Movies
[Review] ‘Midsommar’ Director’s Cut Adds (Even More) Depth to the Characters
“This is not releasable,” Ari Aster joked, as he introduced his “more complete” Director’s Cut of Midsommar in New York this past weekend.
I, for one, was already in love with the theatrical version of Midsommar as it was released to us last month: I felt immersed in the pastoral world building of the Harga community; my stomach sank at the authenticity of a toxic, crumbling relationship; I was deeply moved and satisfied by the cathartic conclusion. However, after witnessing the more comprehensive version of Aster’s vision in this (nearly) three-hour film, I’m happy to say I prefer this cut in spades.
Impressively, the Midsommar Director’s Cut manages to move more swiftly and efficiently than the previous version does. With added situational context, dialogue, humor, and foreshadowing, any remote slowness of the original cut is modified to put the viewer into an entertained, fixated trance. The subplot of Josh (William Jackson Harper) and Christian’s (Jack Reynor) riff with their thesis papers is given a few more minutes of attention, showcasing Harper’s underrated talent. Additional comically snide remarks from Will Poulter’s Mark, background radio mentions of severed penises, Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) blatantly hinting at the real intentions of why he’s invited his friends along, and an extended sequence of the car ride to the commune reminded me of the warped, jet-black comedy that we’ve witnessed with Aster’s short films, even moreso than before. I was too engrossed to feel the nearly three-hour runtime.
Not that I ever really respected Christian in the theatrical version, but I thought of him as much more of a coward and a shitty boyfriend than I did as a completely garbage human being. However, this heightened version of Christian exceeds in despicability. The pre-Sweden tension that arises from Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian’s relationship dynamic somewhat differs in this: After the couple attends the party where Christian’s friends let it slip that they’ll be leaving in two weeks, as hurt as Dani is with his lack of communication with her, she doesn’t seem as interested in tagging along to their boys’ trip. In fact, Dani doesn’t even invite herself in this cut, as Christian is the one who pushes her to come— as he wants to deflect some of the heat off of himself and attempts to make up for his coldness towards her— one of several attempts he will make to manipulate Dani into blaming herself for their relationship issues, in a way that feels borderline narcissistic and/or sociopathic.
Christian even has the audacity to laugh and mock the tears of the Harga man who is devastated over Mark’s pissing on the ancestral tree, proving he’s just as distasteful as his most crass friend in the bunch. Nor is he as innocent to the “influence” that the Hargas place upon him in order to lure him to “mate” with the red-headed Maya— as we watch him approach her and take subtle interest in her from afar. By the end, you’ll be ready for him to meet his inevitable fiery fate.
Contrary to Christian, Aster somehow manages to include even more empathy to protagonist Dani this time around. Her arc is arguably more complicated, as she switches from self-conscious and overly apologetic in some scenes, while more knowing and confronting in others— the latter of which we previously didn’t get to see as much of. In, hands-down, the most astounding aspect of this cut, we bear witness to a gripping blow-out between her and Christian that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since. She assertively asks him the gut-wrenching question that no one ever wants to be forced to ask: “Do you even still love me anymore?” Awkward silences turn into an exchanging of heated, resentful words, and both Pugh and Reynor give some of their best work to date, as each wants to either prove a point or deflect it. I don’t agree with some of the criticism out there that Aster creates detached, unlikeable characters; instead, I find his characters to be completely human and complicated, while being placed in cold, caustic situations, such as this particular sequence. This sequence may not be at the exact level as the infamous dinner table scene in Hereditary per se, but I’m relieved that it didn’t get totally buried on the cutting room floor. Aster directs the hell out of it.
If you were wondering about the omission of the nighttime scenes that the trailers featured, one particular sequence by the lake should please you. An (almost) brutal act towards a child who wants to help with the number of ritual sacrifices ups the tension after the already exhaustive Attestupa scene— but Aster halts the madness before things get even crazier. I understand that it was probably eliminated for timing purposes, but it actually adds more context to one of the corpses we see later on. However, a clip within the film’s trailer you may recall, in which a man is levitating in the nighttime air, is not included, which he later gave further reasoning for (read my additional report from the screening’s Q+A).
While there may not be anything in terms of additional violence and gore that we hadn’t seen in the original cut, there is a feeling of more vitriol and graphicness that Midsommar 2.0 possesses. Sometimes it appears within the most subtle of details, like when a naked Christian runs away from the sex temple— this time with visible blood on his penis from his encounter with Maya, who was a virgin prior. While there should be nothing overtly shocking about that (because this would be true to life) we simply would never see something that taboo in mainstream movie theaters. You have to laugh at the thought that Aster could keep all the gore and bashed-in faces in his film, but how dare he include some blood on the penis of a man who was a woman’s first-ever sexual partner…
The only sad news to report is— yet again— the lack of Ruben, the community’s deformed, paint-smearing oracle. Unfortunately, we did not get to spend any more time with him than what we already got within the theatrical cut. So if you’re a Ruben fan like I am, you’ll be left with the same burning questions and curiosities that you had when you met him the first time.
But in short: Yes, Pelle, I do feel held by this version of Midsommar. Aster’s vision simply cannot and should not be contained.
Ghostface is back on the big screen this weekend… well, sort of… with the release of Scary Movie, which marks the Wayans brothers’ return to the horror spoof franchise for the first time since Scary Movie 2 back in the day. It’s likely to be the talk of the horror community for the weekend, but don’t overlook the other six genre movies that were freshly unleashed today.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Friday, June 5, 2026.
The horror spoof franchise is back with Scary Movie now playing in theaters!
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite for the new Scary Movie, with the cast also including Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer (“Ghostface”), the Core Four are back in the killer’s crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe…
Scary Movie will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t. A whole lot has changed in the horror genre since the Wayans Brothers were in charge of the franchise; their involvement ended with Scary Movie 2 back in 2001!
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs Scary Movie 6 from a script written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
From IFC, shark attack movie Chum is now available on Digital.
Alice Eve (Haunting of Queen Mary) stars in shark attack movie alongside Eric Michael Cole, Jim Klock, Elle Haymond, Lisa Yaro, Johnny Gaffney, and Sarah Siadat.
This one sounds very similar to last year’s Dangerous Animals…
Here’s the plot: “A newlywed couple joins friends on a Mediterranean yacht excursion, only to find themselves caught between a predatory shark and a psychopathic killer in their midst-transforming a sun-drenched escape into a fight for survival.”
Jonathan Zuck directs Chum, from a script by Jonathan Zuck and Joe Leone.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) and Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling) come together in Carolina Caroline, a sexy crime thriller now playing in theaters.
It’s not a horror movie, mind you, but it’s worth a mention here all the same.
Kyra Sedgwick (Family Movie) and Jon Gries also star in the romantic crime thriller.
Director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s film stars Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast.
Adam Rehmeier previously directed the films Dinner in America and Snack Shack.
Tom Dean wrote the screenplay for Carolina Caroline.
Similar to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming big screen blockbuster Disclosure Day, Signal One explores humankind’s enduring question: what if we aren’t alone in the universe?
The sci-fi thriller is now available on Digital.
Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Josh Hutcherson (Five Nights at Freddy’s), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Raoul Bhaneja (Possessor), Emma Ho (“The Expanse”), and Dennis Quaid (The Substance) star in Signal One from director Jonathan Sobol (The Art of the Steal).
When tech billionaire Sam Houston (Quaid) hires the brilliant computer scientist Annika (Fuhrman), she ventures to an isolated facility run by the brilliant, nihilistic creator of LITTLEMOUTH, a machine which can communicate with alien intelligence.
Annika soon learns some humanity-altering facts: that we are not alone in the universe, that alien intelligences are communicating around us at every moment, and that we are likely too primitive to even remotely understand what they are trying to tell us.
When the goal of the endeavor shifts from listening to talking back, the project rapidly devolves into chaos. With contact comes consequences, and soon Annika and the team must work to ensure the very survival of our species.
A schoolyard dare becomes an urban legend in the creepypasta-inspired horror anthology The Summoning. The indie film is now available on Digital from Brainstorm Media.
“A babysitting gig becomes a nightmare of urban legend when three teens summon Baby Blue. Survival depends on uncovering the past to escape a mother’s wrath from beyond the grave.”
Felipe Vargas (Rosario, Hive), Sergio Gonzalez, Brandon Piskorik, Corey Benson Powers, and Brian Sepanzyk direct the segments. Valeria San Martín, Justina Ceballos, Daniela Flombaum, Nannu Spannauss, Agustín Olcese, and Giovanni Onetti star.
The Summoning is written by Camilo Zaffora.
Happy Death Day actress Jessica Rothe stars as a mom struggling to keep her grip on her sanity and memory in the mind-bending Affection, now available on Digital at home.
In Affection, “Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.“
Joseph Cross (“Big Little Lies”) and Julianna Layne (“Chicago P.D.”) also star in the sci-fi horror thriller. Affection marks the feature debut by writer/director BT Meza.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review out of the film’s premiere, “Affection is steeped in existential questions and fears that plague modern society, while it embraces the ethos of the ’80s through bold body horror. Add to that Rothe’s revelatory performance, and Affection is a hidden gem that will connect with your mind, body, and soul.”
Lucile Hadžihalilović’s latest dark fairy tale, The Ice Tower, loosely reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,” and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
In the ’70s set film, “Jeanne, a 15-year-old orphan, witnesses the shoot of a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and she becomes fascinated by its star Cristina (Marion Cotillard), an actress who is just as mysterious and alluring as the Queen she is playing.“
Clara Pacini stars as Jeanne. August Diehl and Marine Gesbert also star in The Ice Tower, and look for a cameo from director Gaspar Noé (Climax, Irréversible).
“For me, The Ice Tower solidified Lucile Hadžihalilović’s place amongst the most fascinating creators of fairy tales today,” said distributor Yellow Veil Pictures co-founder Joe Yanick.
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