|
Eric Kohn of ''[[IndieWire]]'' summarized the film as a "perverse breakup movie," adding that "Aster doesn't always sink the biggest surprises, but he excels at twisting the knife. After a deflowering that makes [[Ken Russell]]'s ''[[The Devils (film)|The Devils]]'' look tame, Aster finds his way to a startling reality check."<ref>{{cite news|work=[[IndieWire]]|last=Kohn|first=Eric|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2019/06/midsommar-review-1202151115/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619133728/https://www.indiewire.com/2019/06/midsommar-review-1202151115/|archive-date=June 19, 2019|title='Midsommar' Review: 'Hereditary' Director's Latest Horror Epic Is Actually a Perverse Breakup Movie}}</ref> ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]''{{'}}s Joshua Rothkopf awarded the film a 5/5 star-rating, writing, "A savage yet evolved slice of Swedish folk-horror, Ari Aster's hallucinatory follow-up to ''[[Hereditary (film)|Hereditary]]'' proves him a horror director with no peer."<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]|title=Midsommar|last=Rothkopf|first=Joshua|date=June 19, 2019|url=https://www.timeout.com/us/film/midsommar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620024851/https://www.timeout.com/us/film/midsommar|archive-date=June 20, 2019}}</ref>
For ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', A. A. Dowd stated that the film "rivals ''Hereditary'' in the cruel shock department", and labelled it a "B+ effort".<ref name="avc">{{Cite web |url=https://filmwww.avclub.com/midsommar-is-a-deranged-and-funny-folk-horror-nightm-1835707585 |last=Dowd |first=A. A. |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=June 20, 2019 |access-date=June 20, 2019 |title=''Midsommar'' Is a Deranged (and Funny!) Folk-Horror Nightmare from the Director of ''Hereditary'' |archive-date=June 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621004652/https://film.avclub.com/midsommar-is-a-deranged-and-funny-folk-horror-nightm-1835707585 |url-status=live }}</ref> Writing for [[Inverse (website)|''Inverse'']], Eric Francisco commented that the film feels "like a victory lap after ''Hereditary''", and that Aster "takes his sweet time to lull viewers into his clutches ... But like how the characters experience time, its passage is a vague notion." He described the film as "a sharp portrayal of [[gaslighting]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inverse.com/article/57242-midsommar-review-ari-aster-second-horror-movie-after-hereditary-shines-with-dar|title='Midsommar' Review: An Unnerving Summer Horror Where the Sun Never Sets|last=Francisco|first=Eric|website=[[Inverse (website)|Inverse]]|date=July 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-07-01|archive-date=July 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701181102/https://www.inverse.com/article/57242-midsommar-review-ari-aster-second-horror-movie-after-hereditary-shines-with-dar|url-status=live}}</ref> Richard Brody of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' said that the film "is built on such a void of insight and experience, such a void of character and relationships, that even the first level of the house of narrative cards can't stand." He added, "In the end, the subject of ''Midsommar'' is as simple as it is regressive: lucky Americans, stay home."<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/midsommar-reviewed-ari-asters-backwards-horror-story-of-an-american-couple-in-sweden|title="Midsommar," Reviewed: Ari Aster's Backwards Horror Story of an American Couple in Sweden|last=Brody|first=Richard|magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=2019-07-08|access-date=2019-07-09|language=en|issn=0028-792X|archive-date=July 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709074334/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/midsommar-reviewed-ari-asters-backwards-horror-story-of-an-american-couple-in-sweden|url-status=live}}</ref> Emma Madden in ''[[The Guardian]]'' criticised the film for its [[Disability in horror films|depiction of disabled characters]] as "monstrous" and argued that it resurrects harmful horror film tropes of [[ableism]] and [[eugenics]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Madden |first=Emma |date=2019-07-10 |title=Midsommar's ableism resurrects the dark history of eugenics-inspired horror |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/10/midsommars-ableism-resurrects-the-dark-history-of-eugenics-inspired-horror-ari-aster |access-date=2022-09-30 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en |archive-date=October 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004095655/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/10/midsommars-ableism-resurrects-the-dark-history-of-eugenics-inspired-horror-ari-aster |url-status=live }}</ref>
Tomris Laffly of [[RogerEbert.com]] rated the film 4 out of 4 stars, describing it as a "terrifically juicy, apocalyptic cinematic sacrament that dances around a fruitless relationship in dizzying circles".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Laffly |first1=Tomris |date=2019-07-01 |title=Midsommar 2019 |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/midsommar-2019 |access-date=10 September 2022 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]]|archive-date=September 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220910033906/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/midsommar-2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|''Vanity Fair'']] article from December 2019 reflecting on the [[History of horror films|2010s in horror films]] argued that ''Midsommar'' was part of a trend of "[[elevated horror]]," along with Aster's previous ''Hereditary'' and [[Robert Eggers]] directed [[The Witch (2015 film)|''The Witch'']], and that it was an example of "horror at its best".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Bradley |first=Laura |date=2019-12-17 |title=This Was the Decade Horror Got "Elevated" |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/12/rise-of-elevated-horror-decade-2010s |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |language=en-US |access-date=2022-01-27}}</ref>
|
