Dani (Florence Pugh) has just suffered a family tragedy. Meanwhile her distant boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor) is planning a trip to Sweden with his friends to visit a traditional festival and wondering how he should end their relationship. Feeling unable to leave her, he invites her along in the hope she will say no. Which of course means that she tags along on holiday with him and his three friends Josh (William Harper Jackson), Mark (Will Poulter) and Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), who is originally from the village they are going to.

Ari Aster’s debut film Hereditary was extraordinarily good and evoked horror classic Rosemary’s Baby whilst focusing on grief, fears over hereditary traits and featuring a frightening cult. Midsommar is his second feature and it evokes horror classic The Wicker Man whilst focusing on grief, toxic relationships and features a frightening cult.

Whilst Hereditary built an oppressive feeling of dread, Midsommar does no such thing. The majority of the film is set in bright sunlight with all of its events clearly signposted via imagery in the film or its use of classic genre signatures. But it is in its hugely confident manner of creating an other worldly weirdness and its impending sense of inevitableness that it conjures up a feeling of uneasiness. The film is not scary, but it’s imagery will stay with you for some time.

Another aspect of Midsommar that is shared with Hereditary is Aster’s confidence to follow through with his set up. No matter how bizarre the circumstances get. As a result of this, as the film reaches its conclusion it will divide people. The reaction in the cinema I went to was more than mixed, with a number of people shocked into laughter and vitriol at the events unfolding.

Personally I thought it was superb. Astor confidently builds his position, delivers chilling images and layers the film with literal and figurative meaning. The visuals are fantastic with one particular shot tracking the car on its way to the village perfectly summing up what is about to happen and the sound sparse and peculiar. All of the films actors perform brilliantly as well with Pugh the obvious stand out. Is she suffering a psychotic break or is she just working through trauma with a hippie commune?

A genuine must see, just do so with an open mind.