It’s a good bet that Us (which we already know rules) and Midsommar (which doesn’t come out until next month, but looks like it, too, rules) will appear near the top of most Best Horror Movies of 2019 rankings. They both hail from second-time directors, Jordan Peele and Ari Aster, who recently sat down for a discussion in the new issue of Fangoria magazine. The Get Out filmmaker has nothing but praise for the director of Hereditary‘s sophomore effort, which he calls “atrociously disturbing.” Only in horror is that a good thing.
After a screening of Midsommar, Peele texted Aster to tell him, “I think you’ve made the most idyllic horror film of all time.” He compared it to The Stepford Wives, but also said that this kind of movie “hasn’t existed yet, and anything after Midsommar is going to have to contend with it.” Peele, who says it’s already usurped The Wicker Man as the “most iconic pagan movie,” continued:
“I didn’t feel victimized. I felt like I was being put up on this pedestal and honored through the eyes of the protagonist. It’s a very unique feeling for a film to conjure because after it ended, I found myself looking back at the final act like, ‘Holy sh*t. That was some of the most atrociously disturbing imagery I’ve ever seen on film, and yet I experienced it with this open-mouthed, wild-eyed gape.’ I think that part of how we get there is never reducing the villains to any kind of snarling monsters with an evil agenda.” (Via)
Peele didn’t give Midsommar a rating (he must not be on Letterboxd), but if he did, it would be five out of five creepy pagan circles.
Midsommar opens on July 3.
(Via IndieWire)
