“Do you feel held by him?” queries an email I received from A24’s PR team this morning. It’s a chilling question, and one asked in Ari Aster’s horror film Midsommar of a grieving character played by Florence Pugh. Her entire family is dead, and her boyfriend doesn’t seem to care that much; her Swedish buddy who is hosting them at a remote midsummer festival notices this, and his question about “feeling held” essentially boils down to: “is your BF an asshole you want us to murder, or nah?”
If you’ve seen the film—spoilers!—you’ll know the answer is not, ultimately, “nah.”
Midsommar happens to be an excellent litmus test for any romance. If you watch it with a date and they pity the boyfriend character, it’s cause for concern. There’s been a few examples of the film tearing couples apart already (see below).
MIDSOMMAR is going to end sooooo many relationships including the couple that was sitting beside me. “i don’t know that he deserved that,” he said as the credits rolled, followed up by a very heated “that’s rich coming from you of all people.”
— josh lewis (@thejoshl) July 6, 2019
A24 noticed all this and have consequently partnered with Talkspace, an online and mobile therapy group, to give away three free months of couples therapy to several lucky viewers. To enter to win, you must comment on the video below on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook by tagging a friend or an unsuspecting significant other. Tell them it’s probably preferable to being sewn into a smelly old bear suit.
The Midsommar Director’s Cut is also now available on digital; you can watch the extended/unrated version via Apple TV here, including almost thirty minutes of additional footage…making the whole thing a staggering 171 minutes of sunshiney carnage.
The film comes to DVD and Blu-Ray on October 8.
