FILEM MIDSOMMAR : 2019’s Stand Out Indie Horror Film
Midsommar is the latest indie horror film by director, Ari Aster. The young American director got his recognition last year when his directorial debut film, Hereditary, circulated the film festival circuits and was a hit among indie horror fans and most critics. It managed to get a 7.3 out of 10 score on IMDb. Before I get into the review of Midsommar ( don’t worry, no spoilers), let’s take a look at indie horror movies in general.
While it is difficult for an indie movie to rake in a lot of money, indie horror movies tend to do better. That is because horror movies in general, whether indie or not, have been able to attract audiences to fill up the cinema. It is the go-to genre to make money with a low budget for the big studios. Mainstream horror movies like Annabelle cost 32 million US Dollars and grossed about 230 million US Dollars worldwide. Based on the numbers given before, a successful indie horror movie with a small budget will have a bigger profit margin compared to a big studio project. While mainstream horror often follow their formula as to what horror is and to pander towards audience expectations, indie horror is where the filmmakers make braver decisions and try to come up with new styles in order to stand out. That’s what draws me more towards indie horror.
Midsommar was definitely on top of my to-watch list of 2019 and it didn’t disappoint. This movie is about a group of friends who travel to Sweden for a once in a lifetime experience. They attend a midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. The main characters, Dani and Christian are a couple with a relationship that is slowly coming to an end. Dani was invited by Christian to join the trip after she had to go through a traumatic family tragedy. While they are at the festival, disturbing events start to unfold. And that’s where the horror comes in. Director, Ari Aster, has a clear vision and executes it well. Especially the way he frames everything and uses camera movement to slowly add more information to a scene. When you analyse the film, it is actually a break-up movie. But told in a horror setting. And Ari Aster has used certains elements from the midsummer festival to showcase how the characters of Dani and Christian realise that their relationship is slowly falling apart.
The art direction was also a highlight for this movie because the set looks gorgeous. It sort of makes anyone want to go there before they are reminded of the unnerving activities that takes place there. All the scenes take place in broad daylight which is a contrast to the tone of the movie. While it is visually bright, the tone of the movie definitely has darkness in it. The actress playing Dani, Florence Pugh, is the stand out of the movie. The performance that she gives shows her range as an actress and will definitely give her more projects in the future. She is already casted in the upcoming Black Widow movie by Marvel Studios.
To me, Hereditary is an overall better movie compared to Midsommar in terms of storytelling and horror. In Hereditary, the use of sound was used well to create scares. I can’t remember the last time where a simple click would make my heart stop. In Midsommar, it was missing something like that. Perhaps Ari Aster focused more on creating an eerie atmosphere instead of wanting the audience to be frightened and on the edge of their seats. Hereditary has a more clear story that it wants to tell than Midsommar. The storytelling for Midsommar is a bit more vague which might attract audiences or put them off. I personally like vague movies that leaves room for the audience’s imagination and interpretation. Because while horror is supposed to be scary, there is also a great deal of fun that should be left for the audience to dissect a film or leave mysteries for them to solve. Midsommar will leave you wanting more, because there’s a lot more to be told with the characters involved.
Having said all that, Midsommar needs to be analysed a few more times because there are still more hidden meanings to be found in this movies especially in the walls of the houses that the characters stay in. Ari Aster has improved his directing skills and proves to be one of the directors to look out for in the next few years.
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THE REVIEW WAS WRTITTEN BY AZIM RIZAL.
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Azim Rizal is a 24 year old filmmaker from Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. He has been directing short films for 7 years and has won a few awards over the years such as ‘Best Short Film’ at Kaki Lima Short Film Competition 2016. His final year project short film under School of Communications USM, Take Me to the Non-Breathers was screened at the Oregon Cinema Arts Film Festival 2018. Now, he works as a traffic and news presenter for Rakita 107.9 where he has also hosted a movie review show for their online content called The Zimovies.
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