There are many things that make horror movies scary. They usually take place in settings that are almost as frightening and gloomy as the story to be told (or even scarier!), and most of them happen at night. In addition, they tend to feature some kind of villain, creature, or entity that haunts the main characters when they least expect it, triggering intense scenes that make us want to leave the theater. ButMidsommaris not like that: the film unfolds mostly during the day, featuring wildlife scenery that could easily be anyone’s dream and without any terrifying villains around. And yet, it’s still one of the scariest and mostmost disturbing filmsof recent years.
This 2019 production is the second one in the career of Ari Aster, a director who, just a year prior, earned critical and audience acclaim for his feature film directorial debut,Hereditary.Midsommarstars Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor, with additional performances by Will Poulter, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, and Ellora Torchia, among others. In it,Pugh is Dani, a student that has just suffered the loss of her family after her sister killed them all and then committed suicide. This situation also worsens things with her boyfriend Christian, with whom she is undergoing a couple’s crisis. In a twist of fate, the two embark on a trip to Sweden with some friends to witness a festival that happens once every 90 years. But what seemed like a heavenly vacation turns into a living hell when these travelers realize that they have in fact walked right into a sinister cult with dark intentions.
Midsommaris credited as one of the films that made the folk horror genre popular again, and became a hugely acclaimed production that is highly recommended for moviegoers who love creepy and disturbing films. If you likedMidsommar, here are 15 other movies you may watch next.
15The Invitation
The Invitation-2022
Evie grew up with only her mother around, and when the latter passed away, she found herself all alone in the world. Driven by curiosity, she decided to take a DNA test to learn more about her ancestry, and that’s how she met a long-lost cousin she didn’t even know about. After a meeting with this young man, Evie is invited to attend a family wedding in England, and she goes with the hope of bonding with the rest of her relatives. But what at first seems like a joyful adventure winds up turning into a nightmare when she discovers the dark secrets that surround her newfound family.
That’s the plot ofThe Invitation, a 2022 film by Jessica M. Thompson inspired by Bram Stoker’sDracula. Nathalie Emmanuel leads the cast joined by Thomas Doherty, Stephanie Corneliussen, and Alana Boden.
Rent on Apple TV+
14The Village
The Village
M. Night Shyamalan is a filmmaker acclaimed for titles such asThe Sixth Sense,Unbreakable,andSigns, among many, many others. In 2004, he helmedThe Village, a thriller movie he also produced and wrote that became a box-office hit in no time. It features a stellar cast led by Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, Adrien Brody, and Sigourney Weaver, and introduces a remote 19th-Century village in Pennsylvania whose inhabitants are terrorized by some strange and dangerous creatures that haunt the nearby woods.
Stream on Hulu
13Antichrist
Antichrist
Antichristis a 2009Lars von Trier filmthat, although it was quite polarizing among critics, still deserves a spot on this list for its dark and disturbing nature. LikeMidsommar, it deals with themes such as grief and mental health issues, and was influenced by things the director was going through while writing it.
Antichriststars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a couple who, having lost their son in an accident, move to a cabin in the middle of the woods to cope with their grief. But their stay is far from the spiritual retreat they thought it would be, and once they are there, the woman starts behaving oddly enough to send them both into a dark loop of madness.
Stream on Apple TV+
12Beau Is Afraid
Beau Is Afraid
If you liked Aster’s work inMidsommar, what could be better than watching another of his productions within the genre?Beau Is Afraidis the most recent film in the director’s career, and while it wasn’t as well-received as his previous movies, it’s certainly a piece worth checking out.
This surreal horror film features Joaquin Phoenix as Beau, an overly nervous and paranoid man who embarks on a journey packed with unfortunate events that pit him against his deepest fears in order to make it to his mother’s funeral on time. Joining Phoenix in this production are Patti LuPone, Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, and Parker Posey.
After diving into the horror genre withAnnihilationback in 2018, filmmaker and writer Alex Garland directedMen, a 2022 film acclaimed, most of all, for the cast’s performances. LikeMidsommar, thisBritish folk horror filmalso features dreamlike natural landscapes and a small community where things are not what they seem. Jessie Buckley plays Harper, a woman who decides to vacation in a Herefordshire village while grieving her husband’s suicide, seeking the perfect place to mend her heart.
But her peace of mind vanishes completely soon after settling in: something seems to be lurking in the shadows and, to make matters worse, the behavior of the men in the village grows increasingly disturbing by the minute. Rory Kinnear supports Buckley by playing all the men in the village with brilliance, and the cast is rounded out by Papa Essiedu, Gayle Rankin, Sarah Twomey, and Sonoya Mizuno.
10The Ritual
The Ritual
The Ritualis another horror film that takes place in Swedish wilderness and features a group of friends on a seemingly innocent journey that grows steadily scarier. It is directed by David Bruckner based on Adam Nevill’s novel of the same name, and features performances by Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier and Sam Troughton.
This 2017 production follows Phil, Dom, Hutch, and Luke, four friends who embark on a hiking adventure through a Swedish forest to honor one of their friends who was tragically killed during a robbery. As a result of a minor accident suffered by one of them, the group detours and takes an unscheduled path, unleashing a series of mysterious and terrifying events that endanger everyone’s lives.
In Aster’s film, the main characters walkstraight into a cult, believing that they are actually about to experience a once in a lifetime festival. InApostle, on the other hand, the story is quite different: the lead character knows exactly what he is getting into, but has greater motives for doing so.
This 2018 film is directed by Gareth Evans and features Dan Stevens in the lead role, joined by Lucy Boynton, Mark Lewis Jones, Bill Milner, and Kristine Froseth. It follows Thomas Richardson, a man who, in the 1900s, infiltrates a religious cult to track down his sister and bring her home safe and sound, unaware that this mission will force him to confront things far more sinister than he ever imagined.
The 2022 filmSmileis just as disturbing as the rest of the productions on this list, though it is particularly great for anyone who enjoys their fair share of jump scares in horror productions. This movie, which marked Parker Finn’s feature film directorial debut, was inspired by his 2020short filmLaura Hasn’t Slept, and features performances by Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallmer, and Caitlin Stasey.
In it, Bacon plays Rose, a therapist whose life takes a sinister turn after witnessing the traumatic suicide of one of her patients. Determined to put an end to the terrifying events that are ruining every aspect of her existence, she sets out on a quest for answers, forcing herself to revisit her troubled past. The overwhelming success ofSmilespurred the development of a sequel, which is expected to hit theaters in late 2024.
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7The House of the Devil
The House of the Devil
The House of the Devilis a relatively modern film with a style reminiscent of the genre’s classic productions of the 1970s and 1980s. And this is no coincidence: this brainchild of horror master Ti West is a tribute to the slasher films of that era, and it was made using technology that helped to recreate that time.
In it, Jocelin Donahue stars as Samantha, a college student who takes a job as a babysitter to earn some money, only to learn upon arrival that the person she has to take care of is actually an old woman. Prompted by the generous sum offered by the homeowners, she decides to take the job anyway, not knowing that she is accepting a deal that could put an end to her life. Joining Donahue in the cast of this production are Tom Noonan, Greta Gerwig, Mary Woronov, and A. J. Bowen.
Stream on Peacock
6The Blair Witch Project
The 1999 filmThe Blair Witch Projectwas as groundbreaking for its time asMidsommaris today, and offered an experience so different from other productions of the time that audiences still remember it fearfully now. Part of this has to do with itsbrilliant marketing campaign, which made people believe that the plot actually happened in real life, and that the main characters were indeed missing. This movie consists of several pieces of found footage that follow three film students who, in 1994, vanish in the woods while trying to shoot a documentary about the Blair Witch and the stories surrounding her.
