'SO DISTURBING'
VIEWERS of Midsommar warn others that the new horror movie will 'f*** up their entire life' as they've been left traumatised by the thriller.
The film is released in the UK and Ireland on July 5, but some lucky film buffs in America have been given a special early screening.
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And they claim to have been left feeling sick and frozen to their seats during the "totally f***ed" two hours-plus film - but in a "good way".
Lindsey Romain, editor of film expert website nerdist.com, wrote: "Wow. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so gutted by a movie. I felt sick, I felt joy - I felt so much. Above all else, I’ve never seen such a wicked, accurate depiction of intoxicating mania. I adored it and I hate it."
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“Holy s***,” wrote Slash Film’s Chris Evangelista, adding that the movie was “so disturbing” but an absolute “crowd pleaser.”
Midsommar follows a pack of American boys who trek to rural Sweden to observe and participate in a midsommar season festival — a custom of ringing in the solstice with organised dances and flower crowns.
But tensions are already high as Christian (played by Irish actor Jack Reynor) has invited his grieving girlfriend Dani (Florence Pugh, who won praise in recent sports film Fighting With My Family) to crash the party.
It's not revealed what trauma Dani is suffering at the beginning, but the couple look to be on the verge of a split, with Christian's lack of empathy causing Dani to bend over backwards to keep them together.
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They then end up at the festival, which seems more cult-like as they dance in circles and make rituals with the locals, with some of the Americans seemingly experiencing unexplained pain and flashbacks.
However, viewers have also praised Midsommar for being darkly funny, including a very awkward sex scene and BAFTA winner Will Poulter's character, who is there to be laughed at, not with.
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Director Ari Aster's debut film, Hereditary, which starred Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne, was hailed as one of the most frightening films of 2018, and according to early reactions, the American filmmaker has followed up with an equally disturbing frightener.
Phil Nobile Jr., editor of Fangoria, summarised: "Two films in and it's official. Ari Aster: not a grief counsellor."
Speaking at the US screening, Aster said, “I wrote Midsommar while I was going through a breakup, four years ago. Now it’s a movie. This is, down to the last detail, exactly what happened.”