‘Midsommar’ is a folk horror film that premiered mid 2019. The film stars the female protagonist, Dani Ardor and her boyfriend Christian Hughes, who are played by the English actress, Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor. The film was produced and distributed by A24, who are an American independent entertainment company and have produced many other successful films, however, it was a cor-production between the United States and Sweden. Although the film’s concept is based upon Swedish cultists, one of the films main plot is centred around a deteriorating relationship. The film starts with Dani being left severely traumatised after her sister committed a murder-suicide, which further hinders her relationship with her boyfriend. They decide to travel to Sweden with a group of friends to join in on a midsummer festival, however they found themselves running into a frightening cult, which practices Scandinavian paganism. There are a lot of trigger warnings to be aware of before watching this film as some of the scenes are quite violent.
I first consumed this film during 2020 as the film was getting a lot of attention on social media platforms for many of the scenes in the film, however before watching I didn’t know what the film was specifically about. I see this film as a ‘life changer’ media product as it was my introduction into the genre of horror films, which is arguably my favourite genre of films overall. This film affected me emotionally because of the brutality and gruesome scenes and themes it explores. There are themes of suicide, betrayal, grief, sexual harassment etc, all explored throughout the film and because these themes are so raw and emotional not only for the characters in the film but also the viewers, it connects with the audience and leaves them to reflect. The film is very unique in the way it portrays these themes in the film as it doesn't follow the generic gore that a lot of other horror films follow, which is why the scenes in this film are so raw. This film changed my media consumption as it influenced me to take an interest in the genre of horror and this film really stood out as it was a different take on a horror film compared to the traditional.
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