Midsommar

 2.5/4

Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter

Rated R for Disturbing Ritualistic Violence and Grisly Images, Strong Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Drug Use and Language

I was not a fan of Ari Aster's debut film, "Hereditary."  Rather than eerie or disturbing, I found it to be a lot of smoke and mirrors, and an attempt to generate fear about things that are not scary.  I realize that I am in the minority of art house horror fans, but there you have it.  With his sophomore effort, Aster has grown more ambitious.  The director's vision exceeds his grasp, but there are some genuinely unsettling scenes to be found here.  Fans of existential horror won't be disappointed.  At least not too much.

Christian (Reynor) has once again put off the inevitable.  Although in the minds of his friends, his relationship with his girlfriend Dani (Pugh) has long since been over, he has decided to postpone the break up.  He has a good reason: Dani's bipolar sister has just killed her parents in a murder-suicide.  Christian invites Dani on a trip to Sweden with his friends so as not to leave her alone.  They're a group of anthropology students, and their friend Pelle (Blomgren) is from a commune that's about to celebrate a once-in-a-century midsummer festival.  Pity he never told them the fine print.

"Midsommar" is obviously influenced by the 1973 cult horror film, "The Wicker Man."  It would be unfair to call this film a ripoff of the notorious Christopher Lee flick, but the similarities are impossible to ignore.  Not just the pagan rituals or the overt sexuality, but the sense of general unease that permeates the film.  Aster creates the sense that this commune is cut off from the world.  The claustrophobia and alienation are palpable.

There's a problem, however: the running length.  Aster correctly understands that a movie like this needs to cook slowly.  It cannot be hurried.  But Aster doesn't get the recipe right.  The film is easily a half hour too long, and every time he manages to generate a sense of unease and dread, the effect dissipates because he moves too slowly.  The tension gets slack.  By the time the climax comes around, I was less on the edge of my seat and more just waiting for the story to wrap up.

This is not an actor's movie.  The heroes are stand-ins for the audience, and everyone else is there to perform the rituals.  Florence Pugh deserves a lot of credit then because she gives Dani enough shades that we feel for her, but she displays something rarer: genuine screen appeal.  She dominates the film on sheer presence alone, which is a good thing because her co-stars are largely forgettable.  Only Will Poulter can match her energy, but he doesn't have anything to do other than to play the horn dog.

A movie like this can just as easily be dumb and goofy rather than creepy.  For the most part, Aster manages to stay on the correct line, but there are times when it veers too close to self-parody.  Just ask the Swedes themselves, who thought it was a terrific black comedy.  Hollywood should take note that they have enough of a sense of humor to be cast as villains.

Ultimately it's the running length that becomes the film's undoing (I understand that Aster had to cut a half-hour just to avoid an NC-17, although the rest of those scenes were restored in a director's cut).  Still, the film is undeniably effective and worth checking out for those who prefer atmosphere over gore.