Let’s just get comparisons out of the way. Midsommar is not like The Wicker Man (original or remake), and instead, hot off of the heels of Hereditary, Ari Aster both writes and directs something all together more interesting.

An awkward couple, Dani (Florence Pugh, a rising star) and Christian (Jack Reynor), along with friends, go to this once in a lifetime festival, where stuff then happens. Now here’s where reviewing the film gets a bit awkward because I went in knowing very little and to be honest watching it felt a lot better as a result. All I’ll say is that Aster takes themes such as grief and relationship issues and really mixes them all into an interesting whole.

Plus, is it better than Hereditary? That’s tough to say, especially as it’s different in ways that I won’t spoil, but if you’re up for a visionary horror, in the end I can’t recommend this enough, despite pacing issues towards the end. You’ve been told.