Ari Aster's folk horror epic proves that the most disturbing things can happen in broad daylight.
Midsommar is a breakup movie disguised as a folk horror film, or perhaps a folk horror film disguised as a breakup movie. Either way, it's unlike anything else in modern horror. Set almost entirely in the perpetual daylight of a Swedish midsummer, the film strips away the shadows that horror typically relies on.
Florence Pugh is remarkable as Dani, a woman processing unimaginable grief while her relationship crumbles around her. Her journey is both heartbreaking and oddly cathartic, even as it leads to one of horror's most unforgettable final images.
At nearly two and a half hours, Midsommar asks a lot of its audience, but those willing to surrender to its rhythms will find a deeply affecting and genuinely disturbing experience.