MIDSOMMAR IS BETTER THAN HEREDITARY - THE MIDSOMMAR ODYSSEY PART 1

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~MUSIC~
Clueless Kit - strings - thmatc.co/?l=BAD15A27
~Timestamps~
0:00 Disclaimer & Intro
4:22 Today’s Sponsor
7:16 Meet the Director, Ari Aster
10:31 Final Spoiler Warning
11:41 Hereditary Synopsis
15:23 Midsommar Synopsis
19:01 The Set-up: Hereditary vs Midsommar
19:58 What Hereditary Gets Wrong
30:26 What Midsommar Does Right
33:56 Midsommar and Empathy
36:47 Closing Thoughts
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FTC: This video is sponsored by Hellofresh. The links above are affiliate links, from which I do make a commission. #ad #midsommar #hereditary

[@KennieJD]

Hi! So, I've heard some cool theories around Hereditary that are new to me but.. they still don't make sense so far lmfao. But for those with the 1) allegory to schizophrenia theory and the 2) allegory to transphobia theory, I'm all ears because I'm not seeing those at all. The mental health/ trauma would make sense for the beginning of the movie but once we are summoning demons, you lose me lmfao

[@ririschannelx]

Exactly those theories make zero sense. It’s clearly just a cult thing. What I love about Aster’s films are that ALL the clues are there, you just have to look for them. It’s not being purposely allusive and deep lol its taking realistic things like grief, and elevating it into the horror genre. I do think Hereditary ended up being overly convoluted at the end.

[@botanicalitus4194]

Hereditary just had *too many* things that didnt make sense or were overcomplicated.

[@thehamsterarmy2380]

I showed my mom your reactions to 50 Shades of Grey( she watched the first 2 movies) and 365 days and a few other videos. She was cackling even though you were lowkey roasting her XD

[@crestfallen999]

May I suggest Nyx Fears' video on Hereditary? She explains the transphobia theory very well 😁

[@JC-jd1us]

I would watch Nyx Fears video on Heridatary for an in depth look into the transphobia theory.

[@xenaloree1138]

The fact that so many people walked away from Midsommar thinking “Aw good for her,” and not “damn, they really got her ass” just lends to the point they were trying to make in the movie.

[@RachelAnnPotter]

Yep, the movie was excellent at brainwashing the audience along with the characters.

[@sassyqueen9739]

Some ppl thought this was good for her??? THEY BRAINWASHED HER SHE FELL RIGHT INTO THE TRAP

[@toomessy]

This! She LITERALLY joined a white supremacist cult...how is that good? Are these people serious?

Fun fact, the directors inspiration for this movie was indeed - a bad breakup. So he's fucked

[@fatladysings77]

I never got the consensus that most people were happy for her so much as fighting the instinct to be happy for her... if that makes sense. Everything that happened is objectively terrible, but this is tiny part of me was glad that she has a support system that is not supporting her begrudgingly. Yet I also have to keep smacking myself for thinking that because... No, she's not actually happy, she's stuck with the flower cult people who operate under mass delusion forever. If she sleeps on it and decides she might want to leave the day after this, I'm pretty sure she's dead if they can't love bomb her into staying. It's a very conflicted ending and I don't think we are meant to be walking away with just one opinion about it.

[@whatever512]

Something that bothers me about Midsommar is that many people don’t realize the boyfriend was r4ped. He was on drugged and not in his right mind to be in that position. It’s quite disturbing seeing some people deny what happened to him.

[@valeriarossini543]

it's insane to think that people kept excusing the obvious assault he went through as him “letting himself be seduced”... absolutely gross

[@Firegirl483]

He was asked beforehand if he would agree to mate with the girl because he was chosen. Then he agreed

[@valeriarossini543]

@@Firegirl483 to quote another comment in this section: it doesn't matter if you said yes beforehand if your ability to say no is taken away afterwards

[@Calliefornia923]

Honestly, I was one of those people before reading into it more and seeing other people’s opinions. I think the movie is playing off of our gut emotional reaction to seeing Dani so distraught, that we take what happened to Christian at face value. We’re feeling what she’s feeling, which is disgust and betrayal. But when you go back and really think about it, it’s obvious that he was r4ped. I think that’s part of what makes the movie so brilliant and why so many people leave the movie thinking there was a happy ending. The movie is emotionally manipulating the audience as well, just like the cult does.

[@syds8752]

@@Calliefornia923 wasnt it played for laughs in the movie??????

[@coyoteskip6302]

All I know is Ari Aster LOVES a woman screaming from the depths of her soul.

[@EatyourWafflesplease]

me too tbh those guttural wails of pure agonizing grief forced me to confront something very dark that dwells in my soul and I love it, keep at it ari you sick bitch

[@goodgirlvicki]

I was thinking the same thing

[@RachelxSings99]

I don’t trust people who think Midsommar is a “good for her” movie

[@222222ania]

her bf was shit bro, so yeah, in a way, good for her

[@angelashinner]

@@222222ania y’all would ACTUALLY go kill someone who broke your heart if law wasn’t stopping you 🤡

[@loveemily1589]

A “good for her” is a woman getting revenge on a guy who screwed her over, but not necessarily killing them. Or an extremely abusive husband who it isn’t safe for the woman to leave being poisoned as a last resort. This guy was an ass, but he wasn’t dangerous to her or her life, in fact he wanted to leave her, so her choosing him to kill was just super fucked up and unnecessary.

@I'm secretly a cat okie literally

[@ErinJeanette]

I don't know a single person who had that review or felt that way 🤣 I'd rather die!

[@mega_n5803]

People going "YAAAS" about the end of Midsommar and calling it some kind of girl power moment really lets you know who would fall for a cult or not. Christian was a douche but he didn't deserve what he got and too many people use words like "seduce" and "cheat" for what happened to him.

[@liva.2513]

He was also basically raped! While he willingly took the hallucinogenics before the mating ritual, they were a lot stronger than the drugs he'd taken before and he certainly wasn't in a clear enough headspace to consent to sex. He was by no means a good person but being raped, having your legs cut off, and burning to death are too great a punishment for just a garden-variety douchebag.

[@missyloljersey]

Yes I totally agree he didn't deserve that

[@Raulbikcube]

Yeah. Some people have the same reaction to The Witch. It's baffling.

[@saininj]

I just finished the movie. I heard that it was a total "Yaaas queen" film, and I did NOT pick that up at all.

[@MonyXChan]

I agree. Like, yeah the man was an asshole, but he wasn't EVIL, ya know? He was just a human being stuck in a withering relationship, and too much of a coward to just take the damage that comes from breaking up.

[@MyceliumNebula]

My favorite part in midsommar is how the cult convinced Dani AND the audience that everything was fine. They Gaslit, gatekept, and girlbossed Dani and everyone who thought the movie had a happy ending

[@Toxihex]

When? How? Is this really what people felt throughout the whole thing? I genuinely didn't feel gaslighted, I felt I was watching a bunch of idiots heading towards their doom in a generic slasher fashion, which was exactly what happened. I thought the audience was supposed to anticipate their deaths? There was literally nothing innovative about it, it was just the most generic slasher flick marketed as "horror in brOoOoOoooad daaAaAylIiiiiIiight". It follows the slasher mold perfectly - a bunch of students go on a vacation, things start getting more and more eerie, a few of them disappear, the rest find out they can't leave, the corpses of their friends are finally revealed, more people get killed, the main chick survives, the end.

[@valeriaesfl]

@@Toxihex ok bestie we get it youre so edgy and superior to all of us now leave(:

[@haven311]

@@Toxihex that's kind of a shallow read. The point of the movie isn't to be an 'oRiGiNaL' slasher movie. It's a metaphor for the relationship and Dani's life. You're not supposed to literally agree that the ending is a good thing, you're supposed to feel cathartic at first because that's how the end of a toxic relationship can feel, and it's how Dani feels in the moment.

[@darknight0dc]

@@Toxihex 🧐 did we watch the same film? Lol you're entitled to your opinion, but I disagree.

[@alexcook1377]

@@Toxihex when you see how people reacted being happy that christian died in the end and that dani finally found her "family" the audience was manipulated in the same way dani was in the movie, I mean sure that can be your perspective and you not falling for it but you got to give it to aster for having that affect

[@Anna-gi7kp]

I love how one of the FIRST THINGS we see of the Harga is the fact that EVERYONE who joins faces a gruesome death. Even if you make it to old age you’re expected to kill you self in a horrible way. Yet people still think it’s a happy ending. I also love how this movie kind of perfectly captures the concept of “glamour”. Like these horrible truths are laid out in front of you but covered in this beautiful imagery that sort of softens and makes the horror almost alluring. Ugh it’s just so goood

Basically, America

[@elleofhearts8471]

my take away, more broadly was: "look at what information people are willing to ignore or just aren't being cognizant of when information is presented in a way that appeals to them".

[@CeliaTyree]

If you think dying of old age or illness is any less gruesome allow me to disagree. The difference is that natural death tends to be a longer and more miserable process.

[@Rose-hh7mk]

@@CeliaTyree Hmm I don't know. I think I'd rather die old of heart failure than jump off a cliff with my husband.

[@katielong8495]

Peter putting his hand up, making the face, and slamming his head against the desk is a reenactment of Charlie’s death. His hand was putting the window down, his face was supposed to show he couldn’t breathe, and his head hitting the desk is Charlie’s head hitting the pole. That scene was supposed to show the slow transition and foreshadowing of Charlie (Paimon) oppressing/possessing Peter

[@TKZells16]

Oh shit dude I never noticed!

[@zofiar4753]

Oh shit

[@adeaoud3404]

Holy shit you’re right

[@ErinJeanette]

Oh SHIT

[@JoyaLewisTheMusician]

Whooooooa that makes it so much scarier - thanks

[@imani0nline]

Hereditary is upsetting and I was profoundly disturbed but it but MIDSOMMAR… I have never been more viscerally upset by a movie just because of how real it is. It’s not just about people accidentally joining a death cult which is bad enough but the more human things were unsettling like how ugly grief is and how people who are struggling often find themselves exploited in the pursuit for help.

[@williamelliott186]

I agree, validation is a double edged sword and boy did old girl find it

[@StrictlyShannon95]

Factual especially with the lack of support she had.

[@lych33.]

You took the words right out my mouth.

[@ashleysartattack5600]

“Exploited in the pursuit of help.” That just gave me goosebumps! That’s perfect wording!

[@kindrafontes-may8360]

Totally agree. Hereditary had me looking forward to Midsommar, and it did not disappoint. While Hereditary was "scarier" to me, in the chills & thrills sense, Midsommar was iconic.

[@MattSoleil]

Look I totally agree with your points, however I’m still bitter Toni Collette got snubbed (awards wise) in the way that she did for her performance JUST bc it was a horror movie and not some profound drama. Her performance was absolutely incredible and frankly one of the things that makes hereditary so enjoyable.

[@mutterbuffin6916]

Right!! Like she made Hereditary. The moment she was crying on the floor unnerved me so much just because of how raw it felt. It made me actually want to cry with her.

[@kissit012]

Horror movies usually get snubbed unless there’s big social or political scandal around it

[@tipsycat27]

Man, fffffuck awards shows. They're all just hollywood echo chambers that congratulate the same old shit. Can't take their opinions even remotely seriously, anymore.

[@charityoutlaw4737]

Some of the “profound” dramas they nominate aren’t even that good.

[@Cove_Blue]

I'm so over good horror in general getting snubbed because it's horror. It's not the 80's anymore, can the old men that run awards shows catch up already?

[@poolsideconvo9371]

I prefer Hereditary. I love the themes of intergenerational trauma, mental illness and the vicious cycle of abuse. Instead of resolving the "curse" that has passed down to her (and her children too), Annie, the main character, chooses to run away from reality and tries to find fleeting comfort in her artistic crafts. She later decides to take action at the end of the film, but it's already too late. Everything crumbles down and the whole family falls into the trap of the cult. So, I guess the message here is if you don't deal with your problem straight away (whether it's depression, unresolved childhood traumas, etc.), you'll be easier to get manipulated by malicious people (and the cycle of abuse repeats itself again). It's not your fault that you have to inherit the traumas and vices of your ancestors, but it's still your responsibility to not let them take control over your life. This is pretty long and I wish I could articulate my ideas better.

[@ErinJeanette]

You articulated yourself wonderfully and I totally agree!

[@EatyourWafflesplease]

I didn't even really consider that aspect, but man, that really speaks to my own experiences. thank you for this analysis

[@knoelle1357]

Yeah, it’s deeply unsettling how visceral Dani’s grief feels. Throughout the film, you can sense the immense weight of that grief and how alone she is, having lost everyone she loves and now being surrounded by what amount to strangers; her lame boyfriend and his annoying friends. Can you imagine how alone she feels? She seems to not have any friends of her own. Just her family. And they’re gone. Made me realize I could easily be seduced by a Midsommar-esque cult, under the heaviness of grief and acute loneliness that Dani experiences. It’s like being crushed by unimaginable weight whilst also being completely unmoored, with no loved ones left in the world to hold onto or be held by. Grief is true, real, relatable horror.

[@aureliemawete552]

I felt the same!

[@DragonHotCoffee]

I will just say that the ending of Midsommar is MEANT to make you feel somewhat happy because the movie was designed to be a sort of brainwashing experience where they bombard you with one more traumatic thing after another until finally, when they frame the last traumatic thing as a moment of triumph, you as the audience can't help feeling happy at the release of all that built-up catharsis even though we know it's wrong that Christian is being killed. There's a video called "how Midsommar brainwashes you" that explains this very well.

[@princessxxramo]

ahh that video is the best analysis I've seen of a horror film, ever, coincidentally being an analysis of probably my favourite film of the genre. Midsommar is a masterpiece, the slow burn allows for many feelings to be developed and conflicted, and that video pinpoints each and every one of these feelings.

[@AndSoWeLaughed]

And that’s what they did to Dani. Hands off to the Director and screenwriters there!

[@micahcook2408]

Even Ari has said its cathartic but not happy… she essentially goes from one codependent relationship to another and even though it is “happy” because she finds family again, what is horrifying is that it wasn’t her choice. I think Ari has something for predetermination and what that means in human existence in his movies… whether that be based off of supernatural forces or human forces and emotional direction bc people can be selfish and do things “for your own good” i think…. just a theory though.

[@thethrowawaythatstayed7055]

Oooh I’m gonna check that video out.

[@hadbetterdays8118]

I'm still wondering what happened to last years may queen still makes me shudder

[@roseaimee1356]

Also, as someone who has been in a cult, midsommar shows cult tactics but in a way that shows why people enter it, and it feels really nostalgic. It's become a comfort film of mine because of this.

[@elenabarbieri1286]

I am so sorry you had to go through this... Maybe this is too personal of a question from a stranger on the internet, but care to share your experience? Or some tidbits of it, I would be curious to know, especially how you got out

[@roseaimee1356]

@@elenabarbieri1286 Getting out happened to be easier for me because I wasn't alone in leaving it. It turned out another person who I was close to was questioning different things within it as well but we both were denying it until we realized we both were in the same position. It was TERRIFYING to admit and I really am simplifying. I think we both were looking to each other for someone who was devoted to the practice because of our questioning, then turns out we were more on the same page than we realized. It took a long time to come to term with what we were a part of. Because you don't realize what it is when you're smack dab in the middle of it.

[@elenabarbieri1286]

@@roseaimee1356 thanks for sharing, I can't imagine how difficult it was to recognize and push yourself away from such things, and I'm happy you weren't alone in this, having a support system who has been through the same stuff you have must've been encouraging

[@JillianVSJill]

Literally we are all apart of cults, if you go to any church u r n a cult

[@abbyz13]

@@JillianVSJill I definitely agree in a sense, but also going to the little church in town > walking off a cliff in Sweden when you turn 72

[@danderson8431]

I saw the 3 hour director’s cut of Midsommer in theaters by myself. The theater was pretty empty. After it was over, I stood up and addressed the few people there, and asked “Did we like that movie?” A woman responded “I don’t know, but I’m glad it’s over”.

[@minajones8341]

After hearing everyone saying how terrifying Hereditary was, I was expecting so much more terror in the first hour. It was so slow that I honestly contemplated leaving. The last half hour is great but it took so long to get there.

[@bigwingboy2748]

I remember when this was at it's peak with the "girl power" and "its a happy ending" and I was FLABBERGASTED. Emotional predation and manipulation going that far over so many people's heads super shows how easy it is to get sucked into cults, and why so many people DO get sucked into them and find themselves unable to get out. It really is a consuming mindset.

[@trailer.prince]

i am so glad i watched it way late bc i would have been pissed lox it is anything but that 😭 but midsommar was horrific on so many deeper levels and my life has been filled with more grief than most (and id never wish that one anyone) but omg. midsommar is sad and horrific and the only horror movie to ever stay with me. the girl power and yassss attitude people are getting from it says a lot about the type of n person they are smh

[@vinko7197]

No, because we need to talk about The Wierd Thing About The Johnsons, many people just look over the sexual assault of men. They say "Oh you got lucky" or "That's impossible, it must have felt good" no if you didn't consent to it, it isn't ok.

[@LisaFrank39]

Now that is a disturbing movie, especially with it starting a black cast because I feel like this topic doesn't get enough awareness in the black community.

[@valeriarossini543]

I swear that's such an underrated film, although I understand why -- definitely the most disturbing concept Ari Aster could have ever come up with, but such an important topic of discussion too

[@Nyx127]

Yeah, in terms of disturbing, TSTATJs blows both feature films out of the water. It made me so uncomfortable, angry and sad. Also, considering it was basically a student short film, it was done really well- though I honestly cant imagine auditioning or starring in a movie like that. What a way for Aster to break into the scene though!

[@kimbalucy]

Upholding The Strange Thing About The Johnson’s as some sort of sincere commentary on sexual assault is …interesting considering it’s tonally awfully and quite campy.

[@artinstructor4020]

I dont get why it has such high praise. I've seen it several times and it was just disturbing. There was a purpose to it? It got lost in it. There were too many questions, plot holes.

[@audyshtpostshere4708]

As a white kid who grew up in a rural area, one of the first things that threw up red flags was the prevalence of blonde hair/blue eyes and traditionalist gender roles. There were several wh!te power militias the further to the Canadian border you got that loved going to various churches in different small towns and trying to recruit for their 'intentional living compound' through open bible studies and charity work. Any festival or holiday, there would be overly friendly men handing out flyers about how the world was being taken over because women weren't house trained for keeping a family together, weren't marrying, killing their white babies in planned parenthoods. Then the su!ic!de ritual had my skin crawling. This is eugenics disguised as religious bias. Do they not have sick people? Why that age? Then of course the other non wh!te survivors were k!lled off without being considered for acceptance within the cult. It can be argued that it was because of them trying to leave or that the sacrifices were urgently needed, but they assaulted Dani's boyfriend before his ritual without any qualms. When I talked about this movie during its peak hype, there were very few people who wanted to talk about the notsee blood purity shit that was going on. The dogwhistles are ignored by the narrative because Dani doesn't notice them, but Ari Aster placed them for the audience's growing terror. Just because this cult claims to be different from run of the mill patriarchal christianity doesn't mean it won't reduce Dani down to her biological capabilities just the same: a young, healthy, blonde haired blue eyed baby maker.

[@Firegirl483]

I thought one of Christian's friends was killed specifically because he was trying to take pictures of the book after he was told not to

[@shekwaga]

Nice analysis!

[@sheisaMachine]

@@Firegirl483 yes but they probably mean the two other visitors that came from UK? I think

[@Jobe-13]

I can only imagine what it was like growing up slowly realizing you lived around a cult dude. Glad you got out before it was too late. Your explanation just made the Midsommar movie seem even more sinister.

[@audyshtpostshere4708]

@@Firegirl483 he was caught doing so, but the cult also had no issues using Dani's boyfriend before sacrificing him as well, so him being punished with being a sacrifice makes no sense as to why he as an outsider wouldn't also be used to expand the gene pool, except if the cult found him to be unacceptable. He was just as educated and healthy as Dani's boyfriend, so it clearly was only his race that excluded him!

[@Missab4000]

Paimon NEEDED to be put into Peter because he had to be placed in a “male vessel.” They needed to complete the three-head sacrifice to properly bring Paimon back. He was simply lying dormant in Charlie, probably why she was so weird.

[@lukaj679]

The Aryan vibe of Midsommar was definitely on purpose. I think that adds to why the ending flies over so many peoples heads.

[@gc0009]

!!!!

Oooh yes

[@tariqthomas9090]

This may sound weird but does anyone else love when Kennie talks about movies that she actually likes? These video commentaries are just as fun, intellectual, and lovable as Bad Movies and A Beat. But I will readily accept whatever new content she releases because it’s all great. ❤️

[@MszGigglz]

We need good movie commentary playlist

[@yourmotherhatesyou641]

@@MszGigglz I would so be down for that, but I imagine it wouldn't be as fun for Kendall to breakdown.

[@thatcreggcell1534]

She has a really nice way of getting her points across, whether you agree or not

[@gigiarmany4332]

yep..absolutely..& no face making up is fine with me too ..👍🏽💥🔥❤

[@radioreprise]

i watch for her commentary, so whether she's passionate in an excited or "this is awful" way about a movie i'm always down!

[@mariamibukia2355]

I thought it was extremely clear that midsommar's ending was anything but happy. It supposed to imply that she lost her sanity, identity and joined the cult. It shows the horror of emotional manipulation. I was surprised to see tons of comments saying that towards the end dani found her real family or like felt excepted. Im like... did we watch the same movie??? This isn't mickey mouse club sis.

[@shegohardd7084]

Right like I feel Midsommar is specifically about how vulnerable (and thus easily manipulated) someone is when they’ve recently experienced severe emotional shock. And how grotesque and extreme that manipulation can be for someone during an emotional crisis because their mind is sooooo fragile.

[@LaFlor718]

I thought that when Paimon was temporarily in Peter’s body, he could not stay because Peter was not weak, scared and vulnerable enough at the time. Paimon got his forever home after Charlie’s death was orchestrated, the temporary possession ostracized him from his classmates, his father was immolated, his mother cut off her own head and he ultimately jumped out of a window. At this point he is emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually broken, so now he no longer has the will to fight back.

[@natashaneva7]

Facts!

[@gastllyxo]

Yeah I have this same read

[@horrorpill]

I agree. I think Paimon did wanted to possess Peter but couldn't because Peter is not vulnerable enough. The same happened to Annie, we see Annie being crazy but she only become vulnerable when her husband's gone.

[@micahcook2408]

@@horrorpill yeah joan tried earlier with the classroom incident “Peter leave this body now!” But it didn’t work… that’s terrifying when you think of it…. Someone incanting for your spirit to not belong in your earthly form…. Sick.

[@13mo]

^I don't think there is any real widespread knowledge about demons for people watching to know this. People resist demons with their will, the cult had to break Peter's will. The movie doesn't really explain anything and just relies on the viewers to know that going in...

[@greenunicorn9908]

I don’t think Hereditary and Midsommer can be or should be treated as interchangeable movies. Yes, they are by the same director and have similar themes, but they completely different movies.

[@dylankennedy4539]

Comparisons are okay

[@ErinJeanette]

They're not interchangeable but i guess people are putting them side by side because they're relatively new, made by the same director, and have cults. One is in the shadows and darkness, one is in the bright sunlight.

[@paulinegallagher7821]

well the ending is the same, shes become this elevated being, whether she likes it or not, and her closest people are gone.

[@ativaadzem566]

Also, are we gonna talk about the sexual assault of Christian, this man was seduced, drugged and basically indoctrinated into a sexual acts he didn't want to do . So creepy

[@DrizzyJaeable]

This movie was so good that it made the audience essentially part of the cult. It didn’t hit me until I watched a video talking about Midsommar in detail that I realize that he was drugged, sexually assaulted and then murdered. It wasn’t a happy ending at all. I was about as brainwashed as the main character 😳

[@mus7c]

the fact that people categorize midsommar as a "good for her" movie is so appalling, concerning, and disturbing to me. she ends the movie with her friends and a family dead and inducted into a cult. how is that good for her?! if you assume she had other people who cared for her back home, they don't even know where she is or how to get her. she's going to be there for all her life. how is it good for her?!?!

[@haven311]

It's pretty clearly shown she didn't have much of a support system except for Christian. Part of the reason people root for Dani to join the cult at the end (forgetting that they're racist, murderous psychos) is because the Harga give her all of the love and attention she's been denied the whole movie. It's like someone giving you food when you're hungry - you're not going to check if it's poisoned or not. Florence Pugh did an amazing job making me feel for her, so by the end I was as eager as she was for her to find some family and sense of belonging. But when the movie was over, the more I thought about it, the more disturbed I was. Which I think is how it's supposed to work - Aster called the ending 'toxic catharsis'. It feels good in the moment, but it's ultimately not a good thing.

[@mus7c]

@@haven311 yeah, i was just making a different conjecture. like maybe if she has family out of town or someone we don't see, even though it's very clear she doesn't have anyone else. i also think all of us were rooting for her, but only so many of us for her to *get out of there*. it seems like a lot of people get roped in with her into a narrowed sense of the word that there isn't anything at all outside de cult. which, yeahm understandable. there isn't much of a concrete life for her out there, but she was going to have to rebuild her life irregardless of her going on that trip or not because so many people close to her were already gone and her boyfriend and would've been too if she had stayed home. i wanted her to find her sense of purpose on her own terms so bad that it made the ending that more tragic for me. yeah, she "found" a place to belong to, but she has no freedom, she's still lost. never for a second there did i say "good for her" i just felt bad.

[@AndSoWeLaughed]

And she can’t leave unless she’s dead. It’s pretty sad!

[@mus7c]

@@AndSoWeLaughed yeah, she's trapped there and they make her feel like all her friends and boyfriend dying is for her benefit. that's no happy ending! how do people ever come up to that conclusion?!

[@piscesseasoning]

i went to watch it last night and didn’t bother looking at the rating because i didn’t think it could be that bad due to people calling it a “good for her movie”. i really wanted to see if i could understand where those people were coming from, but i couldn’t even make it past the Ättestupa scene because it triggered my ptsd and sent me into a full blown panic attack. i seriously don’t understand how people could see florence pugh’s expression changes in that scene alone not understand that her mind was being broken.

[@ndsketcher6445]

25:30 Not sure if this theory has been added already, but my head canon for Hereditary's ending is that the ritual actually failed and the cult wasn't able to get Paimon into Peter's body. I think that the grandmother never actually got Charlie possessed (except for maybe short periods of time), but that perhaps she BELIEVED Charlie was full-time possessed. All the times we see the lights flashing on the screen, Paimon is trying to enter/ temporarily entering different people, but he's never able to stay for long. Then at the end, once Peter is vulnerable to having his body possessed, the cult tries to perform the ritual. They summon the spirit that was inside Charlie's body, believing it was Paimon's, but instead, a terrified and confused Charlie is now inside of her brother's broken body, staring down at the mutilated corpses of her grandmother, mother, and her own body, surrounded by naked strangers worshiping her. I dunno. It doesn't fix everything, but I think it kinda works.

[@raudteejaam]

Ohhhh I do really like that interpretation.

[@toonydotloony]

SOMEONE ELSE THINKS THIS??? Omg finally this is exactly what happened. Charlie was never “demonic”, she was just an emotionally abused autistic kid. I’ve got way lower support needs then her and even I remember doing some heinous stuff as a kid. Like i never cut the head off a pigeon, but she’s a kid, she doesn’t fully understand the permanence of death. literally nothing she does is “evil” or “satanic” in any way. what a testament to the film’s truth in its portrayal of autism that everyone blindly assumes she has the literal devil inside her. Such a tragically common diagnosis for children like her

[@ndsketcher6445]

@@toonydotloony Exactly. People used to (and sometimes still do) see epileptic seizures as a "clear" sign of demonic possession. This may be an unpopular opinion, I don't know, but as I am a believer (though not religious; that's a whole other discussion) I do believe in demons and angels, God and the devil, and I think you could make the argument for demons causing the surge of electrical activity that would cause a seizure - but so could simply having an epileptic disorder. Same thing with other mental and physical disabilities, like autism, schizophrenia, and many others. Could they be signs of a possession/ demonic interference? Possibly, but it's much more likely that it's a naturally occurring medical disorder rather than a result of supernatural interference.

[@kirikakirikakirika]

I can't be the only one who rued the ending of Midsommar. Dani wasn't "happy" at the end of the film. She went _insane_ and fell victim to the cult's tactics. That's exactly _why_ this movie was so scary. It shows us how cults _brainwash_ people. Anyone who thinks Midsommar had a happy ending really needs to step back and say, "Wait. They literally murdered a bunch of young men and basically kidnapped this severely emotionally broken girl."

[@nandinikhare8356]

YES KENNIE'S INNER ART PERSON IS FINALLY OUT AND ABOUT

[@OGseoulite]

IKR

[@missserenity1090]

Have you never seen her inner art person?

[@Beansidhe413]

Also, Kennie's neighbors during that dramatic scene reading must have been like 👀👀👀

[@vanessalucas8051]

time stamp?

[@Beansidhe413]

@@vanessalucas8051 I... Do not know how to do that lol

[@blackpepper8062]

13:30

[@febegil5222]

Ok but anyone who is familiar with Latin American history will quickly recognize the cult in Midsommar as a clear homage to Colonia Dignidad, a cult founded by former Nazis in Chile. And yes, it WAS way more horrifying than this movie.

[@toomessy]

Plus, even the director has spoken about how it's based on white supremacist cults. Hence why they killed Josh (the only Black guy there) in a slightly different way from the group.

Oops I'm headed to the search bar. Thank you

[@LadyHorrorland]

I whole heartedly agree that I did like Midsommar more, however I think I can explain your confusion about the Charlie thing a little bit in Hereditary. The reason that the grandmother latched on to Charlie instead of Peter is because Annie wouldn’t let her near Peter. She says in one of the grief meetings that believed that her mother drove her brother crazy. (because they were trying to do the rituals on the brother which obviously she didn’t know at that time) So when she had Peter she kept her mom away because all she knew is that she blamed her mother for her brothers un-aliving, and that shes “weird” with the men in the family. And the mother kind of “made do” basically with Charlie but it didn’t work. For the ending, i think when Peters looking scared its because hes been broken down into the vessel, he’s been made weak, and then you kind of see the clarity in his eyes when Paimon enters.

[@Allonsy305]

Both movies are God tier horror movies in my art heaux opinion, there's so many details I missed from both, but Midsommar is just in a lane of it's own and there's much more to chew on thematically. Plus it's proof of how easy it is for someone to be lured into a cult. And it's almost like a weird folk tale with the lesson of "cut off all toxic relationships before you end up repeating the process".

[@ririschannelx]

The real horror is that cults purposefully don’t appear that scary.

[@gleewhoseline198]

I think the fact that people still fight ( in comment sections) about Midsommar shows how effective it is. I love both movies too, and I'm so happy I was able to see both in the cinema without spoilers.

[@stephonvalentino7020]

The moment where Alex Wolff sees that his sister is dead but he’s too scared to turn around …. The LOOK on his face … PRICELESS. We all understood what he felt. But he didn’t crack or lose that terrified look on his face. & the fact that he did his own stunt by SMASHING HIS HEAD ON THE TABLE Was fucking Genius, tbh. Hereditary will always be a favorite for me. Midsommar didn’t do it for me, & i don’t know why. Lol. Hereditary’s spookiness without coming off like an average Horror Movie , as well as having little hidden gems throughout the movie, made Hereditary my fave . 4eva.

[@stephonvalentino7020]

@Lalogue so true

[@ErinJeanette]

I had to watch hereditary a couple of times to be scared, but then I was SO scared. Midsommar just never did it for me either. I found it interesting but also didn't.

[@stephonvalentino7020]

@@ErinJeanette yeah Midsommer never sparked my interest and i don’t even know what it was about . Lol. But yeah once you understand Hereditary you will instantly get spooked.

[@alexsamarie8379]

kennie doing a dramatic reading of annie blowing up on peter was something i never knew i needed

[@mjuchis1589]

I didn’t even make it 30 minutes into “strange things about the johnsons” I’m still traumatized till this day 💀

[@groutchewer]

Wasn’t it only 30 mins in total?

[@mjuchis1589]

@@groutchewer idk i only watched the first 10 mins & turned it off

Oh lord whats that about.

[@lolwut6635]

​@I think it's a man that is molested and raped by his son over a long period of time

[@trailer.prince]

"ITS TIME FOR DIN DIN"😂😂 i found myself genuinely laughing along w my mom at it but it was disturbing same time like 😭 and the scene when mom sees what they're doing the music the shot omg ari is a gem of a filmmaker that scene was so much more traumatic to me bc of how he shot it the music and obviously the situation 😭

[@am-hp6ik]

Florence Pugh’s cry at the beginning of midsommar is still one of the most haunting things I’ve ever heard. It sent chills down my spine

[@sarsimran7025]

The acting was amazing

[@thethrowawaythatstayed7055]

Right? Talk about a primal scream.

[@alissatorres666]

I was soooo close to crying as well. It broke my heart

[@angelashinner]

I think the thing with Hereditary about the sister’s death isn’t that the cult “orchestrated” the death. I think we’re supposed to believe that they prayed to the demon or whatever to bring her head for them however possible. It’s like faith controlled by their worship

[@mayarae6272]

yup that was definitely my interpretation as well. it came off to me more like a divine influence from paimon that fated those series of events to occur and made the outcome inevitable.

[@tmd-w1552]

Thank u! Kennei kept saying cult it's not! Its more so a coven of witches that worship one of the kings of hell.

[@tipsycat27]

yupyupyup they kinda just 'manifested' it, in a way. Let some greater force at work control the events.

[@TaylorPie94]

Yeah the girl kept saying that her family thought she was to be born a boy.

[@cherrypitbliss]

Yeah I don't think they had to manufacture it to the level she described. I took the symbols to be similar to cursed objects. Where wandering too close to it like a whirlpool will suck you in. Idk if maybe the symbols were like an area of effect, but in supernatural where there is an "unlucky rabbit foot" several people die in ludicrous ways. I figured it was like this or even final destination deaths where things begin to align towards disaster.

[@alicia379]

The thing about the ending of Midsommar for me is it’s a “happy ending” for her but absolutely terrifying for me. Because she doesn’t know about a lot of things we know about.

[@amiera1233]

The events of Hereditary (especially regarding the party scene) makes more sense when you understand that Paimon is influencing *everything* because he's a demon that knows the past and future. Annie tried to kill her children because subconsciously she knew Paimon would posses them. Plus, at the dinner scene she says "all I do is defend you." From who? His dad loves Peter, she doesn't tell people Peter killed Charlie, so from what is she defending Peter's morality? There's a lot more to it but it's actually really interesting

[@synesthesia.aesthetic]

Yeah, you can't really throw out the influence of Paimon/demon(s) to the different events and call it illogical. There is a logic to it, you just don't like it.

[@anyaklum8757]

Midsommar is about showing how a cult can be appealing from the perspective of the victim. If you think it's a happy ending then you're falling for it.

[@darrickbrown88]

Well, people are really good at falling for such things. Hints religion

[@angelashinner]

People thinking Midsommar is a movie with a happy ending are exactly the type of people who easily get fooled by media and advertisements and news. Have no sense of analysis and just believe whatever they see.

[@haven311]

Or maybe it's a testament to Aster's directing that he can get us to sympathize with a woman brainwashed by a murderous cult. The ending is supposed to feel cathartic.

[@cullinmurgas6583]

It’s funny you say this because I’ve seen people talk about this VERY politically and it’s quite ironic. Democrats will say that Republicans are easily fooled but Republicans also say Democrats fooled easily. And they use this movie to say this, “only Democrats see this as a happy ending because feminism” and “only republicans are fooled by this movie because they are already apart of a cult.” Honestly, I think it’s more of a society thing and less a political problem. Any way, what I’m getting at is people aren’t special for not “falling for” the happy ending idea because the cult is supposed to be portrayed as a happy cult to the outside world with flowers and bright colors. We are technically “manipulated” in ever movie to feel a certain way (whether sad, scared, or, in this case, happy). AND if you have never felt emotions watching a movie, then I think it might be sign to seek help ya weirdo.

[@angelashinner]

@@haven311 ofc Aster did use techniques but not everybody fell for it cause they could see through surfaced leveled things like flowers and happy looking people with big smiles. It’s not a political thing either. Some people are just too obsessed with some ideas SUCH AS politics (some are obsessed with religion and other stuff) that they relate everything they see to it.

[@naimalee1046]

In good terms we call them🐏🐑

[@aryannajay1034]

I remember watching it at first and was like “okay I sense a peace.” Because every other scene was just so heavy and then I say back and was like “wait a minute this bitch is in a cult.” I would say I was gaslit for a split second but then sitting back after watching it the first time I just saw how worse her situation had become

[@RainingSparks]

I’ll be honest, Midsommar has become one of my “comfort” movies. I lost my parents as a teenager, and even though it’s now been 13 years, I still really struggle. The portrait of grief in Midsommar gets me every single time, and I don’t think I’ve ever identified more with a character than Dani. To your point, it’s absolutely horrifying and not a happy ending at all. But I can also see the appeal, can’t lie about that 🤷‍♀️

[@min0uet]

For what it's worth I have this sort of theory that being born and raised as Charlie affects Paimon really weirdly. I mean Charlie clearly had no idea she was a demon baby, and from the way Peter acts at the end he doesn't know he's a demon either, which is why Joan has to explain it to him. It's like he has amnesia or something. He doesn't even respond to the name Paimon anymore, just Charlie, which is why I feel like living as her for so long is specifically what caused this weird behavior. I might even go so far as to say he doesn't really know what he's doing for the majority of the movie, like a person not knowing their own strength. The cult is sort of just using him as a tool. Not that I'm saying the movie is trying to communicate this, I don't know what the fuck they were going for. This is just what my brain came up with. Edit: it could have happened because Charlie wasn't the "ideal" host.

[@marilynstone_]

That scene when Peter hits his head on the table scares me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. that scream was just guttural

[@haven311]

The actor really did manage to give himself a bloody nose doing that, even though there was safety foam on top of the desk. Apparently doing that movie drained him so much he needed therapy afterward. Can't blame him.

[@pitpat2928]

@@haven311 i was actually about to say its almost concerning how good aster is at directing that kind of scene, Peter’s bloody nose, Danny wailing along with the dissonant siren, and the mom crying on the floor all give new meaning to “gut-wrenching”. the actors deserve all the praise and more

[@haven311]

@@pitpat2928 they really do! Can you believe Toni Collette almost turned the film down? She was wanting to do some lighter material, and ended up in that! I'm glad she agreed to be in Hereditary though, I can't imagine any other actress handling those scenes the way she did.

[@ar-nq6gm]

hands down the best scene in hereditary imo

[@luvvvv124]

Mine is when the mom is on the ceiling while Peter wakes up like oof ….

[@shivareewaltz]

This may be a controversial opinion. A lot of people saying that Christian "cheated" on her. I don't agree. He was drugged and forced to have sex with Mia. Yes, he was manipulative and weak, doesn't mean he deserved to be killed at the end.

[@haven311]

It's kind of complicated - we never find out if he agreed to have sex with Maja while talking with Siv, but we know he's attracted to her and doesn't really have much loyalty to Dani. And she knows this, which is why when she saw him she felt betrayed. But yes, Christian was definitely raped. It doesn't matter if you say yes beforehand if your ability to say no afterward is taken away.

[@elektraeriseros]

@@haven311 he very much gave me the vibe that even if he weren't under the influence, he'd do the same thing (because he's a scumbag). But he WAS under the influence and that really does make the difference. If you can't consent under your own power then you can't consent. Period.

[@galaxyocicat5660]

That's not complicated at all. He was literally raped. The fact that people are claiming he cheated... they're literally victim blaming him. If the genders were reversed, people would definitely say it's rape.

[@haven311]

@@galaxyocicat5660 you're not paying attention. People here aren't claiming he cheated. Everyone agrees that drugging someone and then making them have sex is rape.

[@Jo_youwhatmate]

@@elektraeriseros I don't think we watched the same movie. Christian was pretty visibly offput by her

[@molz505]

hereditary is an emotional masterpiece. ive never felt such profound EMPTINESS like i did walking out of the theater. i had to sit in my car for like 20 minutes to regain some sense of self/humanity or whatever-- point is i was raw and exposed lol. i think they movie works 10x better if you dont approach it as a horror movie, but rather as a family drama with supernatural elements. when you watch it as a drama, its so unbelievably sad and a showcase of how we bottle all this bullshit to just explode on each other when the pressure gets too high. its annie's inability to express herself outside of anger and silent, stoic dioramas, peter is subjected to this emotional nothingness with violent outbursts as we expect from boys(tho not truly his fault- which could be a whole other comment essay lol), charlie is forced to participate when she doesnt want to because girls shouldnt be making weird art- they should WANT be at parties, and stephen just sitting back and watching it all happen because he doesnt want to engage as a father until absolutely necessary. maybe i read to much into it because i think its tremendous, but to me this is a movie is about familial trauma, how it manifests between generations, and just the pain of just, like, existing. ari aster is just a next level film maker and im so lucky to be alive while hes making art lol. also midsommar is a feel-good-horror movie, if ever there was one

May I ask why do you want to feel that way? Do you have to much dopamine on a daily basis?

[@molz505]

@ im not sure if i get the question, do you mean like feeling empty? i just like any piece of art that makes me feel- full stop. like its not a fun movie to watch lol but its impactful and skillfully made and thats what keeps drawing me too it. i definitely dont have too much dopamine id be able to save so much money on therapy if i did lmao

[@kasiah1571]

The reason Peter had Charlie's voice is because Charlie was supposed to be Paimons body but she was a girl and the grandma said you were supposed to be a boy which means the cult must have intended for Charlie to the first host

[@thelastblacktiger]

I didn't expect to be called out for being a wimpy shrimpy this afternoon

[@trudelulu]

Hereditary made sense to me and a lot of the “plot holes” aren’t really holes if you view it in the same lens as vodou. I just think the execution of the 3rd act could’ve been more solid. Essentially, the cult used a form of prayer to trigger all the events that took place. They didn’t literally plan for it. In the way that you can place a curse on someone in black magic, they use the “signs” as a moving force. Though wildly imaginative, Charlie HAD to be decapitated while alive for the ceremony to work (in the same way Anne had to cut her own head off while alive). Charlie was born with the spirit of Paimon. The light that emits from her body isn’t actually Paimon but a signifier of her soul embedded with his. Toni Collette’s character kept her son Peter away from her mom because she unconsciously felt mal-intent. She mistakenly thought letting her mom be close to her daughter would make up for it, but little did she know that Charlie was Paimon. The reason Paimon fought inside Peter’s body initially is because the ritual wasn’t complete which meant that Peter’s soul was still inside. He needed to be an empty vessel, which meant Peter had to die. It’s an interesting take on grief, the destruction of family, and mankind’s use of magic, but like you, I much prefer the insidiousness of humans than I do the supernatural. I also like the concept of “horror in the light”. The ending had me questioning myself and why I felt so cathartic about the destruction of this woman’s life and her induction into a cult. I like that Midsommar manipulates its audience whereas I felt like I was watching Hereditary as a 3rd party observer.

[@valeriarossini543]

beautifully explained! That's my interpretation of the “plot holes” in Hereditary too

[@TheEjordan01]

Thank you! I just don’t think Hereditary is Kennie’s cup of tea, the themes of Hereditary just might not resonate with certain people. But for the record, it is waaayyyy better than Midsommar. Lol jk but 😅…yeah

[@MistyWarden]

Exactly! They’re not orchestrating every event physically (though noticing how often the cult members were in the house on subsequent watches creeped me the F out) some of it is literally magic. Midsommar is much more of a confidence scam Pelle is pulling and relies more on luck and high people being impressionable.

[@shekwaga]

My interpretation of the "plot holes" as well.

[@micahcook2408]

“Unconsciously mal-intent” hence the whole nightmare of annie burning peter with gasoline oil. I wonder where those characters would be if she got to kill her Son .. Im guessing the husband would be the next host in line or a distant family member.

[@halfdemonprince]

My feelings towards Hereditary are the same as the original Candyman, it’s more shocking and sad than scary. When Charlie died, that completely threw me off guard. I’ve never seen a horror movie kill off a child character that brutally, especially a girl. I also liked how the dioramas served as metaphors for fractured memories. My feelings towards Midsummer are the same as Creep and Hangman. I still didn’t find it scary, but liked how its horror elements stems from its realism. It serves as a textbook example for how people get indoctrinated into cults. It was no coincidence why Pelle took Dani and the gang to the village during the most perfect time of the year instead of during the winter, a rainstorm, or a normal (non-festival) day. I loved how all the fantasy/surreal elements were just visual representation for people being on drugs. You’ll also notice that all of those critics who gushed about the “happy ending” were all white. It’s funny since those same people have probably also claimed that they’d never get indoctrinated into a cult. I’m like, “of course you wouldn’t, you’re not desperate enough.” Cults specifically target people who have nothing, are suffering from an incurable chronic illness, and or are at the lowest points in their life. That’s why Pelle (and by proxy the rest of the cult) was so obsessed with Dani. How often does a beautiful young woman lose both of her parents, her sister, suffer from depression, have no friends, and a have a shitty boyfriend whom she wouldn’t mind seeing die in one fell swoop? Dani is every cultist wet dream. For the people who claim that Dani’s acceptance into the cult was consensual or she knew what she was getting herself in to clearly didn’t notice that she was on hallucinogenic drugs the whole time and has no contact with the outside world. The Harga also serve as a soft deconstruction of cottagecore. So many privileged young people fetishize the idea of quitting their jobs and running away to live in the forest and do nothing but sip dandelion tea, bake cookies, and garden. Little do they know that rural living isn’t an escape from work. Talk to anyone who works in the agricultural, fishing, or logging industry and they’ll tell you it’s literally back breaking labor. This is why there are hardly any men in cottagecore. This also plays into the false belief that being a housewife is easy or the cushier type of work. Talk to any house wife and they’ll tell you that cooking, cleaning, and raising kids is probably the hardest job in the world. Dani isn’t free from the harsh capitalist driven hellscape of modern America. She’s just gonna be another baby making worker bee for the Harga only to be killed by the time she’s 72. The Harga were nice to her at the moment, but once she slips up, can’t pop out a healthy baby, or god forbid doesn’t want to die at 72, their attitude will take a complete 180. She’ll either be punished for insubordination, exiled into the forest where she’ll die from exposure, or be another sacrifice to the fire.

[@MinasMagic]

Thank you, once again, Kennie for discussing movies like these. After living through abuse, my tolerance for horror is basically gone. I still like to know about movies like these...especially when so many are talking about it. I like to feel included...I also like to not give myself more psychological trauma than I'm already trying to heal. This is a great way to stay informed and safe.

[@TC-ku4vv]

I relate to this so much!! It's really hard to explain to other people. Thank you for sharing this so people like me don't feel alone.

[@Vainfonda]

Idk man, I'm seeing people say that Hereditary is more shocking and I think the amount of betrayal in Midsommar makes it far more haunting. The alienation of Danny is so effective due to Aster's use of handheld cinematography, I think that the motion of Midsommar is completely hypnotizing. I think Hereditary feels far too stagnant, and like you said, convoluted to be as impactful.

[@Tallie602]

Hereditary is suuuuch a slow burn, but one I do appreciate. The acting is good in both but I love hereditary much more!

[@meio_feio]

I'm glad you called out the people who celebrate the "happy ending" of Midsommar. A creepy cult with white supremacist vibes grooming an emotionally vulnerable woman isn't all flower crowns.

[@c.c.l.9139]

How's it white supremacist? Just because they are all white in a closed off rural Swedish village? Sweden in general is just really white since native swedes are white.

[@meio_feio]

@@c.c.l.9139 Dani was groomed into the cult. Before being killed, Christian was forced into the mating ritual. Likewise, it is implied that Mark engaged in sex before being killed. Josh and the Brits were just killed. The Harga needed new bloodlines to prevent incest. They chose the three white people for this, and the three POC as sacrifices.

[@andiman44]

@@c.c.l.9139 Ari Aster, the director has said that they are indeed racist.

[@vivianacarrasco9902]

Then the ending worked in a way they have been successfuly seduced into a cult just by watching it.

[@kissit012]

@@c.c.l.9139 You again with this “how is racism racist?” idiocy. Maybe pay attention to the actual responses to your comments and stop defending racist behavior and you might learn something. It’s already been explained to you in several comments. You’re willfully ignorant at this point, or defending your own racist tendencies.

[@denissebeltran9702]

The feeling I got when I realize Dani was just staying in the cult to have the same death of the two elderly couple when she got older is so upsetting, happy ending my ass

[@thesunray4882]

This conversation has always been a tricky one for me. I know a lot of people seem to not feel this way but I honestly viewed these movies as equals. They both were at first look disturbing movies that got way better the more you dissected and learned about the deeper meanings. To me hereditary made absolute sense, the ending and all. Though I was confused the first time watching it, hearing theories, watching it through, reading the book, watching it through again, the movie became simpler to understand. And I had a similar experience with midsommar, but one thing that it lacks was that relatability that I felt for hereditary. Hereditary was the best for me because I just felt for the characters more. I wanted success for the characters and when it didn’t happen I felt lost for the characters. It was like I went through it with them. While mid, I was watching because I knew some bad stuff was going to happen, but I wanted to know who’s gonna get it the worst. So I really feel it just depends on which one you can understand and relate to the most.

[@anammccartney5296]

I actually think paimon's actions while in peter's body make perfect sense! The movie starts with paimon already in Charlie's body, but since she is female he cannot live up to his full power. He's like a confused, unhappy child. He is supposed to be like a childish god of mischief. This is why Charlie asks who will take care of her when the mom dies. When finally in a male host, Paimon is confused, uncomfortable, etc. Even the cult members seem to treat him with care, trying to comfort him. I don't think Paimon was really orchestrating much, he was being controlled by the cult for their own benefit.

[@moonstone___]

kennie seems to be misunderstanding that charlie was raised to have the demon enter her body, saying that he was always meant to go into peter ?? she’s also misunderstanding a lot about it tbh. kind of disappointing.

[@subhalakshmisengupta310]

Personally Midsommer’s disturbing/ gory element is what makes this movie one of the best horror movies. The movie is also highly manipulative since it does make the watcher happiness at the end of the movie when Dani smiles. It’s manipulative elements also makes it chilling. One thing was that Hereditary had exceptional actors and a lot of stand out points whereas in Midsommar a lot of the movie is disposable.

[@shanicek5188]

I also found it so creepy how the colour palette was so un-horror-like. All these whites and bright colours and flowers. Hated ittttt

[@Ohmygatos35]

As someone who grew up in a cult Midsommar really resonated with me. Each and every element from the recruitment to the horrific ending of him being burned alive makes me relive the similarities of what I passed off as normal growing up to what sickens me to even think about now. I agree with you. No need for supernatural elements when what some people call every day life would probably shock and disturb most people. Or most people wouldn’t even recognize as being a cult because “ they’re a little weird but nice people,” happens all the time. Thanks for your insight. I hope more movies are made like this.

[@himariimayagunasinghe7377]

'y'all make my ass itch' Kendall that is the best thing that could have been said right there bravo well done 100%

[@britneybij3997]

The people who romanticize Midsommar as having a happy ending and choosing family are the same people that would fall into the trap of a Cult. 🤦🏾‍♀️

[@galaxyocicat5660]

Seriously, how do these people not realize that?

[@britneybij3997]

@@galaxyocicat5660 because the director did a really good job in portraying how Cults assimilate people into their groups through emotional vulnerability that even the viewers fall for it despite witnessing the events from a detached perspective. That's why Midsommar is the better movie 👌🏾

[@princessxxramo]

The beauty of Midsommar lies in the mixed feelings you get throughout the ending. You're happy that Dani is happy - especially because until the last scene you've never seen her be happy for the whole film, and you know she deserves to be happy, but you're not happy knowing what's next for her.

[@britneybij3997]

@@princessxxramo Its a twisted sense of satisfaction. You are horrified by the actions of the cult but also horrified by how they can give her the sense of belonging and comfort even though we are well aware that is how they are able to collect people and how Cults start. If only she waited to get some therapy and/or a puppy....

[@liteflightify]

Midsommar is the more original movie and perhaps the more personal. Hereditary is the more genuinely disturbing and surprising movie. It also has a fantastic performance from Toni Collette. Both flicks are solid but have their shortcomings. I slightly prefer Hereditary.

[@laneythelame]

Same i loved watching the breakdown of the family

[@JewelTalks25]

Same I prefer hereditary it was insane. But I researched midsommar and it was also insane lmao.

[@heather_doestruecrime]

Toni Collette is truly one of the best actresses that Hollywood has seen. I’ve been waiting for her to get that recognition so Hereditary was a nice breath of fresh air for her to display her many, many talents.

[@chelscara]

The scene with Peter in the car just hit tf outta me, he performed that so well. It was a great adult break out movie for him cause he’s just straight amazing

[@Kikibeeee]

Your question about why Charlie was chosen as the vessel but still needed Peter: From what I understood when Annie found the book and the sources about the cult, Paimon needed a male vessel that was mentally strong, and even though Peter was male, she thought he was mentally weak. But when she met Charlie, she thought Charlie was perfect but was unfortunately female. So she kills Peter in order for Charlie to possess his body so then that Paimon could take possession of a mentally strong male.

[@natashaneva7]

Facts!

[@grace.stewartt4224]

Yes!

[@perrylinply7482]

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say, “I’d love to see Part 2”

[@NightmareCryptid]

Seeing Midsommar a week or so after a break-up really made it more impactful for me. Something about the way its shot, all the interactions between Dani and Christian, the looming presence of the cult but then having this sense of catharsis, even though you know it's equally as bad, just puts it that step above Hereditary for me. Granted, I love both but I think Midsommar stuck with me for much longer.

[@graceruark1086]

I love that during the ad you can heard the transatlantic accent Kennie picked up from Mommie Dearest, an icon 💖

[@abbyl4621]

That hair works so well with kennie's complexion. Very distracted by how gorgeous she looks

[@shirin9452]

Me too! I’m surprised she says she doesn’t like it. And with that beautiful yellow hoodie?

[@bellaloves2815]

As soon as she asked “you know what never did that to me?” I instantly said *“Death Note”* with her, cause we all know how much Kennie loves Death Note and how freaking AMAZING and well thought out that anime is

[@IONE_the_Enby]

I love Midsommer. Midsommer is chilling and unsettling because the audience finds catharsis and enjoys watching Dani being manipulated into basically committing murder. It's disturbing because we've all had one person in our lives, whom we wouldn't even bat an eye if they fell off the face of the earth. We as humans have all felt a silver of what it feels like *want* to murder someone. We're all capable of of killing in cold bold, and that's what I find more scary

[@LauraConnolly]

I think they're such good companion movies cause they feel like almost opposites of each other, one takes place so much in the dark and things are hidden and confusing and murky and then in Midsommar its almost disorientatingly bright and everything is laid out exactly in front of you for you to see to such a bold degree its again almost disorientating. I still cannot fathom how people think its a happy ending, I think its one of the most twisted movies I've ever seen and the ending is like a drug fuelled nightmare that tricks you into thinking its a dream cause theres flowers everywhere.

[@crazycai9171]

Okay, from someone who has watched hereditary and basically began to analyze every single point of the movie here is my understanding of how the ending should be read. First, with no preamble or pretence, Charlie is Paimon; what I mean by that is Charlie is not her own being she has been infected with Paimon. Now you're probably sitting there and being like "Well Peter was the perfect host and it had to be Peter and it's Peter in the end of the movie", I know that and, the reason why it has to be Peter and why Charlie has to die, is because Charlie is assigned female at birth. Now this next part is coming from transmasc person, Charlie is supposed to be read as transmasculine also. Throughout the movie we never see Charlie wearing traditionally female clothes, only at the funeral and she is explicitly wearing pajamas underneath. This also plays a part when Annie istelling her grief group about how her brother committed suicide because he thought, " Mom was trying to put people inside of him"( Paimon). This leads on to her explaining how after that situation she refused her mother's attempts to try and interact with Peter until she had Charlie. She thought since she had a female child and Peter was old enough to not be as persuaded by his grandmother that everything would be okay, spoiler alert it wasn't. Grandma did as much as she could to make Charlie masculine, to the point where when talking with Annie, Charlie says, "Grandma wanted me to be a boy" (This is after Annie says that Charlie was Grandma's favorite). We can also see her being overtly read as masculine in the party scene where another teenager approaches her and asks "Hey dude are you okay" while she starts having allergic reaction. Now let's add this to the fact that we see Charlie be welcomed back into the family's life as a spirit, the Seance scene and the scene in the car when Peter here is Charlie's click, it shows that it should be read as Charlie and Paimon being the same being, since this is also when Paimon arrives. At the end Joan is explaining to Charlie that she is now in Peter's body and also you are this demon and were never really a little girl, and now that we have you in your brother's body you can basically give us all we want. The confused look on Peters face is Charlie being horrified and confused because the last thing she remembers is going to the hospital. Sorry if this is a big confused mess, I just wanted to put my reading out into the world after watching this video. Side note; amazing video Kenni, you look ethereal and gorgeous as always

[@emmapoku9189]

WOW 😟 thank you so much for this analysis. Hereditary makes far more sense to me now.

[@SleepingDreamer16]

This a great interpretation!

[@darknight0dc]

Yes, exactly! Charlie is already connected spiritually to Paimon, but they're in the wrong body. That's *why* charlie had to die & be re- born into Peter's body! Like charlie & Paimon are not 2 separate entities, they are the same being by the point the audience enters the story! You explained this way better than me😅

[@ashleysartattack5600]

Wow!!! This blew my mind!! It makes so much more sense now!!

[@Teddy-hp9zy]

Yes!!! Absolutely!! I'm also transmasc and when I first watched it I had to stop myself from losing it when I realized this was just an elaborate "help I'm a trans demon from hell" movie. Charlie- hon, you can GO on hormones bestie. You DONT have to bodysnatch your brother just because he's amab

[@katanathetall0420]

SPOILER THEORY ALERT. The reason its Charlie is because Charlie's soul was already taken before birth. The demon was in her the whole time because they thought she was gonna be a he, and when she was a she, they had to change their ritual to fit Charlie's soul into Peter's. Instead of just sacrificing Peter and Annie for the boy Charlie. Thats why the mom was so obsessed with her. And insisted on feeding the demon soul with her bosom. Plus she initially tried it on her own son, but he killed himself saying that "she is gonna put people in me" or something like that.

[@UdoADHD]

So paimon is inside Charlie is inside Peter?

[@katanathetall0420]

@@UdoADHD pretty much.

[@lilenwasnothere6867]

@@UdoADHD yeah. paimon is said to use camels as his means of transportation. you know that clicking sound charlie makes? you think it's just a tick at first and you think it's her when peter hears it, but then he makes the sound himself. that's the sound camels make when they walk, signifying they're both paimon's "camels", letting him into earth.

[@lucyleptonyx5858]

Yes! My thoughts are seeing the ending of Midsommar is that someday, maybe years later when she's just another member of the cult, Dani will come to realize that she was manipulated. And it will be AFTER she has a baby with Pelle; She'll see that they manipulated her mind AND her body, and by making her a part of the burning, she will carry guilt and shame and STAY IN THE CULT bc she thinks "how can I live a normal life now?" And its so TERRIFYING it makes me feel HOLLOW FOR HER

[@talili2174]

This is why I love Kennie's channel so much, she's able to be funny and gives authentic reviews on why things are trash, but she's also able to give such thought provoking analysis of movies. I love how she's able to analyze the nuances of film when other people will just say "it's a movie, it's not that deep".

[@lucasorlando99]

Also in Hereditary Paimon is Charlie and basically when Annie was pregnant with Charlie and finally let her mom back into her life her mom basically had Paimon reborn as Charlie but Charlie doesn’t realize that they are actually the demon Paimon and the cults plan was to get the demon into Peters Body but Charlie doesn’t realize they are Paimon yet

[@346ego]

I also understood it like that!

[@kyletheresa]

Love these takes! The convo could be had on both movies for HOURS! One thing I’ll say that may have been missed (but may have been answered in your script book?!) is that Charlie was already Paimon due to gran being involved since birth. The blue light was an aura not him floating… my interpretation. From what I read, Peter was purposely kept away as mom and gran were estranged due to her already knowing her mom was weird (why Mom also spazzed on him at dinner…a mix between grief of her child, anger towards him, resentment and all around mixed emotions about her own relationship with her mom), and I think Dad was a big part of that… if we look at that in context, I think you could go back and fill in some of your gaps 1) the question of why not Peter once she came back around? The spell book Mom found said the male host has to be worn down for the demon to enter. I caught that my 4th time watching. The 3 heads is to have him fully take over with power. 2) so hot take- keeping in mind she’s already a demon trapped in the wrong body… If I remember correctly she ASKED if there were nuts in the cake and if I know allergy people and the GROSS amount of nuts sis chopped up for that cake - Charlie may have already known there were nuts and ate it on purpose… also now to think of it, Mom was frantic when she left the house with no shoes and it almost seemed like Charlie tended to venture off and hurt herself a lot in the past. 3)a hot take (conspiracy) theory I’ve had is that if you listen to the “gasping” sound Charlie makes when she comes to tell her brother, it’s the same sound you hear when Paimon enters Peter in the end. Soooo my assumption it’s not that it was a cult thing that was orchestrated but it was Paimon who set things in motion. And I can argue that Charlie opening the window and sticking her head FULLY out was on purpose… just a take here but I think there may be some arguments lol My love for this movie is about the duality of the spiritual and the physical. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive and in fact we can have very REAL human experiences while also navigating unintentional/unwanted supernatural experiences. What’s scarier than minding your business during a process of grief and trying to navigate that and already inheriting a bunch of BS from the person you lost (their past, their debts, their random relationships with people you don’t even know, etc.) and THEN add that it’s some witchy cult BS… nah son… 0-10 stars would not recommend.. frightening.

[@catdogis]

I enjoyed Midsommar but couldn’t bring myself to watch Hereditary because difficult family dynamics are too triggering for me. I found a Midsommar interpretation that said it’s to be taken in like a folk tale- like the original versions of Hansel and Gretel or The Little Mermaid. We may think at face value that because the main character gets what they “want” it’s a happy scenario, but there is always a more sinister element and a moral to the story. Very well made movie and probably the only horror movie to make me this disturbed, alongside Get Out.

[@vcutler4735]

"If you are a wimpy shrimpy I will hold your hand through both movies." Thank you ;o; I am a wimpy shrimpy weenie hut jr who can only enjoy horror movies through other people. I love some of the stories they tell but I am weak. ;o;

[@bruniquegould7911]

Saaaaaame

[@lauxantilles]

me too bestie

[@Thoughtsbyme-ts4jz]

You and me both. The retelling is all the scariness I can handle

[@reannagrant1718]

I recommend watching ‘how midsommar brainwashes you’ by acolytes of horror on youtube, just to understand how terrifying it is that not only did the cult convinced dani to be a part of their ‘family’ but how they convinced us as the audience that it’s was supposed to be a happy story

[@jamiea.m.3037]

Excited for Part 2!

[@marink7332]

oooh boy i can't wait for part 2

[@ruegweredza5413]

Okay, let's take a moment to appreciate how beautiful and snatched Kennie looks ❤️❤️😍

[@irixaee]

I saw both in theaters and I honestly like both fairly equally as psychological horror films, but Hereditary is more of the classic horror movie while Midsommar is more experimental which works because it makes it even more disorienting. But I will say the car scene in Hereditary alone gave me the most visceral reaction of fear I’ve ever experienced watching a horror film.

[@laneythelame]

Yep and the last 20 minutes of Hereditary was just so high tension. So the pacing was different in that way again

[@himbo_noa]

I am SO HYPED for the next video in this series!

[@nicholasmassengale8649]

This video is perfection and I can't wait for part 2!

[@whatever512]

I prefer Hereditary. The way it depicted the ugly reality of grief felt much more personal and raw. We got to witness the characters cope with loss in their own ways and see how tragedy can affect mental health and relationships. The actors Toni Collete and Alex Wolff did an outstanding performance. Each character was unique in their own way and had more layers to them, which made them more interesting than the ones in Midsommar. Both films are brilliant, but Hereditary felt more impactful.

[@liswane]

Yeah, I agree 100%, and I also feel like I prefer hereditary because the characters felt more alive, particularly after watching THE scene where they come back from the party... uff. Both movies are amazing in their own right, but hereditary definitely horrified me a lot more because I connected more with the family's grief and was terrified as the horror started escalating higher. Whereas midsommar is more of a slow burn, where the unsettling things felt like they were happening around the characters, and it was more psychological rather than supernatural horror, which I'm not a big fan of.

[@shekwaga]

Agree

[@saml8802]

I liked Midsommar better but I agree I've never seen a movie that so perfectly encapsulates grief in its various forms and just lets the actors continue to experience it. Most other movies treat it as a well that's over and we're sad but we got to move on but in Hereditary it's constantly there and the main point of conflict throughout the movie.

[@horrorpill]

I agree. Hereditary is great to me not because of the grief though, but because this family fell into the hands of something unknown and much more powerful than they are, when all they want to be is just a functional family. As an audience, I'm watching a family fell apart due to illogical and planned out circumstances that it felt powerless when someone cries, dies and just lose their minds.

[@s4lud]

totally agree. comparing the two depictions of grief in both the movies, hereditary had the much more impactful portrayal. ngl the main character in midsommar started to get on my nerves… didn’t feel much sympathy or connection to her past the first scene

[@mfuentes4961]

If you want to get into more good horror, I HIGHLY recommend ‘Haunting of Hill House” and “Haunting of Bly Manor” series on Netflix. They are both directed by Mike Flanagan who is an amazing director of horror films.

[@valeriarossini543]

yes yes yes!

[@essikah9067]

So good!

[@BlindBabeBeth]

Yesss! Looking forward to part 2. 🖤

[@CrippledChaosClown]

Toni Collette deserved some kind of award for Hereditary, she was robbed I tell you! I can't wait to see what Ari Aster does next. xAndyx

[@butdoicaretho]

Kennie is officially an art person, and I was literally screaming yes at the title.

[@haven311]

Same!! I am obsessed with both Ari Aster and Kennie, so this Reese's peanut butter cup of a video made me literally squeal with delight 😃🥳

[@dtown_demon]

After she said she hates art people in her Skins review

[@sae200502167]

Total side note: I know that you said you didn't like it, but damn, that hair color looks SO SO SO good on you!

[@yvettekortright4686]

Yes, please do part two of the Odyssey!

[@mangarox134]

I think the way he paces the films makes them so scary bcus you really don’t know what to expect. Hereditary had me terrified for weeks!

[@Mybrainfunctionslikeacomputer]

Hi Kennie. Please watch Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. It’s so bad that it’s good.

[@greynotchristian]

it had a really good idea and then there was the excecution...

[@SM-vd2iz]

or, better yet, watch Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and then watch Gretel and Hansel if you haven't...there is maybe a comparison but *shrug* ayedunnnoh, an idea, do what you want

[@Beansidhe413]

Wait, that one is bad? Like it's been a few years since I've seen it but I liked it lol.

[@valeriarossini543]

@@SM-vd2iz omg gretel and hansel was so good, if a little boring lol don't know how those two movies could be compared tho 🤔

[@darknight0dc]

@@SM-vd2iz I was literally going to say this!

[@MrConstancejames]

Okay, the way I see the plot device of the cult insignia on the pole is that *perhaps* it was implied that the cult went around stamping the Paimon insignia all around the families nieghborhood willing *something* will happen that will render Charlie headless, not necessarily that *specific* incident. At least thats how I saw it.

[@greenmask25]

One of my favorite videos you've made! Great job!

[@confectionary978]

Im so happy that kennie has made a video about Midsommar! I have been dying for a discussion about this film for so long and im really enjoying the comment section 😊