Young couple Dani and Christian travel with friends to experience a rare midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. But what begins as a carefree holiday takes a sinister turn when the villagers force their guests to partake in their deadly rituals. A film by Ari Aster, starring Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, Ellora Torchia, Archie Madekwe, and Will Poulter.

Director’s cut of a folk horror film by Ari Aster, the director of HEREDITARY, which includes 24-minute additional scenes.

Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor), a couple on the brink of breaking up, embark on a journey to Sweden for a midsummer festival at the Hårga, a remote village in Hälsingland. Christian reluctantly invites Dani after she becomes deeply traumatized by the murder-suicide of her parents and sister. He and his friends Mark (Will Poulter) and Josh (William Jackson Harper) have already been invited by their Swedish friend Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren).

The midsummer festival, held only once every 90 years, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Josh, who is writing his thesis on European midsummer festivities. The festival coincides with Dani’s birthday, and upon arriving at Pelle’s ancestral commune, they encounter Ingemar (Hampus Hallberg), who has invited British couple Simon (Archie Madekwe) and Connie (Ellora Torchia).

The day after their arrival, the group witnesses an Ättestupa ceremony, a traditional rite of passage where two elders, having reached the age of 72, leap from a cliff to their deaths. The commune believes that this profound act of self-sacrifice prevents the pain and suffering of old age, and allows new souls to take their place. Simon and Connie, deeply disturbed by the ritual, demand to leave immediately.

Christian, mesmerized by the ritualistic ceremony that no one has yet studied in depth, resolves to write his thesis on the Hårga commune, despite knowing that Josh, the one who initiated the trip, is also writing a thesis on midsummer festivities. This decision ignites a feud between the two men.

Dani, frightened and disturbed, attempts to leave. She is suspicious about Pelle’s motive for inviting them to witness a horrific ritual that outsiders know nothing about. She fears that they have stumbled upon a cult. Christian, however, remains obsessed with the ritual and intends to stay.

Simon and Connie vanish, with the commune members claiming to have driven them to a nearby train station. Mark, lured into the woods by Inga (Julia Ragnarsson), is never seen again. That night, Josh sneaks out of bed to photograph the commune’s sacred texts, but is caught and bludgeoned to death with a mallet.

The filmmaker’s subversive transformation of the Swedish midsummer festival into a horror cult film is brilliant, though some dialogue and character behavior seem intentionally unconvincing, perhaps to serve the plot.

The art direction and production design are superb, reflecting the meticulous research and development that went into crafting the folklore elements and traditions of Hårga. The director’s signature is evident in the wall paintings, which foreshadow future events.

I admire the integration of runic motifs into the hand-embroidered costumes and accessories. The protagonist’s detailed wounds, a testament to her struggle, are particularly noteworthy. The film also raises the intriguing question of whether Dani’s sister’s suicide and murder of her parents was her own act or the work of another hand. Florence Pugh delivers a stellar performance, accompanied by Bobby Krlic’s haunting score.

MIDSOMMAR was theatrically released in the United States on 3 July 2019, by A24. The film gross over $47 million against its production budget of $9 million.

The original 171-minute director’s cut of the film later had its world premiere at Film Society of Lincoln Center on 20 August, and was theatrically released in the United States on 29 August. The director’s cut was released as an Apple TV exclusive on 24 September.