cheating on her the final straw and now all he can do is slump in a chair, she knew she needed him to die for freedom, and he needed to die because honestly existence then on would have been torture.
And her smile was more like release she now has a family who cares and her past literally vanished into smoke, of course she is still sad but her smile is a realisation not a mental break.
I watched this in a theatre filled with Swedish people... I have never had a a more silent cinema experience.
Unnerved that the secret was out were they?
"A SMILE finally breaks onto Dani’s face. (For some, this smile
might recall the photo of Dani in her parent’s bedroom at the
beginning of the film.) She has surrendered to a joy known
only by the insane. She has lost herself completely, and she
is finally free. It is horrible and it is beautiful.
" ... ya im not gonna go with a okay ending on this one
What are you quoting?
@@markiep8477 the script
i already felt sick by the time i saw dani's sister with the tube taped to her mouth,it felt so ominous.
I didn't see the ending as happy, at all. Dani just went from one gaslighter to a whole group of them....
@ThatOneAsianBroChick Yup
I thought the ending was chillingly bleak. A cult preying on and grooming a broken person into coming to feel that what they’re doing is acceptable when she otherwise wouldn’t. Her eyes look so dead at the end, as if she feels better on an emotional level but has completely lost all self-identity in order to be a part of a group that makes her feel good about herself.
She’s been treated so poorly that she’s willing to give in to the first group that will accept her, even if that group specifically lures in outsiders to kill them.
Personally I just didn’t read the film as being about liberation so much as it was about how ideologies, and potentially dangerous or cruel ones that position themselves against others, can lure in rational people by making them feel accepted.
@@icantthinkofaname1009 I don't see it as liberation, really. But it definitely speaks to community. A lot of people in their twenties and thirties have broken social systems with no real family.
They don't, in the parlance of the film, feel held.
In terms of that community killing people, I mean, I killed a bunch of people for college money and I'm a hero. So it's about context. Not saying it's right or wrong, just that each community has their own moral system.
@@icantthinkofaname1009 it's honestly a bit concerning seeing so many people in the comments say how much they wish what she gets at the end.
She literally got indoctrinated into a cult when she was at her lowest, is that completely lost on people after a couple of cute filters and some smiles?
The ending doesnt give me happy vibes at all.
In the screenplay the ending also leaves it as if she’s lost her mind and self completely.
She’s just staring.
Saw a lot of people shit talking this movie lately. Which sucks because there's a lot of clear passion and creativity in the film.
Feel like some people genuinely just didn't get the vibe it was going for. That sort of 70s Psychedelic Horror feel.
@Pugilist Enthusiast I watch a fuckton of horror and exploitation films and was still very unnerved. To each their own, I guess.
I feel like you shouldn’t need to ‘get a vibe’ to be scared by a good horror movie, it should just be natural
@@confidential5743
Well there are horror movies like Friday the 13th or Descent. Then there's horror movies like Exorcist or Hereditary.
They have different feels, and different ways of scaring people.
"I feel the only people who were really "uneasy" or "unnerved" during this movie are people who dont watch a lot of horror films."
God, I get so tired of seeing this comment.
Midsommar's world building is impeccable.
when i saw the elders suicide scene, i had to turn off the movie and wait to watch it till the next day. i really shook me a lot, more than any other scene.
Midsommar: Do you have anxiety?
Me: No.
Midsommar: Would you like some?
2:51 “Hereditary is about _peein’...”_
So it is.
Ryan Hollinger: "-and don't join any cults".
Me about to volunteer as sacrifice for the Great Old Ones" "Uh...."
Me becoming an official member of the cult and trying to recruit new members to show support: "Uh"
* Precedes to do finger guns*
me and the boys boutta commit vehicular manslaughter to the great lord Tagfuüïl: oops
Me, about to sacrifice a cult: "Hm"
Hereditary is one of my favourite horror films. The acting, the scares, the list goes on. It was the first I’ve seen like it
However, Midsommar took me to a place. It was emotionally exhausting, terrifying, yet hugely attractive to the eye in the way it is filmed and how it is in daylight mostly throughout the film.
Ari Astar is an INCREDIBLE director
i think that this film is one of the best i’ve seen in a long time
My dad came into the room and watched the second half of the movie, he was very confused to say the least
I watched the whole thing from start to finish and was still confused.
For your sake i hope he didn't see the sex scene :D
I haven’t even seen the movie but what I’ve heard has left me very confused
@@romankotas448 don't waste 2 hours of your life on trash
Cool Arrow90 Okay
My story about seeing this movie is funny. I was going with a group of friends, one of whom had a little brother who was attending the movie with their mom and his girlfriend, and their movie ended as we were getting to the theater. When we saw them, the girlfriend looked ill, the boyfriend was just shaking his head and telling us that he doesn’t even know what to say. All the mom did was go right up to my friend and say “we are having a talk when you get home.” And they left. And while watching the movie I just couldn’t even imagine what watching that with a parent would be like. I think I would run out of the theater.
Man that profile picture brings back so many memories of my childhood
Honestly for some reason I think my mother would just get bored. Or just say 'I don't need this shit in my life, why do you torture yourself with movies like these?' She has seen some horrible shit in her life, she has a defense mechanism to block stuff out now and not become invested.
I didn’t even think it was that bad, but everyone was saying how disgusted and creeped they were
I truly loved this movie, and I think it’s interesting to look at it as Dani being brainwashed by the (seminazi-like) cult at the same time as the audience is.
Also Danis grief is so clear when you notice her sisters face in the trees and when she’s hallucinating, she sees her parents. I think she feels as though she found her place and her “roots” literally become a part of the ground underneath her.
It’s sad to see and feel her hopefulness and comfort at the end, because it’s a skewed family - or, what she considers a family and love.
She wants to feel so needed and so much like a part of something, she’ll do anything. It’s not hopeful or happy, it’s sad and harrowing.
I used to smoke a ton of weed, and generally was a party child in my youth. Then I was struck by a loss so great and unexpected it had colored every facet of my life since. I tried to go back to the way things were. I tried to do the things that used to make me happy. Instead, they were terrifying. When Dani takes the mushrooms and says "they're laughing at me!" I felt so seen. I have experienced that trip. And it is so hard to put into words, feeling so raw and exposed, like a child who just annoys whoever they're around no matter what they do. You are trying to continue on like nothing had changed, like you have not changed. Accepting that this is impossible is the first step. Nothing will ever be the same and that is neither good or bad. It just is.
@Mystery Playa This is some big brain shit right here
10:53 I never noticed that Dani's sister opens her eyes at this part of the dream sequence.
Midsommer: An acid trip WITHOUT THE ACID.
This whole film made me go 🤔🤔🤔.
Shrooms not acid
This movie was slow, boring, intense, fast-paced, scenic as well as horrific all at the same time
The best description ever made
I actually found Midsommer quite beautiful.
In what ways
Cinematography was beautiful for sure. Story: dark and scary and anything but.
The paintings in the boyfriends house also foreshadowed what was to come
explain please
@@vadacarter2441 in christian's apartment there are several paintings which have similar themes to what happens. for instance there one of a giant bear surround by people, one of a woman covered in flowers. If you go back and watch it im sure you'll find more evidence
Just after I started my last relationship, my then girlfriend went through a horrible personal tragedy which absolutely warped the dynamic between us - I was the only person able to support her through it, but while I liked her and wanted to spend time with her, I wasn't passionate enough about her to devote myself to helping her wholeheartedly. Bit by bit, I restructured my whole life around helping her through it, to the point where taking care of her became more or less my primary duty, and one morning I woke up and realized that the only reason I was still together with her is that "I love you... but I don't love you as much as you need to be loved right now" wasn't an impulse I could bring myself to act on. And I never could. She could be a profoundly manipulative and abusive person, and I don't take full blame for the situation I found myself in, but even when she wasn't being coercive I was still being cowardly.
So yeah this film fucking got me.
Electric Whelk Have you listened to the album Hospice by The Antlers ? Its about an abusive relationship similar to what you’ve been through. Might be cathartic in some way.
@@demifolk8940 yes! It was one of my favourite albums even before I got into the relationship - really should have forewarned me tbh
You tried a lot ... N that's great!
@Kailei R yeah, that's cause I'm a lesbian :P
@Kailei R Understood what?
I completely missed out on the movie when it came out. After watching this review I gave the movie a chance and my god... this truly was an experience. I got so tired of all these horror movies which relied on jumpscares all the time, this one was quite refreshing. I had to get used to the much slower pacing but the subtlety of the horror is amazing. What I loved the most were Dani's emotional development (which perfectly shows why people get into cults so easily) and the fact that the movie just let the characters disappear and only left a few hints to suggest what's going on so we as the audience can figure out that all of them met a rather unfortunate fate. I cant help but get some Wicker Man vibes. Midsommar might not be my number one horror movie but it's definitely in my top 5
Watch the lighthouse
I really love your commentary and analysis of horror. I'm so glad I found this channel!
There's also less toxic ways to break up then to burn the dude alive like chill.
Guess that's how it goes in Sweden lol.
No, it was the perfect to end it tbh
@@catscanhavelittleasalami you should join the cult
Ryan: “Let’s talk about the cult itself”
*Ad plays
“Google Fi, a phone plan by Google :)”
this video was on my feed for like WEEKS about six months ago so i finally watched midsommar and now i'm coming back much later to watch your video so i just figured i'd let you know that life came full circle and i'm pretty high and thank you for indirectly forcing me to watch one of my now favorite horror movies