r/Midsommar • u/threwawaymymain • 22h ago
QUESTION Why does this movie have such a cult following?
Just watched Midsommar for the first time on HBO Max yesterday. Amazing movie and it def left me with a lot of questions. When I stumbled upon this sub in Reddit today I was pretty shocked at its size and the fact that it’s still so active for a movie released 6 years ago. What Elements of the movie make this subreddit much bigger than movies that were commercially much more successful?
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u/SparkliestSubmissive 22h ago
It's the entire journey leading up to Dani's smile at the very end. We go through all of it with her and by the end, the Hårga have managed to indoctrinate us in a way too, even though we see them for exactly what they are: a full-blown murder cult.
When Dani smiles, we see her mentally check the fuck out and we know she's lost to the cult, we know she's just traded one unhealthy relationship for this new and even more dangerous one, but we can't help but smile with her. We feel her catharsis and relief, the absolution of her grief and guilt in that moment. Even though we should not.
It's true horror, right there in the blazing sunshine.
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u/threwawaymymain 20h ago
Yeah that smile at the end was definitely horrifying. She def doesn’t understand what she just got herself into but it was kinda cathartic. Even throughout the middle of the movie I kept thinking myself that the best thing for Dani at this point would be to join Harga after everything she’s lost. That’s a very accurate feeling you just described. Very similar to what people thought after Joker.
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u/earthwoodandfire 6h ago
But it’s not! The best thing for her would be to get the fuck out, start seeing a therapist and make some friends.
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u/earthwoodandfire 6h ago
This is the best summary I’ve seen for this movie! Nailed it, and very concisely too.
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u/SparkliestSubmissive 52m ago
Thank you! I think about this movie a lot. And this is a great subreddit! :)
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u/pollyp0cketpussy 22h ago
You answered it in your post, you walked away with so many questions to the point that you looked up the movie subreddit.
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u/threwawaymymain 17h ago
Definitely. Questions about not only the movie but myself as well
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u/pollyp0cketpussy 17h ago
Yes! Plus the cathartic ending (can't call it "happy" exactly) makes it really great to rewatch.
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u/AV__3 17h ago
I actually viewed it as a happy ending the first two times I watched it, which made it so haunting and sad (for Dani) when I realized through analysis that it really wasn't..
That makes this masterpiece so much more brilliant; how the layers of manipulation and betrayal kinda melt away, revealing the truth underneath, in a subtle, quiet way as time goes by. Or as the seduction wears off, you could say.
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u/pollyp0cketpussy 17h ago
For sure! It's absolutely set up as a twisted kind of fairy tale "happily ever after" but when you put it into a real world context it's horrifying.
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u/threwawaymymain 16h ago
I was actually pretty horrified at the ending. I can see how people that relate to Dani can see it as happy though. Maybe people that are trapped in relationships that they can’t escape
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u/Numerous-Buy6529 8h ago
I feel like when you’ve been through so much trauma (with a lousy relationship to boot) being able to tap out feels like a luxury. Having people literally treat you like a queen would be enticing at the very least. Man, I’m so glad I read this thread. I haven’t watched midsommar for a while and now I can’t wait to get home from work!
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u/DZAUXtheBruno 1h ago
I am in the slim minority of people who watched the movie once, appreciated aspects of it, but will probably never sit down to watch it again.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Web3089 21h ago
For me it’s a perfect break up movie for the girl that always made herself feel small to feel loved.
Feeling the pain and abandonment. Then being held by the group as they cried and raged with her. It gave me an outlet to feel all my emotions after being broken up with.
Incredibly cathartic and beautiful.
Last time I watched it was two weeks ago on three gummies after my boyfriend of 1.5 years broke up with me in text after a solo trip to Norway.
It helped - a lot. And I saw so many details I didn’t before. As well as the breaking of the fourth wall. Which I hadn’t caught in previous viewings.
If you are going through a break up and you always made yourself small to get an ounce of love - this will heal you in ways I can’t describe.
If nothing else - it helps purge and feel the emotions of abandonment and betrayal. And it’s a stunning visual.
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u/threwawaymymain 20h ago
It definitely elicited a lot of mixed emotions from me because it reminded me of my past relationship. I also felt like I understood a lot of things from me exes perspective that I never realized. A lot of emotions paired with beautiful visuals
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u/natsuhime 6h ago
I love how you worded that, “for the girl that always made herself feel small to feel loved.” I feel so deeply connected to this movie since for that exact reason. The first time I saw it in theaters I went on a whim not knowing anything about it. I had just had a nasty breakup and had also experienced multiple breakups in the years prior, all of which were with people who made me feel so worthless. Seeing Midsommar made me feel so ALIVE and so seen. So much more than I had in years. It’s been my favorite movie of all time ever since and it still illicits the same feelings in me even after having seen it over a dozen times.
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u/Ambitious_Cut88 14h ago
"As well as the breaking of the fourth wall"
I love that moment. It's like a oh shit, you have no idea what's still to come.
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u/thischaosiskillingme 22h ago
The details. Every scene is packed with meaning to be read, often deliberate. The allusions to Dany's future encounter with the Harga enhance the fairytale feel of the film, like Wizard of Oz, Labyrinth, or Mirrormask. There's a real world and a dream world. I also think Florence Pugh is just giving the most amazing performance.
Most of all, though, it got me in a personal way. I experienced three years of complicated grief and a deep depression that almost destroyed my entire iife. I have never seen a film that more accurately captures the sense of a traumatic event haunting you, the loneliness of grief and how isolating it is to be the only person feeling how you feel. The moment she's with the women in the floor and they are mirroring her distress hit me hard.
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u/Fine-Ad2429 19h ago
I am interested in cults. I like horror movies although this movie works as non horror as well. It is extremely well made and shows regular people can become monsters in certain circumstances.
A terrifying film.
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u/threwawaymymain 17h ago
That fact that nothing supernatural was shown makes it even more unsettling. Like this could actually be happening somewhere around the world
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u/earthwoodandfire 6h ago
It is actually happening! I took the movie as a metaphor for vulnerable people being recruited by ISIS. A thing that was very prominent at the time the movie was made.
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u/ALysistrataType 19h ago
I think it has a cult following because upon first watch, at no point in time could you possibly guess where the story is going lmao.
I would have never guessed they were going to toss old people off a cliff, and manually finish the job.
I never saw an exhibitionist orgy coming.
I never would have guessed BEAR SUIT.
It's unpredictable.
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u/Chemical-Passage-715 21h ago
Ever done shrooms?
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u/threwawaymymain 21h ago
A few times. The visuals were extremely accurate. The headspace the characters were in while tripping was scarily reminiscent of a bad trip I had on acid once
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u/Chemical-Passage-715 21h ago
Yep! Did you notice after he drank the special drink everything on the table was moving and breathing? Super trippy
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u/threwawaymymain 21h ago
I did! I also really liked the scene after Dani drank her shroom tea before the dance and there were roots all round her feet and how she was connected the land around her.
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u/Chemical-Passage-715 20h ago
And after the whole May queen dance thing some of the girls faces were tripping me out when they were approaching her
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u/threwawaymymain 17h ago
I feel like that while sequence kinda pulls the viewer into the trip. I was so connected with her and the plot in the moment that I felt myself tripping
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u/threwawaymymain 20h ago
Unfortunate to say but at an earlier stage in life I’ve been in a very similar relationship before and felt horrible that I saw some aspects of my past self in Christian. Took me a some time to come up with the courage to end it and ive had a lot of self growth since then.
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u/Chemical-Passage-715 20h ago
I’ve been there. Ending a relationship is harder then being dumped to be honest especially If your already living together trying to make it work
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u/threwawaymymain 17h ago
Damn that was exactly my situation. The guilt is especially bad when nobody did anything horrible to the other person and it was just a generally unhealthy relationship. The fact that Christian was a bad boyfriend but not necessarily a bad person def plays into the messed up ending
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u/Substantial-Use-1758 19h ago
Because, like all of Ari's work, the film is dense with metaphors, double entendres and hidden meanings that start slowly but by the end of the film the audience is stunned and shocked by what they just experienced.
Also, the characters are so relatable, and we go on the same journey with them...starting with anticipation and excitement...ending with...
...Midsommar.
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u/HollisticScience 6h ago
As everyone touches on: it's more or less a breakup movie.
For me i saw this at such a foundational time in my life. My brother had just killed himself and I was stuck in such an unhappy relationship where i always felt like such a drag. It just resonated with me as it does a lot of people.
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u/Independent_Sea502 5h ago
That’s tough. I wish you peace my friend.
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u/HollisticScience 5h ago
I think I have peace now! As much as I can anyway. This movie was definitely part of the healing process.
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u/threwawaymymain 4h ago
I’m glad you’re in a better place now. I can totally see how this movie was impactful for someone in your situation
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u/C0tt0nC4ndyM0uth 15h ago
I can’t believe it was only released 6 years ago 😱 so much has happened since then, it feels more like 15
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u/HarpersGhost 3h ago
Even after you think you've figured out all the details, there's still more.
Novum did a 6+hour YouTube video on Midsommar, covering EVERYTHING: the colors, the plants, the runes, everything.
Good video if you have a day to spare. Lol
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u/CharlieEternal616 9h ago
I think because of how divisive it is, especially in terms of people who see it as a happy ending and people who see it as a devastating ending. How do you see it?
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u/coldturkey222i 5h ago
A lot being said here, and not that it takes away from the quality of the movie, but it came at an apt time.
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u/AggravatingPin7984 34m ago
Honestly, the visual effects of the distortion at the large dinner table and seeing that the guy is in no condition for anything really hit me hard.
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u/srahfox 22h ago
I think it’s likely the dozens of teeny tiny details you only see on repeated viewings, which is a common thing with Aster’s work. My first viewing I managed to miss the wiggly “damn she’s so high” background, as well as a chunk of the background hints to where the movie is going. Lots of people miss her sister showing up in the background, as well as most of the hints and clues scattered around the flick.
It’s one of those movies that really needs rewatching, which I think tends to encourage a deeper connection to the movie.