History Film / Midsommar

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:The ritual goes off without a hitch and there is no indication that anyone in the outside world is going to come and stop the cult. And there will be people like [[BitchInSheepsClothing Pelle]] among the outside world who will lure their future victims for their people's debauchery.]]

Dani (Pugh) and Christian (Reynor) are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after Dani's world is rocked by a tragedy, Christian reluctantly invites her to join him and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village.

** The costumes of the cult looks nothing like the [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1e/f1/b7/1ef1b7d06fb2b3419b4cf4d4b43d1544.jpg Sverigedräkten]] or a [[http://www.folkdrakt.se/bild/halsingland/Delsbo-1907-d.jpg Hälsingedräkt]]. Not that being 100% accurate to Swedish culture is the film's principal concern, but having a confined Swedish cult wearing Ukrainian wreaths and vyshyvankas is as odd as having an English person walking around in [[GayParee striped shirts and berets]].

* DeathBySex:
** [[spoiler:After being drugged and used to participate in a sex ritual, Christian dies not long after having sex with Maja (albeit non-consensual) at the hands of his scorned girlfriend Dani and the village.]]
** [[spoiler:After complaining on the trip how much he wants to bed Swedish women and not having been able to, Mark gets lured away from his friends by one of the female villagers and is killed off-screen with his face torn off and worn as a mask.]]

* ScreamDiscretionShot: After [[spoiler:Connie]] is lured away by one of the elders, [[spoiler:her distant, bloodcurdling scream]] can be heard by Dani, Josh, and Mark. We never learn what exactly [[spoiler:was done to Connie]], but considering that [[spoiler:her wet, distended corpse is shown in a wheelbarrow at the end of the movie]], it couldn't have been pleasant.

* SelfMadeOrphan: The film begins with Dani's sister Terri murdering both of their parents before taking her own life.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: [[spoiler:Simon ends up being [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_eagle blood-eagled]], which includes his back being ripped open to expose his lungs. When Christian finds his body, we get a shot showcasing that his lungs are still moving outside of his body, and while this could be attributed to the hallucinogenic warping exhibited throughout the film, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Midsommar/comments/f3k67i/if_you_mute_all_audio_tracks_but_no_3_you_can/ isolating the film's audio tracks reveals that labored breathing sounds were included for Simon]], indicating that [[AndIMustScream he has somehow survived this process.]] However, human lungs are physically incapable of breathing, or of doing anything save collapse under their own weight for that matter, outside of an airtight low-pressure compartment (e.g. an intact thoracic cavity).]]

** The same goes for [[spoiler: Josh and Mark, the former ignoring the elder's warnings to not take photos of the cult's sacred book, and the latter for (albeit unknowingly) [[ExcrementStatement urinating on the ancestral tree]] and not apologizing.]] That being said, their [[DisproportionateRetribution punishment still outweighs their offenses.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: The ritual goes off without a hitch and there is no indication that anyone in the outside world is going to come and stop the cult. And there will be people like [[BitchInSheepsClothing Pelle]] among the outside world who will lure their future victims for their people's debauchery.]]

* BettyAndVeronica: [[spoiler: Throughout the film, Christian continues to date Dani (Betty) but remains non-committed to her and finds himself drawn to the more seductive villager Maja (Veronica)]].

** The banner having over the road (in the upside-down scene early in the movie) reads "Stoppa massinvandringen till Hälsingland- rösta på Fritt Norr i höst!", which translates to "Stop the mass immigration to Hälsingland- vote for Free North this fall!" [[spoiler: The sign also features the same rune that is painted on the walls of the sacrificial building.]]

** [[spoiler: Simon gets blood eagled - his back ripped open to expose his lungs, his eyes stuffed with flowers and is suspended by ropes tied to his wrists and legs inside the chicken coop; to make things worse, by the time Christian finds him in this situation, we can see his lungs are still breathing...]]
** [[spoiler: Connie has weights forced on her and is tossed into a river by the men of the cult where she slowly drowns. Her body is shown later being carried in a wheelbarrow; her corpse appears to also be bruised and her arm broken, possibly indicating she put up a fight before being drowned which likely led to the cultists savagely beating her.]]

** [[spoiler: After being drugged and used to participate in a sex ritual, Christian dies not long after having sex with Maja (albeit non-consensual) at the hands of his scorned girlfriend Dani and the village.]]
** [[spoiler: After complaining on the trip how much he wants to bed Swedish women and not having been able to, Mark gets lured away from his friends by one of the female villagers and is killed off-screen with his face torn off and worn as a mask.]]

* DestructiveRomance: Dani and Christian's extremely unhealthy relationship is falling apart at the start of the film, but is prolonged due to the death of Dani's family. As they continue to stay together, Dani's emotional well-being continues to decline, ultimately resulting in [[spoiler: Christian's death]].
* DisproportionateRetribution: Christian is, basically, kind of a dick. He's a bad boyfriend and he should have broken up with Dani a long time ago, and he certainly shouldn't have let her come on the trip. For these sins, he is [[spoiler: paralyzed, sewn into a bear costume and burned alive.]]

* EmpathicEnvironment: Played with. It's freezing cold and [[SnowMeansDeath snowy]] during the opening tragedy, then becomes a potential subversion in [[HolidayAppropriateWeather brilliant]] Swedish sunlight, which [[spoiler: reflects Dani's pretty horrible way of coming to accept the cult as her new family]].

** The [[spoiler:old couple who sacrifice themselves in the ättestupa ritual]] both get their faces destroyed. [[spoiler: The woman lands face-first on a large rock, ripping it clean off, while the man lands feet-first and shatters his legs, necessitating three other cultists to come by and cave his skull in with a mallet]]. Judging by the fact that [[spoiler:they specifically aim for the head]], this seems to be a required part of the ritual.
* FanDisservice: The sex ritual between [[spoiler: Christian and Maja]] is extremely bizarre and not at all titillating, due to both the audience of older women moaning along with her and singing, as well as the fact that [[spoiler: Christian]] is drugged and isn't entirely aware of what's going on, [[spoiler:and the fact that Maja is only sixteen.]]

** When the visitors reached the village, a painted cloth displays a tale of a woman wooing a man by feeding him food with her pubic hair and menstrual blood baked inside of it. The final image shows her pregnant with his child. [[spoiler: Maja, the girl infatuated with Christian, later performs this ritual on him and gets him to impregnate her.]]

** There is a bouquet behind a photo of Dani on her mother's nightstand [[spoiler: which resembles her final image as the May Queen]].

** One between Dani and one of the female cultists while Dani's having a breakdown after seeing [[spoiler: Christian having sex with Maja.]]
** One between Dani and Christian [[spoiler: when she's deciding whether to sacrifice him or one of the villagers.]]

** Three synchronous scenes end with the characters hearing the faint sound of [[spoiler: Connie's screams coming from somewhere in the forest. She's never seen again afterwards...]]
* HeroesWantRedheads: [[spoiler: Dani for her boyfriend Christian. And later Christian with the young seductive villager Maja. Subverted example as neither Christian nor Maja are heroic for their actions.]]

%%* IAteWhat: The male target for the sex ritual is fed a love potion with the girl's pubic hair and menstrual blood baked into the food and mixed into the drink. [[spoiler: Christian finds this out the hard way when he is unwittingly picked for the sex ritual.]] %%What was his reaction?
* IdiotBall: In spite of not even wanting Dani to come on the trip, Josh does not see fit to warn her of the meaning of "ättestupa" before bringing along a girl with severe anxiety--whose entire family, including her elderly parents, just died in a murder-suicide--to witness two violent senicides. Pelle shares some of this, too, although the fact he grew up with the tradition may explain why he [[BlueAndOrangeMorality didn't think it would be a problem]]. [[spoiler: And of course, Pelle intended to groom Dani into the cult to begin with, so on his part it was very likely deliberate to continue undermining her mental health.]]

* JerkassHasAPoint: Mark's urging Christian to dump Dani comes from male entitlement and personal dislike, but he's right that they're a mismatch and Christian can't help her with her problems. [[spoiler: Also, their going to Sweden as a couple winds up costing his life and her sanity]].
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: While the Hårga as whole pull off their ritual without a hitch, and get a new May Queen out of the deal, two individual cultists (Ulf, Mark's killer who skins his face, and Ingemar, Pelle's brother who murders Connie and Simon out of jealousy), come to gruesome ends. Although both men volunteer to burn alongside Christian and the corpses of the other tourists, they discover too late that the yew tree samples they've been given to dull their pain and fear do neither. Instead, they spend their last moments screaming in agony while realizing that the religion they've given their lives for has betrayed them. On a long enough timeline, it's not hard to imagine other cultists, perhaps even Dani herself, suffering similar fates.]]

* TheMasochismTango: The film opens with Christian and Dani's relationship on the rocks and the two mutually frustrated. Dani vents to her friend about Christian's indifference, while Christian and his friends vent about Dani's instability. Christian even plans to break up with her, but [[spoiler: the death of Dani's family compels him to stay until she's had time to recover.]]

* MistakenForCheating: [[spoiler: Dani stumbles on Christian having sex with Maja while other women watch. He isn't quite doing so voluntarily, thanks to drugs and some manipulation, but since it caps off his overall shabby treatment of her, Dani turns against him.]]

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Played for dark, ''dark'' comedy [[spoiler: with the fertility ritual, when a drugged-out Christian stares dumbstruck at the naked old women writhing around him.]] This in turn leads to...

* NemeanSkinning: An interesting subversion. [[spoiler: Christian is sewn into a skinned bear, but rather than being a display of strength on his part, it's done to him unwillingly as preparation for a ritual sacrifice]].

** [[spoiler:Although we see Connie's body at the end, we only hear her horrifying screams from a distance and do not see her body until the end.]] (This is somewhat lessened by the director's cut, which showcases an additional ritual in which [[spoiler: the villagers playact deciding to sacrifice a boy by drowning him and then deciding to spare him; the "sacrifice" wears the same outfit Connie's obviously water-bloated body later appears in. But that still doesn't explain what happens ''before'' they drown her.]])

* PoorCommunicationKills: In this case, literally and deliberately. [[spoiler: Dani catches Christian having sex with the villager Maja amidst a crown of older women. Of course, Christian was manipulated into the cult's sex ritual against his will, has been drugged, and can't consent; but Dani doesn't know that - exactly as the villagers intend, as this ends up being the straw that pushes her into embracing the cult entirely and burning Christian alive at the end of the film.]]

* ShooOutTheClowns: Following the ättestupa ritual, Mark's disappearance [[spoiler: and offscreen death]] marks the point where the film starts ''really'' ramping up the horror.

* TwoDecadesBehind: PlayedForLaughs. Despite the commune seeming like it came straight out of the Middle Ages, a villager mentions that the children are watching ''Film/AustinPowers'' early in the film, and we later see them use a bingo machine when [[spoiler: deciding which two to sacrifice]]. They're behind the times, sure, but not ''nearly'' as much as their beliefs and rituals would otherwise suggest.

* WithFriendsLikeThese: As soon as the [[SacredScripture Rubi Radr]] goes missing, Christian immediately throws Josh under the bus, telling the village priest that he and Dani don't consider him a friend or associate. [[spoiler: It's too late to save Josh anyway, but Christian doesn't know that.]]

* BlackComedyRape: [[spoiler:Though the sex scene between Christian and Maja is disgusting and horrifying due to his inability to consent, the actions of the older women who surround them (singing and moaning in ecstasy, cupping Maja's cheek, even pressing down on Christian's butt to make him go faster) are so bizarre that they almost verge on funny. Christian [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere bailing]] when he hears Maja's claim of "feeling the baby inside of her" and [[HandOrObjectUnderwear attempting to cover up his genitals]] while running away is just the cap on that surreal, darkly comical feeling.]]

** The [[spoiler: old couple who sacrifice themselves]] both get their faces destroyed. [[spoiler: The woman lands face-first on a large rock, ripping it clean off, while the man lands feet-first and shatters his legs, necessitating three other cultists to come by and cave his skull in with a mallet]]. Judging by the fact that [[spoiler:they specifically aim for the head]], this seems to be a required part of the ritual.

*** [[spoiler:Played with a bit; the dissonance does suddenly drop at one point, turning into an array of ear-piercing sirens and [[DroneOfDread drones]] as the camera pans around each member of the screaming cult and Dani, underscoring the harsh reality of the cult truly is from an outsider's perspective, but the music ends up returning to its triumphant sound, as if to suggest that there is no turning back for Dani.]]

** A painting behind Dani and Christian at the beginning of the film shows a blonde woman kissing a bear. [[spoiler:Christian gets paralyzed and forced into a bear skin at the end of the movie, essentially making him the bear and Dani - his girlfriend - the blonde woman in question.]]

** Earlier in the film, some of the children in the cult are playing a game called "skin the fool". [[spoiler:Whilst we don't see what happens to the rest of him, Mark - who has been nothing but a fool throughout the film - does indeed get skinned. His skin is later used to make a dummy wearing a fool's coxcomb]].

* FinalGirl: An extremely dark twist on the trope; [[spoiler: Dani]] is the last survivor...[[spoiler: having gone completely insane and joined the Hårga voluntarily, and being personally responsible for the death of the second-last survivor, her former boyfriend Christian, via burning him alive.]]

* IdiotBall: In spite of not even wanting Dani to come on the trip, Josh does not see fit to warn her of the meaning of "ättestupa" before bringing along a girl with severe anxiety--whose entire family, including her elderly parents, just died in a murder-suicide--to witness two violent senicides. Pelle shares some of this, too, although the fact he grew up with the tradition may explain why he [[BlueAndOrangeMorality didn't think it would be a problem]].

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:Christian comes across Simon in the chicken coop, his back opened up and his lungs exposed. To Christian's horror (and ours), Simon's lungs still move -- he's breathing. The horror of this is mitigated somewhat by the fact that this is a physical impossibility- you cannot breathe without the diaphragm, and since there is no actual supernatural activity in the movie, it's safe to assume Christian hallucinated the lungs moving.. ]]

* HandOrObjectUnderwear: [[spoiler:After Christian runs out of the fertility ritual [[MaleFrontalNudity completely nude]], he sees a group of people in the distance staring at him and almost immediately covers himself with his hands, creating some very [[BlackComedy dark humor]] in just how [[SkewedPriorities lopsided his priorities must be]] for his modesty to come before his own survival.]]

* LightIsNotGood: The cult's predominant motif is summer-based- it's even in the ''title.''

* WithFriendsLikeThese: As soon as the [[SacredScripture Rubi Radr]] goes missing, Christian immediately throws Josh under the bus, telling the village priest that he and Dani don't consider him a friend or associate. [[spoiler: It's probably too late to save Josh anyway, but Christian doesn't know that.]]

* AndIMustScream:
** [[spoiler:Christian comes across Simon in the chicken coop, his back opened up and his lungs exposed. To Christian's horror (and ours), Simon's lungs still move -- he's breathing. The horror of this is mitigated somewhat by the fact that this is a physical impossibility- you cannot breathe without the diaphragm, and since there is no actual supernatural activity in the movie, it's safe to assume Christian hallucinated the lungs moving.. ]]
** At the end of the movie, [[spoiler:Christian is paralyzed, and is helpless to protest as Dani chooses him to be the final victim of the ritual. He is sewed up into a disemboweled bear and left inside a temple to burn alive. Although his mouth isn't open, we can hear his muffled screams throughout the process.]]
--->'''Ulla:''' [[spoiler: Christian]]... Hi. Hello! There you are! Listen: You can't speak. You can't move. All right? Good.

*** This might well be a JustifiedTrope: it's plausible that a lack of common sense, bordering on stupidity, is a major qualification for being invited to the festival in the first place. Supporting this possibility is the fact that Dani, the only attendee Pelle didn't mean to invite, [[spoiler:is the only one not to have done something foolish enough to get herself killed by the end.]]

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler:The AmbiguouslyBrown Simon and Connie are the first outsiders to be killed in the village; Josh, the only black member of the group, is the first to be killed onscreen.]]

** [[spoiler:Christian comes across Simon in the chicken coop, his back opened up and his lungs exposed. To Christian's horror (and ours), Simon's lungs still move -- he's breathing.]]

* IntimidatingWhitePresence: The Hårga are all-white, and the three non-white visitors (Josh, Simon, and Connie) all die horrible deaths: Josh's skull is caved in, Connie is publicly drowned, and Simon is strung open in a "blood eagle" formation. In Simon and Connie's cases, this is heavily implied to be intentional, as Hårga member Ingmar seems to be in love with Connie and punishing her for not returning his feelings, as he refers to her as his ex-girlfriend despite her obvious confusion.

** Simon/Connie/Ingmar: One of the most disturbingly subtle clues that the cult is not good. Simon and Connie are engaged, but Ingmar has a crush on Connie, who seems [[ObliviousToLove completely oblivious to it]], and denies that they ever "dated" when Ingmar mentions it. [[UnfortunateImplications As the cult is all white and Simon and Connie are not]], they seem very unlikely to be welcomed by them, and when Simon and Connie reject the [[spoiler:suicide ritual]], they [[spoiler:are brutally killed]]. It's possible that this was all intentional on Ingmar's part, to punish Connie for choosing Simon.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: Averted, but also downplayed. It's mentioned that Dani does see a therapist, but said therapist is not featured and Christian [[BastardBoyfriend (unfortunately)]] still seems to be Dani's primary support system.

** Downplayed with [[spoiler:Christian]]. Sure, he's culturally insensitive and an uncaring boyfriend, but that definitely doesn't justify [[spoiler:being raped and then burnt alive as part of a ritual sacrifice while unable to move or scream as a "punishment"]].

* BlackComedyRape: [[spoiler:Though the sex scene between Christian and Maja is disgusting and horrifying due to his inability to consent, the actions of the older women who surround them (singing and moaning in ecstasy, cupping Maja's cheek, even pressing down on Christian's ass to make him go faster) are so bizarre that they almost verge on funny. Christian [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere bailing]] when he hears Maja's claim of "feeling the baby inside of her" and [[HandOrObjectUnderwear attempting to cover up his genitals]] while running away is just the cap on that surreal, darkly comical feeling.]]

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: [[spoiler:Simon ends up being blood-eagled, which includes his back being ripped open to expose his lungs. When Christian finds his body, we get a shot showcasing that his lungs are still moving outside of his body, and while this could be attributed to the hallucinogenic warping exhibited throughout the film, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Midsommar/comments/f3k67i/if_you_mute_all_audio_tracks_but_no_3_you_can/ isolating the film's audio tracks reveals that labored breathing sounds were included for Simon]], indicating that [[AndIMustScream he has somehow survived this process.]] However, human lungs are physically incapable of breathing, or of doing anything save collapse under their own weight for that matter, outside of an airtight low-pressure compartment (e.g. an intact thoracic cavity).]]

* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: The Hårga decide who is the May Queen and thus [[spoiler:has the power over life and death, as well as the highly honored position in the group]] via a group dance.

* FaceCam: Used for [[https://media0.giphy.com/media/H4oUH21cOoH9Nuza6c/giphy.gif one shot]] to illustrate [[spoiler:Christian]]'s shock and disorientation after [[spoiler:an elder blows paralyzing dust in his face]]. Followed by an ImpairmentShot of him sinking down.

* TwoTimingWithTheBestie: One implied via UnreliableNarrator, and one possibly sympathetic version:
** Dani and Christian are in a very unhappy relationship and Christian is emotionally checked out already. Christian's close friend Pelle (although Christian is the epitome of a FalseFriend, backstabbing both of his other close friends and throwing them under the bus when it suits him) clearly has a huge crush on Dani, holding her hand to comfort her, giving her an AlmostKiss when she's mid-breakdown, and kissing her after [[spoiler:she becomes the May Queen.]]
** Ingmar is the third wheel in Connie and Simon's relationship, but he points out that he dated Connie first. She is extremely confused by this as she only sees him as a friend, but Connie and Simon's deaths and Pelle's seduction of Dani implied that he felt EntitledToHaveYou and saw this as happening with Connie and Simon's engagement.

* TwoTimingTheBestie: One implied via UnreliableNarrator, and one possibly sympathetic version: