Midsommar: A Psychedelic Nightmare

Midsommar (2019) is a horror film directed by Ari Aster, known for his previous box office success Hereditary. This film follows a young vulnerable woman along with her boyfriend and his friends to an isolated Swedish festival, advertised as a once in a life-time retreat it quickly turns into a sinister competition in the hands of a pagan cult.

Personally, I struggle to watch horror films due to my over-imaginative brain and inability to stomach blood. It's fair to say this film uses gore in a classy yet disturbing way, and left myself unable to watch. But what I wanted to talk about regarding this piece of cinema would be the visceral response to the psychedelics and aches experienced throughout the film.

Heartbreak, addictions, loss, tragedy are all at the centre of this film. Yet, the breath, skin and vision of this film left viewers uncomfortable. This discomfort rooted itself in a visceral experience viewers cannot escape. It played in the facial expressions we wish not to see, it used the breath we wish not to hear and the tricks our mind's eye play on us. It is these techniques that Aster uses in his horror that has produced a new age for the genre. One that even a weak stomach and wimpish person like myself can appreciate and enjoy.