Midsommar's 'Happy' Ending, Explained

We are The Take (formerly ScreenPrism).

[bisexualichigo]

The bright visuals of this movie are why I like it.

Even in a sunny bright setting, you can make it creepy.

[toe]

I feel like they don’t mention the fact that everyone gaslights her into staying the whole movie which also helps with the lack of empathy for them

[maisydazey]

I will NOT let the “grisly finale” pun go underappreciated

[tangerine]

"A SMILE finally breaks onto Dani's face. She has surrendered to a joy known only by the insane. She has lost herself completely, and she is finally free. It is horrible and it is beautiful."

[joebeverley]

The film is also a brilliant representation of how cults recruit

[BioshadowX]

Such a good ending, not in the moral sense but because it makes you double take yourself and say wait, am I really feeling okay with this?

[adafm]

Pelle wasn’t even a friend of Dani’s, yet he’s the only one willing to listen to her. I think he purposely looked for a group of people for the sacrifices (finding Christian and the rest) and saw that Dani needed the trip too.

[deadpoetssociety]

To me, ”Midsommar“ felt like a whole Horror-Fairytale, similarities are seen to the fairytale of the little mermaid in which she endures great pain in order to find happiness. In the end she willingly kills herself and then finds herself surrounded by the feelings of joy and spirits that comfort her. She, the little mermaid, finds home while being away from home, she is not in touch with reality but gives in to the fate that she is designated for

[doreenshi]

Okay I usually don’t comment, but I feel like everyone is interpreting Midsommar in a very black and white way which does such a disservice to the movie. Like a lot of women, I felt that catharsis too at the end with Dani smiling. It was really easy to sympathize with her. Some are pointing out that what happened to Christian (and everyone else) wasn’t okay. Two things can be true at once. This movie is about toxic relationships yes, but more than anything, I think it’s about the human desire to belong and how unprocessed trauma and abandonment can make you try to achieve that at all costs. I mean, the beginning of the movie is probably one of the most traumatizing things that can happen to anyone ever.

I’m pretty positive the director intentionally made Dani sympathetic and Christian (and the rest to some degree) unlikeable. To put the audience in her place and basically be taken along for the ride no questions asked. Enough to maybe even end up cheering for his death. Again, pretty sure that’s by design. The point isn’t who’s the “good guy” or the “bad guy”. You know, it’s about a commune that becomes worse and worse throughout the movie until you realize, yep, that’s a cult. And you can understand why Dani is indoctrinated despite every horrible thing the cult has done. With her gaslighting shitty boyfriend and no support system, even though what happened to them in the end was by all accounts wrong, Dani finds sympathy and belonging with the cult. Well, what feels like sympathy and belonging. Whatever seems to fill the void of her lost family.

The whole movie is basically a mindfuck and is supposed to question what you’re feeling. Its horrible but somehow kind of freeing? It’s like the metaphorical feeling of having your trauma taken advantage of and being lured into a cult, and then your feelings manifesting into a really dark revenge fantasy. Its a really unique horror, but I think what makes it a horror at all is that very human fear. How susceptible people can be to evil communities when their trauma is untreated and exploited.

But hey that’s just my take lol.

[cirquedude]

I got out of my toxic five year relationship a few days after I saw this. When Pele asked Dani if Christian felt like home to her I wept and knew I had to do something. I owe it to this film, I don’t know if I would have gotten out of the terrible relationship if I hadn’t seen this film. Great job Ari.

[benwasserman]

Midsommar: the world's most f**ked up breakup story.

[-anothersarah-]

Wait y’all saw that as a happy ending? I saw it as her mind finally breaking

[Valentina-nghh]

There is also the fairy tale element of Pelle being a darker verison of Prince Charming. Think about it. HE chose to bring Dani because in his eyes she needed to be part of his community. It is very clear in the directors cut that when Pelle is around his friends (Josh Mark and Christian) he is somewhat annoyed with them. But when he is with Dani he always looking at her, remembering her birthday, kissing her when she becomes may queen, and when he is explaining the traditions he is talking to her.

[absolute_destiny_apocalyps]

While everyone is going to interpret media differently, I take issue with a couple of the points here. The most important is that Christian was drugged and sexually assaulted, just because he's a bad person or because he was attracted to the perpetrator doesn't change that. He didn't consent and the constant framing of it as "cheating" instead of rape is really distressing. Second, I understand why the ending would be cathartic to a lot of people, but I personally found it horrifying. Dani has left one abusive relationship for another more violent and difficult to escape abusive relationship. It's the worst case scenario for anyone who's ever suffered this sort of mental and emotional abuse.

[coolbeans]

When i first watched the movie in theatres, what i felt at the end wasn't catharsis, but anger. I didn't feel happy for Danny, because she moved from one abusive/emotionally distant relationship to another.

The Harga doesn't love her or care about her, she's just a new member to indoctrinate.
They lied to her about her friends, saying that they don't know where they are but know well that they've been murdered. They conspire for Christian and the redhead girl to have sex right from the beginning. They pretend to be open and in "broad daylight" but they hide a lot from her. They won't even let her leave when she wants to, so they clearly don't care about her well-being and personal needs.
We don't ever meet other May Queens as far as i remember, so she'll probably be used to bear a child (the swedish friend is probs gonna impregnate her) and then they'll kill her off in some other ritual we don't know about. If not she'll commit suicide like the people in the film.
They want their numbers to grow, but they don't want inbreeding, so they have to lure in people who qualify (white, healthy, star signs etc etc).
Danny is just another pawn.
They think they are selfless and caring, but are they genuinely? They stole the lives of countless people (people with family, friends and future plans) to benefit their own warped beliefs.

I love reading up about cults, but they infuriate me so much. Lost, emotional, abandoned people, like Danny, who only seek community and acceptance, are manipulated and conditioned into this hive mind cult. Cults seek out vulnerable people. The Harga planned from the beginning for Danny to become May Queen, because they knew it would make her feel welcome and happy and easier to persuade, along with drugs to dim her better judgement


Ugh, sorry for the rant. I've never went through a break up, so magbe that's why i don't get the catharsis of the ending. I still love the movie though, but i enjoy it more as a study of cult manipulation. Great video!!!

[Samantha-hllq]

Can we talk about Florence Pugh though? She is so talented, adorable and beautiful and she deserves the world.

[jess]

did y’all know christian was screaming when he was lit on fire. its hard to hear over the fire/music but you can hear very hoarse screaming. its also rumoured that they cut off his legs to fit in the bear suit (bears have shorter legs). btw since bears have a lot of fat insulation, chances are christian died from being boiled/fried alive rather than burned.

[CharismaBlue]

This movie had the same effect as Gone Girl. Whenever I watch it with friends, all the women are like "Yeah... I get why she did this. Good for her, " while all the guys are sitting there like ☹

[Kay-kgny]

I mean I don't think Christian "passively allowed himself to be drugged and led to the act" so much as he was, you know, straight-up raped. I do agree his character overall represents the flaw of lazy passivity and wishy-washiness, and he's a grade-A jerk in a ton of ways, but what happened to him was definitely rape. Call it semantics, but I just felt that needed stating. Other than that I agree with the points in this video, and I really love Midsommar as a modern horror-fairytale.

[Allonsy]

I wonder how Ari Aster's ex feels about a movie with a girl having her ex being burned alive while stuffed in a bear suit was inspired by them.
(This is a horror movie that almost feels like a fable, an odd lesson of having to separate yourself from toxic relationships before you find yourself in a worse one)