Midsommar, a psychological horror by Ari Aster, has received a lot of attention from both horror fans and non- horror fans alike. I am the first to admit that I’m not usually a fan of horror, however I was intrigued by this film and decided to give it a watch.

The story starts with Florence Pugh’s character tagging along on a Sweden trip with her toxic boyfriend and equally toxic mates. There they do the Midsommar festival thing, scary stuff happens and what do you know - it’s a pagan cult. If you’ve seen Wicker Man, you can probably guess what’s going to happen.

The cinematography was equally stunning and unsettling, with beautiful shots of Swedish landscape and wide, still frames with characters moving in and out. Adding to this was the score, at times serene, at times jarring, perfectly creating that feeling that something isn’t quite right. Of course Pugh is a great actress, portraying a character who is insecure but not obnoxious, and reaching some terrifying emotional heights. She’s a treasure to watch.

My main criticisms is with the tone of the movie. Whilst a main theme of the film is toxic relationships, the scenes where the friends were bickering tended to hamstring the tension of the cult. There are also some shifts that come across as funny rather than unnerving. You just can’t see a character pull pubic hair from his teeth without having a bit of a giggle.

Lastly, while the cult is supposed to get increasingly jarring and evil, there were parts, even by the end, where they were kind of cool. Their “messed up religion”, rather than being made up of zealous fanatics, featured a cast of awkward Swedes acknowledging that sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette.

But maybe that’s the point. Maybe Ari Aster wants to reinforce a healthy return to tradition, and just maybe we should pick our leaders with a psychedelic dance competition.