Midsommar (2019)

* major spoilers *

Dani Ardor is used to putting aside her own feelings in favor of others. The first scene of the film has her holding back tears and desperately trying to sound casual while asking her dismissive boyfriend Christian for emotional support. Then she experiences an unimaginable loss. Christian is physically there, but she is constantly bottling up her grief and panic attacks by herself. At every turn, her own needs and feelings are put aside for others (usually Christian). When she finds out from his friends that he's going to Sweden for a month and a half and already has a ticket, Christian spins it as an attack on him and she ends up apologizing just to get him to stay. When they arrive in Sweden and she doesn't want to take the psychedelics right away, Christian and his friend Mark pressure her into taking it right away. Dani spends much of the film saying things are ok when they're not and explaining away Christian's bad behavior. The one support that she has is in an unnamed friend who gives her good advice, but it's one phone call before the tragedy and she doesn't appear again.

Christian and his friends aren't the best people for Dani to travel with. Christian constantly gaslights her and browbeats her with his wrong opinions until she agrees. He has no direction in his life and is only still in a relationship he's clearly not interested in because he might regret it later. Halfway through the film, he gloms onto Josh's dissertation topic and claims it as his own, acting as if he had no idea. Mark only views women as objects and doesn't care about anyone else. The rites of the Harga hold no interest for him beyond ogling beautiful women and greatly offends the community with no remorse. Josh has some respect for their culture, but only to the point where it benefits him. His dissertation is partly on the community and it doesn't even occur to him to ask for permission to write about them. When denied pictures of their sacred book, he sneaks in the middle of the night to get the pictures anyway. He also knows about the suicide they will witness and doesn't bother to warn Dani, who is still in great emotional stress. The main theme of these men is selfishness.

The Harga are the exact opposite of Dani's world. Where her world is shown as industrial and impersonal, theirs is almost supernaturally sunny and bright, every experience is communal, and everyone seems happy. Underneath the politeness and pageantry, lies a layer of self sacrifice. These people believe so much in their faith and community that they would literally give their own lives for a newer generation and for prosperity. The Harga take advantage of their visitors' politeness and purposefully keep them off balance until they are used for whatever purpose the community needs. These methods seem well practiced and the Harga have no remorse or uncertainty about their practices. Everyone is complicit and supports their ideals completely, which makes the next layer even more disturbing.

Underneath that layer is another more insidious layer of white supremacy. The first clue is a book in Pelle's apartment about a secret Nazi language, buried but visible on his coffee table.  The Harga employ eugenics by only approving certain (white) outsiders to mate with and "keeping their bloodlines pure." I went to Sweden a month ago and the Harga do not represent the country's population. Outwardly they welcome everyone, but people of color and people who insult their ideals only serve as sacrifices. Although the Americans all transgressed in some way, the British couple Connie and Simon were innocent yet dispatched first. Ingemar brought them as revenge after being rejected by Connie and in his mind replaced by Simon. They went on one date which Ingemar put way more significance in, showing his toxic masculinity and incel interior. Furthermore, the spiritual enemy of the Harga people is the Black One and everything they do is in defiance of him. Their policies and beliefs consistently lure in and kill people of color. They only welcome white people to take part or assimilate into their community.

Dani experiences a spiritual journey from completely bottling up her emotions to being crowned May Queen and being embraced by a crowd of women feeling her emotions with her. She finally has power and these people revere her. After immolating her toxic boyfriend, she finally smiles and experiences freedom. However, that same event shows that the Harga also lie to their own people. The two willing sacrifices are given tree sap to feel no pain in the fire, but die painfully and horribly. Like the promise, the community is hollow and just more toxic than the relationship she just left. Dani is used to feeling less than and gloms onto the first thing that makes her feel like a person. For her, and many white women today, that thing is rooted in white supremacy. It's easy to turn a blind eye to the deaths of people you don't know or like when that same system makes you feel special for the first time in your life. It's phenomenon seen over and over in US politics as well.

Although Midsommar is a complex, well made film, some things marred the experience. Some of the foreshadowing is more like a truck to the face because it's so obvious. I love how you see everything that will happen if you look carefully on the walls of the building where they sleep. However, panning slowly over a five panel "love story" makes it completely obvious it will happen later in the film. I found the flowery plateaus reminiscent of Hannibal and the overall vibe of a secret, exploitative religion with performative, communal rituals as reminiscent of the new Suspiria. I also find how Ari Aster chooses to use disabled people in his films troubling. Through Midsommar and Hereditary, the disabled characters are played for scares and don't really have character arcs of their own. It's worse here because Ruben, the oracle, has no lines and only serves to unsettle the audience despite being revered by the Harga. We should have moved well beyond this type of ablist horror and it's disappointing.

Midsommar is an impressive folk horror film with layers upon layers of themes, symbols, and foreshadowing to wade through. The pace is in no hurry and reveals its secrets in due time. Even at two and half hours of runtime, I would have easily sat for an additional half hour to see more of this world. I had to watch it twice to formulate my opinions and truly dig into the material. The details of the Harga culture and their artwork alone is so rich and expansive. The visuals are gorgeous and unsettling, even in something as typical as a travel sequence is literally turned upside down and feels new. However, the treatment of Ruben was so unnecessary, disappointing, and rooted in ablism. I do recommend this film with this one caveat. Midsommar defies expectations of the horror genre by rooting it in flowers, sunlight, and friendly white people.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

Horror Movie Mini-Reviews: Apostle (2018) and Tenderness of Wolves (1973)

* Apostle (2018)

In 1905, Thomas Richardson makes the long, difficult trek to a remote Welsh island to save his sister Jennifer, who was kidnapped and held ransom by some sort of religious group. He poses as a new convert in order to blend into their ranks and won't give a cent until he sees his sister alive. Thomas is woefully unprepared for what he finds on the island as he digs deeper and deeper.

Apostle is an interesting film because it takes a bizarre cult and places it in 1905. So many horror films about cults take place in present day and it's refreshing to see something a bit different that defies expectations. Thomas is a rough man with a troubled past as a Christian missionary. In China, he was tortured and almost killed, resulting in his loss of faith. (I did roll my eyes a little considering the worldwide, historical harm of missionaries enslaving and exploiting native people as well as erasing their culture.) In the Welsh island, Thomas is well aware of the danger he's in and takes every precaution to stay hidden as long as possible. You can't help but feel for Thomas despite his spiky demeanor because of his single-minded concern for his sister. His surprise at what he finds on the island reflects our surprise and it's pretty insane.

The cult itself seems open and friendly, providing homes, food, and resources to members in exchange for work. Underneath it all, the leader has suspected infiltrators killed and he doesn't have complete control of his people. Another seeks to usurp him and force him to either acquise or admit weakness. This man, Quinn, is one of the most odious characters I've seen. What he does to his daughter and her boyfriend when he finds they defied him is so disturbing and infuriating. The horror elements run the gamut of torture to a more eldritch, Lovecraftian horror, which took me by surprise. The lore is presented in only bits and pieces of events. Even the followers don't know the full power of the goddess they worship, which feels realistic in something so fantastical. I didn't completely love the ending, but it went a completely different way than I expected. Apostle delivers tension and scares along with this strange, half known mythology.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

* Tenderness of Wolves (1973)

In the wake of World War I, Fritz Haarmann takes advantage of the people's poverty and desperation to not only deal in contraband but also lure young men to his apartment to mutilate and murder. This is a real life figure known at the time as the Butcher of Hanover or the Wolfman due to the savage nature of his crimes. He was rumored to have butchered his victims and sold their meat, but this was never confirmed.

The film portrays Fritz as outside of society in many ways. He sells many things on the black market from donated or stolen clothing to mystery meat (presumably from his victims but never explicitly shown).  On a social level, he's a known gay man, which was illegal and made him vulnerable to arrest at essentially any time. On top of that, his manipulation, rape, and murder of young men must be kept secret. Fritz is shown to change his demeanor based on the situation on a dime. The most chilling scenes are with his victims. When he meets the young men, he invites them into his home for drink and dinner, which is hard to refuse for someone poor. From there, he coerces them into bed, implying an exchange for a job, transportation, or some other thing they need to survive. The change goes from insistant and charming to cold and predatory when he attacks. These scenes are surprisingly explicit for the time, providing a frank view of the killer's sexuality tied inextricably to his murders.

Unfortunately, the timing and flow of the film feels off. It isn't clear when things are happening, how far apart events are, or if some events are during the same day. Scenes abruptly end with another scene right after it. The connective tissue of the film isn't there and these scenes just seem disjointed, random views into Fritz's life. It's so disappointing because the rest of the film is so well done. Tenderness of Wolves is a slow moving, chilling film to watch. The setting of a war torn country coupled with indifferent, overworked police create the atmosphere where Fritz could kill practically unchecked. The performances and situations feel real. Kurt Raab's performance chills me to the bone in his ease changing his personality to whatever the situation calls for. I recommend this film, but it's not put together in the best way.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

The Sacrament

* spoilers *

Patrick, fashion photographer, receives a letter from his drug addict sister Caroline that she has found utopia in South America with a drug and alcohol free religious group that has sold all their belongings to set up a commune there. Patrick's co-workers, Sam and Jake, who work for Vice, want to do a story on the group and go with him to document and report about the trip. When they arrive, things are less than hospitable when men with machine guns stop them and demand a donation. Caroline arrives, they are let in, and everything seems idyllic. Everyone they talk to loves the place and has story after story about how they were saved and how it's the most perfect place ever. A party is thrown in their honor where they will get to interview Father, the leader of the group, and just enjoy themselves for the night. The interview doesn't go as planned as Father is a charismatic, talkative man who can talk around any question they ask. Sam is handed a note that says "Help us" at the party and they know everything isn't as wonderful as it seems.

I had basically written off Ti West as a horrible director because I've hated pretty much everything he's done up to this point except Cabin Fever 2, which he wanted to remove his name from. I decided to give him one last chance and I'm glad I did. I didn't realize going into it, but the film is a fictionalized retelling of the Jonestown massacre where a religious cult committed mass murder/suicide with poisoned Kool-Aid after moving to South America to flee "persecution." I have heard vague accounts of the event, but no real specifics. The film does a great job of presenting the story pretty accurately with an artistic flair without filling in all the gaps for the audience. For instance, the inhabitants talked about the abuse that would be administered should any of them break the rules or go against Father, but it isn't seen and only a little of the aftermath is shown. Anything not explicitly explained in the film can be researched and discovered for oneself since it's a pretty well documented event. The film starts normally enough, but as the film goes on, suspense and tension is built perfectly toward the grisly resolution. Ti West has always been good at building suspense, but has failed to make the resolution worthy of the build up until now.

I find religious cults to be particularly frightening because of how easy it is to manipulate religion to an agenda and manipulate people who are down and out to follow it. Father is a fascinating character and Gene Jones gives the best performance of the film. The scariest thing about him is how jovial and sincerely nice he appears. His likability and charisma are what draw people to him in the first place. Ti West wanted to make the character portrayed as genuine and well meaning, but his paranoia drove him to evil. The second most frightening thing about him is his ability to manipulate. He convinced a huge group of people to give up all their earthly belongings, give him all their money, move out to South America, and build Eden Parish. Then he convinced the majority of them to kill themselves, their children, and the dissenters. He also blamed the deaths of his people on the Vice crew, insisting to the end that it wasn't his fault and it was the only way out. I've listened to part of the tapes recorded by Jim Jones, the real life Father, and Gene Jones captured him perfectly.

The film is in found footage style, but doesn't overdo the shaky cam effect or forgo having a satisfying ending as many of them do. The style makes sense with the story. My only gripe with the film is that the blood looks too orange and very fake. It seems a few people take offense to fictionalizing a real life event, but I disagree. A horrific event like this is morbidly fascinating and a film like this gives us the opportunity to experience a situation like it safely while exploring how it could happen and the motivations of the people involved. I think it's more offensive to turn victims of the Chernobyl disaster into monsters like Chernobyl Diaries or turn the innocent victims of the Salem witch trials into actual witches deserving of execution in The Conjuring.

My rating: 9/10 fishmuffins