Midsommar

A group of friends head to rural Sweden to observe a once-in-a-generation midsummer festival in the isolated village where one of them grew up. What begins as a sunlit field trip, framed as an anthropological study and a restorative escape for Dani, slowly turns eerie as the villagers reveal intricate rituals and press the visitors to take part. Perpetual daylight and cheerful music hide unsettling customs, and the group deals with cultural friction, personal tensions, and mounting unease as the celebratory veneer frays. Isolation, unfamiliar customs, and disagreements within the group worsen the mood, and one friend's familial ties to the village complicate expectations. The film keeps unease as daylight hides increasing cruelty and ritualized logic too.

Released in 2019, Midsommar was written and directed by Ari Aster. The original screenplay features Florence Pugh as Dani, with Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter, and Vilhelm Blomgren in supporting roles. Pugh's casting drew significant attention on release.

The film opened widely and achieved moderate commercial success for an arthouse horror, drawing audiences curious about its unusual tone and visuals. Its box office showed that distinctive, director-driven horror can reach beyond niche festival audiences and sparked audience debate.

Midsommar's daylight horror, folk rituals, and vivid production design generated a lot of online commentary and images that spread as memes. Its look and choreography influenced conversations about modern folk horror, grief representation, and how ritual and community are depicted in contemporary genre filmmaking, and inspired festival fashion trends worldwide.

Critics reacted with mixed to positive reviews, praising Florence Pugh's performance, the film's visuals, and its unsettling atmosphere, while noting deliberate pacing. Its 7.153/10 vote average from 7,792 users shows divided but engaged audiences. Key themes include grief, codependency, communal belonging, cultural otherness and ritualized responses to trauma and isolation.