Midsommar 2019

The cinematic journey begins with a haunting, otherworldly mural depicting an unsettling ritual, setting the tone for the eerie atmosphere that pervades the narrative. The soundtrack then shifts to the haunting melodies of traditional folk music, as the camera pans over the desolate landscape of snow-covered forests.

Meanwhile, college student Dani Ardor (Florence Pugh) finds herself struggling to connect with her parents, leaving a voicemail in their wake. Her concerns about her bipolar sister Terri (Klauda Csanyi), who had recently left a cryptic message, continue to weigh heavily on her mind. As she reaches out to her boyfriend Christian Hughes (Jack Reynor), he and his friends Josh (William Jackson Harper) and Mark (Will Poulter) are engaged in a lively discussion about their upcoming trip to Sweden. The enigmatic Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) adds fuel to the fire by sharing tales of the mystical Midsommar festival, which takes place every 90 years in the remote village where he grew up.

As Dani’s anxiety grows, she receives an unknown call that serves as a harbinger of doom. The group’s machinations are soon revealed when they discuss Christian’s apparent disinterest in their relationship, with Josh and Mark conspiring to bring about his departure. It is against this backdrop of tension that Dani calls Christian once more, her emotions boiling over into uncontrollable hysteria.

In the aftermath of a devastating phone call, we are transported to the aftermath of a tragic event: authorities enter Dani’s family home, where Terri has carried out a horrific act of self-destruction, killing her parents and ultimately taking her own life. The weight of this tragedy is compounded by Christian’s sudden appearance at Dani’s doorstep, seeking to offer comfort in her time of grief.

As the months pass, Dani struggles to come to terms with her loss, immersing herself in a world of revelry and camaraderie with Christian and his friends. It becomes increasingly clear that they are planning an excursion to Sweden for the Midsommar celebration, which Josh hopes will provide valuable material for his anthropology dissertation. Christian extends an olive branch to Dani, inviting her to join them on their journey, but it is only when he reveals the true nature of their trip that her ire is piqued.

Despite her initial reluctance, Dani ultimately accepts the invitation, unaware that this fateful decision will set in motion a series of events that will forever alter her perception of reality and herself. As the clock ticks down to their departure date, Dani’s anxieties about Christian’s true intentions simmer just below the surface, threatening to boil over into a cauldron of chaos and destruction.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Dani and her boyfriend Christian ventured out with his friends to a secluded gathering spot. The air was alive with the gentle rustling of leaves as Christian stepped away from the group, allowing Pelle to engage Dani in a candid conversation about the upcoming Midsommar celebration and its ancient tradition of crowning a May Queen. Pelle’s words were laced with empathy as he tried to console Dani over her recent loss, but his words struck a chord that resonated deep within her, triggering a torrent of emotions. As tears streamed down her face, Dani excused herself to collect her thoughts in the quiet solitude of the bathroom.

The following day found Dani joining Christian and his friends on a journey to the Harga community, where they were greeted by Pelle’s brother Ingemar and an English couple, Simon and Connie. The group’s collective euphoria was infectious as they indulged in magic mushrooms, but Ingemar offered Dani a special tea that promised a more refined experience. As she savored the subtle nuances of the brew, her initial high spirits gave way to a creeping sense of unease when Pelle likened their little group to his own family. The words seemed to pierce Dani’s very soul, and she retreated to take a solitary stroll through the woods. However, as the trees began to twist and writhe around her like living serpents, Dani’s fragile grip on reality gave way, and she succumbed to a bad trip. Her paranoia reached fever pitch when a group of revellers in the distance burst into laughter, directly at her. In desperation, Dani fled to a nearby shed, only to be confronted by what appeared to be Terri, her long-lost friend, standing just behind her. The shock sent her fleeing once more, this time into the heart of the forest.

As she stumbled through the underbrush, the trees seemed to morph and writhe around her like living entities before she lost consciousness. When Dani awoke six hours later, Christian was by her side, his eyes filled with concern. Together, they rejoined their friends as they made their way towards the Harga community, eager to immerse themselves in the vibrant culture and customs of the Midsommar festival. As they walked, Josh peppered the group with questions about the ancient traditions and rituals that lay ahead, but when he asked about a mysterious golden teepee looming in the distance, his query was met with an enigmatic silence.

The atmosphere was filled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers as Maja, a bright-eyed young woman, playfully kicked Christian, drawing him into her orbit. Later, Pelle presented Dani with a tenderly rendered drawing of herself, a thoughtful gesture that touched her heart. However, the sting of Christian’s oversight on their birthday still lingered, and she couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment when he failed to remember the occasion. But Christian soon made amends by presenting Dani with a slice of cake, his eyes filled with a mixture of apology and affection. As they sat together in the fading light, Dani corrected Christian’s misconception about their anniversary, revealing that they had actually been together for four years rather than three.

As the stars began to twinkle in the night sky, Pelle led the group to the secluded clearing where they would rest and prepare for the Midsommar celebration.

As the group settles into their new surroundings, they’re invited to a feast that serves as a rite of passage for the community. The revered elders, Ylva (Katarina Weidhagen) and The Laborer (Lars Varinger), take center stage, their tranquil breathing exercises an eerie precursor to the ritual that’s about to unfold. With the entire village in attendance, they march to the edge of a precipice, where the air is thick with anticipation. The elders’ hands are cut as they walk, and then, without warning, Ylva propels herself off the cliff, landing face-first on a jagged rock with a jarring thud. The group watches in stunned silence as her skull is left exposed, a gruesome reminder of mortality’s cold grip.

The Laborer follows suit, but his leap is marred by a devastating leg injury that leaves him writhing in agony. The villagers respond to his cries by mimicking his anguish with a haunting chorus of moans. Simon and Connie are horrified, while Dani retreats to the safety of her room, unable to process the surreal scene unfolding before her. As the group tries to make sense of this bizarre ritual, an elder woman, Siv (Gunnel Fred), reveals that Ylva and The Laborer have reached the end of their natural life cycle, and prolonging it would be a grave mistake.

In the aftermath, Pelle attempts to comfort Dani, but his efforts are misinterpreted as inappropriate due to Christian’s sudden presence. Pelle can’t help but wonder if Christian truly cares for Dani, given his distant demeanor around her. As the day wears on, Dani is haunted by a nightmare that sees Christian and his friends abandoning her in the dead of night. The imagery is disturbing, with visions of her deceased family members and the lifeless bodies of the two elders blurring together in a macabre dance.

As the weight of their experience settles, Connie and Simon prepare to depart, but her plans are derailed when she discovers that Simon has vanished with another villager, bound for the train that would carry them back home. Her indignation boils over, and she sets off alone into the night, fueled by a sense of betrayal and abandonment. Meanwhile, Christian approaches Josh with an unexpected proposal: he too wants to conduct research on the enigmatic Harga, but Josh is less than enthused about his colleague’s ambitions. The two engage in a heated discussion, with Josh emphasizing the importance of originality and not simply aping his own work. Christian offers to seek guidance from the village elders, and later learns that permission has been granted for them to collaborate on their project - provided they omit any reference to the Harga’s true identity or location.

As tensions simmer beneath the surface, a shocking revelation about the village’s ritualistic practices is unearthed: its very foundations are rooted in the mystical paintings of Ruben (Levente Puczko-Smith), a deformed boy born of incestuous union but revered as some kind of visionary. Josh asks to photograph these works, only to be rebuffed by the villagers. Elsewhere, Mark’s disrespect for the village’s sacred ancestral tree sparks an outburst from Ulf (Henrik Norlen), who is overcome with grief at his friend’s callous behavior. The elders reveal the significance of the tree to Mark, but he responds with a jaded indifference.

Against this backdrop of unease and foreboding, Christian and Josh are granted permission to work together on their thesis, as long as they avoid naming names or locations. As the night wears on, Christian probes the village’s mating rituals, inquiring about the prevalence of incestuous relationships within the community - only to be told that while such practices may not be universally condemned, outsiders are typically brought in to procreate with the villagers. The evening culminates in a feast, where Mark becomes acutely aware of Ulf’s icy gaze fixed upon him.

Meanwhile, Connie has been spirited away by one of the villagers, leaving her friends and allies in the dark about her whereabouts. As the shadows deepen, Josh steals into the room where Ruben’s book of paintings is kept, only to be startled - and soon bludgeoned over the head - by what he believes to be Mark. But as the lights fade, it becomes clear that this figure is actually a villager, donning Mark’s face with eerie precision. Josh is dragged away into the darkness, his fate hanging precariously in the balance.

Here’s my rephrased version:

The day after, Dani, Christian, and Pelle are shocked by the disappearance of Ruben’s manuscript, accompanied by Josh and Mark’s vanishing acts. This eerie phenomenon sparks an investigation into their sudden departures. Meanwhile, Dani joins the village women in a vibrant May Day celebration, where they dance around a majestic maypole. As the ritual unfolds, each participant is eliminated one by one. In a moment of epiphany, Dani takes a mysterious drug that unlocks her fluency in Swedish, allowing her to converse with the other revelers. With her newfound linguistic prowess, she emerges victorious and is crowned the May Queen, basking in the adoration of the village women.

Simultaneously, Christian is unwittingly initiated into an ancient ritual, where he’s lured into a trance-like state and taken to claim Maja’s innocence. As he succumbs to his primal desires, the elder females gather around them, their nude forms mimicking Maja’s moans. Meanwhile, Dani watches from behind a makeshift screen, her eyes fixed on the unfolding drama with growing unease. Her horror turns to despair as Christian’s climax is followed by a gruesome discovery: Josh’s leg protruding from the dirt and Simon’s mutilated corpse being used as a blood eagle.

As the sacred ceremony reaches its climax, Dani finds herself at the center of a sinister spectacle. The villagers, led by the elders Torbjörn and Ulf, present her with two captives: Christian, still reeling from his recent experiences, and another villager. According to tradition, nine souls must be sacrificed: two elder women, four outsiders, two volunteers, and one chosen by Dani herself. In a devastating twist of fate, she selects Christian as the final offering.

The villagers then engage in a gruesome ritual, disemboweling a massive bear to create a macabre vessel for Christian’s sacrifice. As the flames engulf the golden teepee, the screams of Ulf and Ingemar mingle with Christian’s anguished wheezing, while Dani’s gaze remains fixed on the inferno. Initially overcome with despair, her expression gradually morphs into a twisted, sadistic smile as she becomes entranced by the spectacle unfolding before her.