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What happens once they're there is something that's lost to legend and fiercely protected by the locals, but luckily we get to (safely) share in the festivities as the viewing audience. The end of Midsommar begins after Dani wins the dance battle to become the May Queen (a symbolic fight against the Devil-like entity known as the Black One). The ending of Midsommar explained is this: Dani literally buries her past life. Why? The grim spectre of death overlooks the image. Theres a stark juxtaposition at the end of the film seeing Dani covered in beautiful flowers as she watches her former friends, many of whom have already died, be burned alive in the ceremonial structure. Their research included visits to local folklore museums, tours of centuries-old farms with paintings on the walls similar to those found in the movie, and traditional cultural solstice celebrations, along with studies of British and German folklore. As Dani and her fellow outsiders find out in a horrifying fashion, Hrgans who live to the age of 72 end their lives in a ritual where they jump from a high cliff onto a rock below. Now that you can impress your friends by explaining the true meaning of Midsommar, lets tackle another potentially confusing film: Jordan Peeles Us. Essentially an ancient alphabet used throughout Northern Europe before the adoption of the more modern Latin alphabet, runes are characters that have an associated sound as well as a meaning attributed to them. It's both literally and figuratively the feeling of being "held" that Pelle talks about with Dani - a sense of belonging and being home, which Christian could not give her. There is symbolism all over Midsommar. Now its all about Trump. Flowers are also often used as symbols of rebirth and fertility. That seems to shake something loose in Dani. But I think the best way to think about whats happening in this last section is through some of the clues dropped throughout the film about Danis journey throughout Midsommar. In Norse Myth there were warriors called Berserkers who would fight in a frenzied trance and in some versions these were said to be able to actually transform into a bear. Unlike Mark who wees on the sacred tree, and Josh who tries to photograph and possibly steal the sacred book Connie and Simon dont really commit any obvious transgressions. Not all festivals end in ritualistic suicide and murder. So how can you break put from the pack and get your idea onto the small screen? Heres our attempt to unpick some of the key points. A24 has released some of the most popular and beloved horror movies in recent years, and these ones grossed the most at the box office. In this case, the original meaning is one of divine blessing and protection; the inversion of it on the sacrificial stone is open to interpretation. Here we are answering a few questions that may have left you confused towards the ending on your first watch of the Midsommar. Also Simon getting flowers for eyes and hung up in a chicken coup isnt not ritualistic. You can take almost any ritual seen in the movie, do some research on it, and find out it has a counterpart in some . Firstly, because then we wouldnt have a movie. These scenes give the movie a more surreal atmosphere. The actual Midsummer holiday is reason to celebrate in Sweden: It kicks off a five-week holiday where locals take advantage of every hour the relatively short summer season offers them. And, of course, the bear. Indeed, Aster has called Midsommar something of a breakup movie, and throughout the story, we see how Christian is distancing himself from Dani, treating her with severe indifference and ignoring . The story centers on a group of Americans who travel to the Swedish hinterland at the invitation of their university friend in order to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime spring festival. There's the decorating and raising of the maypole, a structure that has been theorized to represent everything from sacred trees, to the world axis, to phallic symbols. Directors like Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar), Jordan Peele (Us, Get Out) and Robert Eggers (The VVitch, The Lighthouse) established themselves as household names of the genre. Midsommar doesn't dip into this mythology much at all, but it is happy to put its own spin on ritual human sacrifice. The R-shaped Raido represents a journey, but the reserve of it cam symbolize crisis or even death. Midsommar Jump to Edit Summaries A couple travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. The third and final section of the film starts out feeling like it will be kind of a whodunnit. Throughout this section, Dani is trying to put on a brave face; she only lets out her guttural sobs in private bathrooms, with the doors closed. Lets dive into our next explainer on Us. Perhaps the sacrifice of the outsiders isnt dependent on transgressions at all, though that does make you wonder what might have happened if Dani hadnt become the May Queen. The film has a happy ending, more . Whether that new path is one of freedom and hopefulness or just a different sort of cage is up to each viewer to decide. Pelle tells her that he, too, lost his parents (in a fire the details arent clear, but after watching the film, you might have a better sense of how that happened) and asks her if Christian feels like home to her, whether he holds her. As the whole community mourns, so does Dani to close the film. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. TwoHrgans have also already been sacrificed, dismembered, and turned into strange art pieces that are displayed during the final ceremony. Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. The young women ofHrga drink a drugged tea and then dance around a maypole until they fall down from exhaustion. From Midsommar Featuring Florence Pugh as Dani Ardor and Jack Reynor as Christian Hughes. Amidst this, he also mentions his parents getting burned alive. Originally, B-Reel Films and producer Patrik Andersson brought Aster an idea for a folk horror picture centered on the concept of "Americans going to Sweden and getting killed off." But the traditions still carry on in their own way. Full IPTV List channels worldwide With 20000 channels + 40000 Movie and series. He wont leave with her (though she fears he would leave without her) and ultimately her journey leads her to believe its better for her to stay. Here's how Midsommarmovie ends, and what it all means. Instead of replying with reassurance, Christian sourly eats a pie containing what looks to be a pubic hair and drinks from a glass containing a liquid thats pointedly pinker than everyone elses. Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! The scene near the end of MidsommarwhereDani sobs and her new "sisters" huddle around her, turning her cries into a chorus, is a parallel of the scene towards the start of the movie when Christian holds Dani silently as she cries about her family's deaths. Many of the rituals performed in Midsommar, like the dancing around the maypole and the crowning of the May Queen, were drawn from a mix of Swedish, German, and Christian traditions. Just like earlier in the film when the village shared in the old persons pain (you know what were talking about), the villagers empathize with Dani in a way no one else has. TrendRadars. As she watches, she realizes that he is gone. By the end of the movie, four of the new blood sacrifices have already been made: British visitors Connie and Simon, and Christian's friends Josh and Mark. Like director Ari Aster's first film, Hereditary, . Aster has talked about how Midsommar can be seen as a fairytale, he also calls it a folk horror film. Hes also written articles for sites like Cracked and Ranker. Jump to content US Edition Change And one very obvious pagan reference that pops up again and again over the course of the movie is the use of runes. The next day when they catch Christian, the community comes together to explain to Dani what Midsommar Festival is all about. Four from Hrga, four outsiders, and one final choice to be made by the May Queen. Midsommar ending explained. First, the English couple tried to leave. They are joined by an English couple as well. Also Read:Caveat Ending Explained: Did Isaac Escape From The House? Additionally, Vanity Fair reported that, according to the movie's press notes, Aster brushed up on Swedish culture by collaborating with Stockholm-based set decorator Henrik Svensson on a 100-page reference document. The ritual sacrifice is a catharsis not only forHrga, but for Dani as well. This is foreshadowed earlier in the film when Simon asks what song the kids are playing, and they answer "Skin the Fool". She smiles. Midsommar, the new film from Ari Aster, is currently freaking out cinemagoers around the world - not least because of its extremely bold ending. But he tests to limits which lead him to his end. Are the midsummer ritualshuman sacrifice, dancing, sextrue to life? First and foremost, a quick recap of the Midsommar plot explained as things get a little wonky as the film progresses. Ari Asters latest horrorfest Midsommar is out now. Furthermore, another thing to note is that this only happens every 90 years. Dani's journey throughout Midsommar certainly leads to a new beginning. Once she presumes that Christian was an infidel after she sees him fornicating with Maja, not knowing he was under influence, she suffers what appears to be an onslaught of anxiety and grief, but she is immediately held and supported by the women of the commune, who comfort her and wail loudly in unison with her in order to share her grief. Mark is convinced that one of the Harga men, whos glowering at him across the way, is going to kill him for pissing on the ancestral tree. Since both Hereditary and Midsommar lean heavily on pagan folklore, I was hoping that Aster either had roots in Nordic countries and culture or at least thoroughly researched it, like his PhD-candidate characters. Sign up for the From Midsommar Featuring Florence Pugh as Dani Ardor. Christian attempts to escape after the mating ritual, and runs into a chicken coop where he finds Simon's body suspended into the air and turned into a "blood eagle" - a method of ritual killingwhere the ribs have been removed from his back and his lungs pulled out to create the appearance of wings. Because although you'd probably choose to save even the nobbiest of ex-boyfriends over a murderous cult, Dani has perhaps decided that she's without family of her own and the nurturing elements of Hrga are where she now belongs. Heres. So with no further adieu here we are getting Midsommar and its ending explained right. (Which seems, if youve seen Hereditary, to be Asters signature move.) Josh is mad at Christian for stealing excuse me, collaborating on his thesis idea. I would think she'd want to turn tail and run as fast as she could. So who's the sacrificial character who gets to wear this rune? Our Midsommar synopsis opens with a scene of Dani trying to call her emotionally-distant boyfriend Christian. But it could also just be because its a cool image. Midsommar's endingis about letting go of a bad relationship and opening yourself up to a better one - in a very twisted way, of course. When her family died, Christian and his friends failed . Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. Ari Aster's Midsommar depicts a terrifying Swedish commune. From a drug tea to killing two people when turned 72 years old, the place just levels up its problematic rituals step by step. Once out in the flowering fields on a Friday in late June, families and large gatherings of friends will start off their festivities by picking flowers, making wreaths, and raising the maypole, the site (and sight) of a number of "ring-around" dances. During dinner, Dani tells Christian that fellow outsider Simon left his girlfriend, Connie, behind in the village (or thats what they think of course, the reality is something quite different), and then bitterly says that she thinks Christian would do that, too. Peles sister won last year, and he hopes Dani wins this year. Since Dani had the option to spare her boyfriend and have a stranger be the centerpiece of the sacrifice at the end of Midsommar, some way wonder why she specifically decides to kill Christian. Elon Musk thinks were close to solving AI. And that brings us toMidsommar's ending. Ari Aster's new horror film Midsommar has an ending that's about as horrifying as you'd expect from the writer-director who made last year's Hereditary. But looking at the way Chrisitan was as a boyfriend in the past, she takes his name for sacrifice. Google Pay. Shes also a future queen. Dani's sister poisoned herself and her. It successfully creates a haunting atmosphere that remains pertinent throughout the entire film. She doesnt have to deal with people who dont care about her trauma, and instead, she can stay in this village where everyone will share her emotions with her. Traditionally, a dance around the maypole could have ended in the year's new May Queen. Oops. If you've already seen Ari Aster's Hereditary follow-up Midsommar, you'll be familiar with the sense of reeling horror that it sends you home with. Fortunately, weve analyzed every frame to bring you a comprehensive breakdown of what this movies really about. This is especially true when a man disguised as Mark comes to meet him, but his face was just a mask. Alex Murdaugh stands guilty of killing his wife and son. Its a Chekhovs bear, if you will. More: Read Screen Rant's Review of Midsommar, Hannah has been with Screen Rant since 2013, covering news, features, movie premieres, Comic-Con and more! However, having brought the May Queen toHrga, Pelle isspared from being sacrificed and instead given the highest honors. The communitys woman observes this and cries with her seeming like they can feel the pain. Though many try to escape at different points for the rest of the film, all but one are murdered and used in human sacrifice rituals. Folks in Sweden take this break so seriously, in fact, that they often close up shop and desert their towns and cities on Midsummer Eve. Others, like some of the ritualistic sacrifices, are a mixture of Aster's imagination and Viking folklore. Reaching back to films as old as 1933's King Kong through to the folk horror of The Wicker Man and Blood on Satan's Claw as well as strange genre fare like Satan's Slave (1976), human . In another post, we have a complete breakdown of the entire Midsommar script, including a PDF download. Nearing the end of Midsommar, more than two hours in to its run time, Dani (Florence Pugh) is indoctrinated into the cult and sacrifices her thuggish and moronic . Shes reaching out to him for help, thinking the worst has happened to her sister, and he really just blows her off. Chrisitan, in a rush, returns home to comfort his love Dani but when she finds out about his trip. There are also plants all around Danis apartment, in stark contrast to the snowy landscape outside. Lets find out what happens towards the ending of Midsommar. Seriously: If you dont want to be spoiled, abandon ship now. Its not just creepy Easter eggs going on in the background either. His brother, Ingemar(Hampus Hallberg), did the same, bringing two friends from London. This film makes me wonder how the horrific suicides of the two older people didn't send them running for the hills. We soon learn that Danis sister was successful in committing suicide via car exhaust, and the fumes also killed Danis parents in the same house. Ari Aster, director of "Midsommar," talks about pagan folk horror: Swedish cults, Viking executions and why he doesn't mind including spoilers in his own film. Shes found a new community to be a part of. The Swedish celebration of Walpurgis Eve, celebrated since at least the Middle Ages, is a chance for people of all ages and professions to welcome in the Spring season. Aster also uses the background to foreshadow whats to come. After the group travels to Sweden, Dani picks flowers for Christian, who couldnt be more aloof. For example, though the movie is supposed to take place in the Swedish wilderness, it was filmed in Hungary; they did, however, have a Swedish costume designer and production designer. The bodies of the other sacrifices are also brought to the temple and placed around the walls. All this changes when Dani goes to the village. She is free. As visually stunning as Midsommar is, the film is saturated with horrible deaths that pack a punch in both shock factor and sheer gore. further reading: Midsommar Talks Folk Horror to a New Level. As they dive deeper into the true intentions behind the festivals, outsiders in the group begin to disappear. The female villagers surround her and share in her grief. Christian is chosen to "mate" with one ofHrga's young women, while Dani takes part in a ritual dance and is crowned May Queen. We can see exactly how Ari Aster intended this scene to play out by examining thescript that we imported into StudioBinder's screenwriting software. As for ritual human sacrifices, known as "blt", the history gets a little murkier here. Midsommar is essentially a two-and-a-half-hour study of one woman's emotional journey towards emancipation from a toxic relationship. Other runes that show up include representations of secret initiations and tangible or intangible things inherited through the family line (which are seen on the paintings in the boarding house and the shape of the communal dining table), a rune for leadership (seen on the matriarch's dress), combined or "bound" runes in the sacrificial structure that mean fertility and procreation along with a gift of generosity or sacrifice, and, as seen on the rune stone above, an inverted rune (known as a "merkstave") which suggests a negative connotation of the rune's original meaning. Midsommar's ending reveals that Pelle lured his friends toHrga so that they could be used in the festival's rituals of mating and sacrifice. The villagers would let their farm animals out to graze while lighting bonfires, firing guns, and making a bunch of noise to scare predators away. Midsommar starts off with the tragic deaths of the protagonist, Dani's (Florence Pugh), mother, father, and sister. That was quite the image. Every 90 years, they are supposed to sacrifice nine people. If anything, what ties them all together is a philosophy of mindfulness, staying connected to your life and to the people in your life and to the world around you. This is why Dani smiles at the very end of Midsommar, despite the horrors of what's happening around her. Something went wrong. The creepy song goes on to say how everyone "forgot God and the whole world" during the dance, isolating them from everyone else. To be clear, the disturbing element lives on for Midsommar and creepy too but in quite a weird form. The First four are to be outsiders. History Characters / Midsommar. Sure, there was a bit of the old bureaucracy to the celebration as well since they would hold a village meeting and elect a new alderman, but the real fun was out in the field. You can now buy a fraction of a house. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult. Dont think so. Ingmars all super apologetic that Connie and Simon choose to leave, but why, if theyre just going to be killed anyway? This is followed by a day of rest, either by sleeping or visiting a spa; May 1st has been a holiday in Sweden for 80 years. Under the drunken state, Christian agrees and meets a naked Maja in a room along with a number of naked women. Weve come up with our own theories about what might have happened and what they might mean. The actual celebrating was done through singing, dancing, and feasting (including a. Flowers are seen in the wallpaper in Danis parents house when they pass away, triggering Danis emotional journey throughout the film. The Den of Geek quarterly magazine is packed with exclusive features, interviews, previews and deep dives into geek culture. Examine Dani and Christians relationship in the films overture. She's been given drugged tea that's causing her to have strange visions, danced to the point of exhaustion, and experienced the emotional trauma of seeing Christian have sex with another woman, followed by a release of emotion with her newfound sisters. One reason to go back and rewatch Midsommar to catch the many and varied references scattered throughout the film. The movie follows a group of college students who travel to a pagan festival in Sweden and get caught up in a terrifying ordeal. The outsiders are of course Mark, Josh, Connie and Simon. Subscribe for more filmmaking videos like this. If youve seen the film, then you know that description doesnt really do the movie justice, and theres so much that makes this film such a complex, intriguing work of art. Instead weve come up with a bunch of things that made us scratch our heads and a range of points that, frankly, we just really want to talk about. Spoilers ahead for those of you who haven't seen Midsommar but still have a passing curiosity in Swedish festival lore. Its something a lot of people can relate to even if theyve never stuffed their ex into a bear carcass. Simon and Connie have gone missing, and soon after, Josh and Mark both disappear after disrespecting the traditions of the Harga. However, flowers come up many other times in the film, often at points to signal great emotional gravity. We think thats Ruben wearing Marks face who kills Josh, because of some sound cues during that scene (and because he protects the book). After all that, you might want to participate in a late-night but still sunlit dance by the lake or, if you'd like to be that romantic sort but don't have a significant other, go pick seven different flowers and lay them under your pillow; your future betrothed is supposed to appear in a dream. The second section begins when the Americans arrive in the village and lasts until shortly after the events at the ttestupa, the high cliff where the elders throw themselves to their deaths. The hourglass-like Dagaz suggests a new beginning, but since it's drawn on its side, it may represent the loss of hope; this particular meaning is also up for interpretation. Mike Bedard is a graduate of UCLA. (Mark wanders off with a girl with whom he has not been approved to mate; Josh sneaks back into the Oracles house to read from the sacred book of runes, and is killed by the Oracle, now wearing Marks face. The movie follows a group of college students who travel to a pagan festival in Sweden and get caught up in a terrifying ordeal. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Aster expertly manages to tell the audience precisely what was going to happen in a subtle manner while adding a new sense of dread and foreboding to the sequences about to take place. further reading Midsommar: Getting Immersed in the Movies Terrifying World. Well initially shes coerced by Christian but later it seems as if shes gently seeing some positives in the community after all, its not all bad. It is a situation that doesn't end well for the outsider. It just goes to show how broken she became over her familys death. Aster's take on the people of Hrga is that their culture is deeply rooted in reciprocity, which is an aspect that's missing in the core romantic relationship at the heart of the story; this is where the focus of Midsommar really lies. That doesnt make it true. As for feasting, you could expect to see a variety of pickled herring; boiled potatoes with dill, sour cream, and chives; grilled dishes and barbecue; all topped off with fresh strawberries and cream. There has never been a boyfriend whos more of a wet lump of nothingness than Christian. All that to say, the sheen of this idyllic village has worn off by then. One of the Hrga women tells Dani she's family now, that they're like sisters. Dont mess with the Harga.). As with Midsommar, the maypole is a centerpiece and flower crowns are part of the May Day celebrations. In Danis house theres a painting of a little girl wearing a crown reaching out to a bear. And then he gets killed. This may remind you of him mentioning his sister becoming the queen, and his parents burned to death. On the more ancient and traditional side of Midsummer, some locals would dress themselves in ferns as "green men" to celebrate a season of fertility in the fields (and beyond).