Midsommar is a waking nightmare and I mean that in the best possible way

I saw it last night.

And somehow these characters never evoke empathy on par with the “Hereditary” ensemble.

There is an explicit reason for that being the case.

People keep comparing it to Hereditary in the same breath they express disappointment, which I wish they'd stop doing; it's not Hereditary, get over it and think about this movie on its own two feet.

I was never as frightened, unsettled, or scared during Midsommar as I was when I'd watched Hereditary, and that is TOTALLY FINE. This was still a great horror film. And I think the author got as lost as I did by the end, but didn't bother to look back and make sense of it all.

Even though I felt a little lost halfway into the film just knowing that there was some subtext, metaphor, and meaning behind shots and decisions that I wasn't keeping up with, it didn't matter on account I was still grounded by the protagonists who are equally lost with me. The whole movie is a ride, a trip through a festival that you are just wondering where you'll come out on the other side, waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know nothing that's going on, but everyone else does. Just go with it and see where it takes you.

When I looked into the subtext, metaphor, etc. that I missed out on, it all clicked together like a puzzle I should've known the answer to, and gave me a deeper appreciation for it. But like all the best movie metaphors, you need not have caught it to still have enjoyed the picture.

I can't wait to see it again to pick up on the subtleties I'd missed out on the first time, and re-watch it knowing what I know now.