Midsommar       4 ½ stars

Midsommar might be the fright fest of the summer.  This horror movie really establishes Ari Aster as a first rate talent in the horror genre.  Last year he brought us the disturbing “Hereditary” and now he brings us Midsommar, a horror story told in broad daylight.  We start the story with Dani, a young woman who suffers an unimaginable tragedy when her sister and parents are all killed.  She decides to accompany her boyfriend and his graduate school friends on a once in a lifetime trip to a summer festival in a remote Swedish village.  Once there the friends are welcomed to this commune like society and are invited to join in with the villagers in their ancient pagan rituals.  Being involved includes enjoying the effects of hallucinogenic drugs that distort their sense of reality.  The happy mood continues for a good while but things eventually take a dark turn as things are not all what they appear to be. (How could it be any other way?)  Things go from bad to worse for each of the American guests as they discover what their hosts really think of them.  Aster is a master at creating these disturbing scenes that are played out in broad daylight unlike most horror movies.  This movie may also be appropriate for the MeToo movement as it shows how women can react toward the men they are disgruntled with.  Beware, there are several very disturbing images in this one as you would expect from a first rate horror movie.