If you’re heading to see Midsommar in the coming days, you might want to block off a bit of time for when you leave the cinema – find a dark room, some solitary place, to go and either repress or ruminate on what you’ve just seen. Ari Aster’s follow-up to Hereditary is another overwhelming horror experience, this time following a group of American tourists – including Florence Pugh’s Dani and Jack Reynor’s Christian, a couple going through a rough patch in their relationship – as they’re invited into a remote Swedish festival with all kinds of unsettling rituals and practices. Needless to say, Stormzy and The Killers aren’t headlining this one. What happens there will delight and disturb the most hardened of horror fans – and even had a profound effect on its stars.
Speaking to Empire, actor Will Poulter – who plays fellow festival attendee Mark – spoke about his visceral reaction to seeing the finished film. “I had the worst night's sleep of my life the night after,” he admitted on the Empire Podcast. “Terrible, terrible, full-on nightmares. Which is strange, because I wouldn't actually describe the film as being typically scary, or even as scary as Ari's first film, Hereditary, or some of the other films it might be compared to, or has been compared to. But it is utterly disturbing. And it's that kind of disturbing feeling that I think lingers longer than a fright. A fright has a very limited life-span. This idea that humans are capable of what you see in Midsommar is kind of what's most disturbing about it. I was slightly caught off guard by it, despite reading the script and despite being in it and shooting it, and presumably knowing what to expect, I was still caught massively off guard.”
He’s not the only star of Midsommar to feel side-swiped by the film – after watching it for the first time, Florence Pugh shared her stunned reaction on Twitter, calling it “one helluva ride”.
If you’re feeling brave, you can catch Midsommar in UK cinemas now – and head this way to read our five-star review. Also, the latest issue of Empire includes a major new interview with Ari Aster, delving into the filmmaking mastermind behind two of the most impressive horror films of the decade. Pick it up on shelves now, or order a copy online here.
