Midsommar(2019)
2019 · Ari Aster · 147 min
Several friends travel to Sweden to study as anthropologists a summer festival that is held every ninety years in the remote hometown of one of them. What begins as a dream vacation in a place where the sun never sets, gradually turns into a dark nightmare as the mysterious inhabitants invite them to participate in their disturbing festive activities.
Horror · Drama · Mystery
7.18.4k votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
5/5
Stays with you
How Midsommar scares
There's a strange, bright dread that settles in early and never really lifts, even though almost everything happens in broad daylight under a sun that never sets. The pace is slow and hypnotic, more like watching a bad trip unfold than a traditional scary movie, with tension building through unease and wrongness rather than jump scares. Grief and toxic relationships sit underneath the folk rituals, giving the horror an emotional weight that lingers well after the credits. This is best for people who like their horror slow, unsettling, and heavy on atmosphere rather than shocks.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Midsommar rates psychological 5/5, visceral 2/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 5/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 5 of 5
- Visceral: 2 of 5
- Gore: 3 of 5
- Lingering: 5 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 8 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 90 of 100 — leans Real-world
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 78 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
It opens on heavy emotional pain, settles into a bright but unsettling slow burn, and gradually tightens into escalating dread before a punishing final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5.
How scary is Midsommar?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Midsommar rates 4/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. The fear is mostly in your head — it unsettles far more than it assaults. Expect it to be moderately gory and genuinely disturbing. Expect it to stay with you for days.
Watched it? Sign in to confirm whether this profile fits.
