Remember last year's "Genetic Doom", which won multiple awards and was well received?
Recently, its director and screenwriter Ari Aster has returned with a new work.
Also about family ties, and equally inexplicable horrors, this time Ali Esther completely unleashed himself from the start.
A Midsummer Night's Horror
1
The protagonists of the story are a couple who have been dating for nearly four years: Dani and Chris. The increasingly cold relationship between the two, coupled with Dani's lack of confidence, anxiety and over-dependence, caused Chris to often complain to his friends, and his good brothers always advised him to break up as soon as possible.
Just as Chris hesitated, Dany's phone call completely extinguished his determination to propose a "breakup".
It turned out that on a seemingly calm night, Dany's bipolar sister killed her parents with her own hands and then committed suicide.
Poor Dani lost three of her loved ones overnight, a moment in which Chris's long-brewed breakup plan could only come to an end temporarily.
Desperately, Chris strives to be a competent boyfriend who accompanies Dani and takes her to parties. And at the invitation of a friend, he pulled Dani, who had been immersed in grief, and embarked on a "journey of no return" to a small village in Sweden.
The first to organize the trip was a friend of Chris's named Pell. This time they were going to a small Swedish village, which was Pell's hometown. Unlike several other members of the small group, Pelle has always been friendly to Dani, and when he learned that Dany was also going to travel with him, he showed a sincere smile.
Along the way, several people have their own concerns, and the men's gang has become a little embarrassed because of Dani's joining. Fortunately, the hospitable Pelle and his brother soon impressed everyone with their simplicity and enthusiasm.
Led by the two of them, they finally came to this small village like a paradise.
A celebration once in 90 years is being held here, and the villagers are dressed up to welcome this group of outsiders to participate in this nine-day summer feast.
As the host, Pell told his companions about the traditions of the village: here, under 18 years old is like the spring of growing in life, while 18 to 36 years old is the summer to enjoy, 36 to 54 years old is the autumn of work and harvest, and 54 to 72 is the twilight of the twilight, the last winter.
What happens when Dany curiously asks what happens at 72?
Pelle made such a seemingly funny gesture as an answer to her.
Everyone couldn't help but laugh at it. But no one expected that Pell's move was not a joke.
The next morning, they were invited to a feast and enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast in a full sense of ceremony.
During the banquet, everyone stood up and toasted to an elderly couple and offered their most sincere wishes. Although Dani and a few people did not know it, they still joined the ceremony in the countryside.
Then the two old men were carried up the cliff with special chairs, and then, without any warning, they jumped, their heads blossomed, and died in front of them...
The female elderly died on the spot, while the male elderly just broke his leg and had to rely on other villagers holding wooden hammers to knock him to death. The horror of its picture directly caused several urbanites to run away on the spot.
Just as one of the young couples threatened to leave, the village elders stopped them and explained that it was all their tradition. For thousands of years, every elderly person in this village who lived to the age of 72 had to end his life in this way.
For them, 72 years old is already the limit of life. Spring, summer, autumn and winter alternate in four seasons, this way of dying is not only a respect for the elderly, but also the most sincere blessing for the whole village.
2
Normal people see this scene and have already fled in the fastest way, but our protagonist is not taking the usual path. Chris, the male protagonist of anthropology, and Josh, a black brother, were inspired by the horror of the cliffside and wanted to take everything here as their thesis report. There was even an argument over grabbing the topic, and I almost started fighting.
While they were busy pointing fingers at each other, the frightened Dany was comforted by Pelle. He said that he had lost both of his parents since he was a child, and could understand Dani's feelings, and advised her to simply stay and try to integrate into this strange family.
On one side is Chris, who is indifferent and forgets even her birthday and the anniversary of the two of them, and on the other side is Pelle, who cares deeply about herself and has a similar experience... The balance of Dany's feelings began to slowly shake.
However, from this day on, the danger began to approach them step by step.
First, the couple who had threatened to leave disappeared, and then Chris ate a cake with "ingredients" during the meal.
Later, a girl claimed that she needed help with something, and the little friend who went with her disappeared completely and never came back.
That night, the black little brother Josh was also tragically headshot by the 72-year-old with the same wooden hammer for sneaking into the church to secretly shoot the scriptures.
At this point, the group of outsiders, except for Dani and Chris, either did not know where they were, or they saw God directly. The two men, who were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the villagers, did not realize that their companions had been unexpected.
Instead, they were like fish, one of them spun and jumped at the ball, winning the title of "Queen of May".
One of them secretly chen cang with the girls in the village, in front of a group of women, climbed to a new peak in life.
It turns out that the cake is a signal of courtship
Seeing this, the villagers' conspiracy was revealed.
It turned out that they recruited outsiders into the village, the main purpose of which was to incorporate fresh blood in order to prevent close relatives from reproducing and giving birth to defective children.
So in this group of outsiders led by Chris, Chris and another white male both enjoyed the girl's active devotion before they were endangered. As a black man, Josh was completely useless and was directly knocked to death.
Sure enough, when chris escaped from the strange and terrible breeding ceremony naked after the conspiracy succeeded, he saw the undisguised body of Josh in the courtyard.
Josh had the number "4" written on his feet, indicating that he was the 4th person to be killed. It is only then that the film reveals to us what kind of memorial this summer feast once in 90 years will end with. On the last day of the summer festival, 9 people will be sacrificed in the fire, 4 of whom are locals and 5 are foreigners.
The vanished couple, the Mark who was called away by the girls... Josh is the 4th, then Chris, of course, is the 5th.
It turned out that under Chris's eyes, his companions had long been a corpse waiting to be burned by the fire, and he himself was about to face a terrible fate.
At the end of the film, Dani, who witnessed her boyfriend's affair, as the Queen of Mayfest, calmly designated Chris as the last sacrifice. Looking at the raging fire burning in front of her, a strange smile appeared on her face.
3
Since "Genetic Doom", Ali Esther has always had a special love for this genre. However, compared to "Genetic Doom", which mainly expounds the terrible aspects of supernatural events, this time "A Midsummer Night's Horror" uses a longer space and a more delicate inner description to show why some people willingly join a cult.
The heroine Dani's heart is very fragile, and her dependence is relatively strong, which can be seen from her long-term dependence on drugs and boyfriend Chris. Coupled with the change of family and the tragic death of her loved ones, these became the last straw that overwhelmed Dani, who longed for sympathy and attention, hoping that someone would understand her true feelings in her heart.
So even after witnessing the terrible cliff suicide, she was still touched by Pell's tenderness and chose to stay in the village.
In the May Queen's selection, she danced hand in hand with the girls, which also allowed her to find a sense of presence and achievement here.
Suddenly, it was as if everything she had lost had returned at this moment.
And when she found out that Chris was having an affair with someone, she subconsciously ran away and cried bitterly, and the girls who did not know each other originally surrounded her, as if they felt empathy. Even if there is no verbal comfort, they cry with Dani, and that empathy also makes Dany relax to a certain extent.
In this weird little village, everyone is your ally, and they will accompany you to laugh and cry, sharing everything with each other.
So Dany willingly became their companion. Scarred, she came from the outside world, but because she was redeemed here, she chose to stay forever.
Choreographer Ali Esther is a very good storyteller, and he uses delicate scripts and very meaningful shots to show the audience one horror and crazy world after another.
The car drove off into the distance, but reversed its direction in the process. Symbolizing the change in Dany's worldview, it also hints at the beginning of all horrors.
Although the slightly lengthy foreshadowing makes the 147-minute film feel boring, it can be combined with sunshine, flowers and laughter, or make "A Midsummer Night's Dream" a "clear stream" in horror films. It also allows people to experience the loneliness of the heart and the horror of a different kind of behind the seemingly warm.