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Hi, this is Dana Steven, Slate's movie critic, here with a Slate spoiler special on Midsomar.

Is that how we've decided to pronounce it, guys, Midsomar in our faux-Scanadian way? I think we've decided to pronounce it that way once. It's the only way. Midsomar. So joining me in the Slate's studio to talk about Midsomar are Samuel Adams, Slate's culture writer. Hi, Sam.

Hello.

And Daniel Schrader, what do we call you? Podcast producer. Yeah, I'm a podcast producer. I produce the gist and outward. Yeah, that's me. And formerly production assistant for our own

beloved Slate Culture Gapist. And number one midsummer fan. That's right. Yes. Yes, we should mention also that this is an off week for spoilers. Normally there would not be a spoiler special this week, but because of audience demand and Daniel Schrader demand and various people writing in to say, why are we not spoiling this very spoilable movie? We're now going to be doing it, even though it opened a couple weeks ago. I just have to ask, did this movie make you feel held? Oh, no. Wait, you're stealing my thunder. That's my gambit. It's the beginning of each spoiler special. I already know your answer, but I'm going to go around just so that we know as we get into spoiling what everyone's general affect is. So you are completely pro and heavily identified and essentially twirling in a Swedish field in an embroidered linen shirt right now. Send me to my at estupa. Like right now. Please. Let me jump off a cliff. And Sam, I read your review, and I'm going to read you a couple lines from it later that I think are somewhat ambiguous. I still am not totally sure if you're a pro or a con on Midsummer. It seems like you're a reserved pro. I think that's right. I mean, sometimes you write a review to figure out how you feel. Then it's sort of an ongoing process for this. But yeah, no, I think I am possibly more pro the movie as a gesture than as an emotional experience, but I deeply appreciate

the gesture. Yeah. All right. I guess I can get with that. I mean, I will say that I think

this movie has had a similar half-life in my mind as hereditary Ariasters debut feature from last

year in that during the watching of it, I was fascinated and confused and trying to figure out what was going on and kind of disappointed in the ending, but weighing it all. And then it started to sour in my mind pretty quickly afterwards. Like, I started to be able to almost make fun of it within days. And I think if the movie had really scared me or moved me or done anything to me on a deep level, that wouldn't have been so possible.

I mean, I think I've had something of the opposite experience with, like, with this movie, at least. Hereditary, you know, watch I saw, like, the, you know, world premiere at Sundance, and it was clearly, like, going to be a thing. But I was also, like, skeptical of it. and the more I thought of it, the more it just like didn't hang together.

Like, it just felt like a lot of stuff kind of thrown at a wall,

but it really had, I mean, that is a movie that like announces its theme in the title and then I think doesn't really stick to it. Midsummer is one that I, like, the more I thought about it, the more I feel like it actually does work very kind of effectively to its theme and that has made thinking about it has made

it richer for me. Yeah, maybe I should see it again. The thing is that I have no real desire

to see it again because of the extreme gore, which we'll also get into. I appreciated the extreme

...