Midsommar reinvents the modern scream queen through Florence Pugh's multi-layered performance as Dani Ardor. With each re-watch, Ari Aster's 148-minute, instant classic reveals itself to be much more than a slow-burn horror film about a traumatized woman, as it's focused more on her psychology than other scream queen cliches.
So, what exactly is a scream queen? Most horror fans will cite female characters from late-'70s/early-'80s slasher flicks like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. In these films, many young women are killed off early on, through terrifying sequences that highlight the actual killer rather than the victim. However, there are also final girl scream queens, or female characters who manage to survive the movie. Over the past two decades, scream queen and final girl tropes have shifted to align with changing trends. By 2018, Ari Aster provided his own spin in Hereditary by killing off a prominent female character early on, and thus making her grieving mother a version of a scream queen due to her shattered mental state.
With Midsommar, Hereditary. The 2019 film begins in media res as Dani feels like she's losing control of her life. Unfortunately, she's right. Midsommar's opening minutes reveal that Dani loses her sister and parents in a murder-suicide tragedy. Visually, Aster foreshadows later events through his mise-en-scène aesthetics, but it is Pugh's lead performance that establishes the inherent sense of dread. She's emotionally devastated after the familial tragedy, and the lackadaisical attitude of her boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor) doesn't help, especially when it's revealed that he's planning a trip with his best friends Josh (William Jackson Harper), Mark (Will Poulter), and Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren)—the last of whom will host the group at his native Swedish commune in Hårga. Dani agrees to tag along, and Aster uses a slick jump-cut to simultaneously change the setting while reminding the audience of Dani's emotional baggage. Here's how Midsommar reimagines the scream queen concept.
Midsommar: Dani's Character Psychology
Unlike a typical scream queen, Dani breathes heavily from the moment Midsommar begins, the result of consistent panic attacks. The character's bottom lip quivers throughout the film—a way for Pugh to communicate an overwhelming sense of despair. Dani is her own worst enemy through no fault of her own. She literally loses her family, so her sense of home is permanently damaged. Dani doesn't anticipate a physical threat like a traditional scream queen, because it has already materialized within her mind. Midsommar's opening minutes are both fascinating and emotionally devastating, as Dani's demons loom over each conversation.
When Pugh's character arrives in Sweden, she's once again overwhelmed by panic attacks. Unable to relax during a drug sequence, she wanders off and believes that locals are laughing at her. She later hyperventilates upon witnessing a communal suicidal ritual, and the dark irony is that interpretations about her true mental state.
Dani's Patriarchal Warfare In Midsommar
Dani can be interpreted as a revolutionary figure who takes on the patriarchy. Midsommar begins with her being dismissed not only by Christian, but also by his friends. Pelle shows a softer side during conversations, but he's mostly interested in Dani's potential as the May Queen, and how her arrival could improve his status amongst peers. Mark behaves oddly throughout the film, and Jackson displays narcissistic behavior. So, when Dani leaves for Sweden, she can't really trust anybody. Dani's confused gazes at Christian become more intense right after the suicide rituals, and the character dynamics heavily shift at that exact point. If Dani has theoretically found a home but doesn't know it yet, Christian represents a major psychological obstacle to overcome.
More: Midsommar’s Murals Explained: How They Predict The Full Plot
In contrast to scream queen movies, Dani internalizes her thoughts rather than focusing on the most obvious threats. She doesn't worry about being killed by strange locals, but rather tries to understand how she and Christian vibe within the Swedish commune. An '80s horror film might kill off someone like Christian mid-way through, but Aster keeps him around to set up the final subversion, which involves Dani's boyfriend burning to death in a bear-skin suit. In the end, does Dani smile because she's watching a patriarchal system burn down? Or does Dani smile because she's a final girl with a dark side? Aster suggests that both things can be true at once. She's a May Queen with some emotional issues to resolve, and she's a May Queen with a major axe to grind. What Dani is not, however, is a traditional scream queen.
Florence Pugh's Poetic Acting & Dani's Communal Catharsis
Midsommar reinvents the Scream Queen because of Aster begins Midsommar with a tragedy to suggest that Dani has indeed hit rock bottom, even if she doesn't know it yet. In Sweden, the suicide ritual naturally rattles her, but also weirdly provides a sense of organization and community, as the dearly departed literally hit rock bottom to uplift their loved ones. Dani slowly realizes that there are clear rules and people to rely on. When Pelle questions her relationship with Christian, Pugh communicates a feeling of hope and fear; a mixed bag of emotions. Dani is unsure about the future, but knows what's not working.
Many Scream Queen flicks are uniquely poetic and stylized in how the performers move within the frame, but Pugh operates on another level in Midsommar. The May Queen dance competition foreshadows Dani's complete transformation, with Pugh communicating a sense of pure glee because she's part of a new family. Whether it's the ideal community is another matter, but—in the moment—Dani finds happiness while further realizing that Christian has emotionally checked out. For narrative clarity, Aster includes a sex ritual involving Christian and a young Swedish girl, which at once provides clarity for both the audience and Dani: something is terribly wrong, so Dani must move on.
Rather than following genre tropes, Aster incorporates a recurring Midsommar theme where Swedish locals cope with pain through expressions of grief. One of the film's most stunning images involves Dani experiencing a moment of catharsis with Swedish women, and, at this point in Dani's life, that's exactly what she needs. In a shared moment of grief, Dani's screams thematically contrast with the film's final image. Aster's narrative structure is on-point.
Midsommar's Subversive Ending
Dani doesn't reveal herself to be evil in Midsommar, nor does she reveal herself to be a hero. Meaning, Aster allows for various interpretations based on the viewer's life experiences. The final girl survives, but what are the consequences? After all, just one extra scene could theoretically show Dani suffering another panic attack, and thus becoming a version of the scream queen; a concept that aligns with Pugh's theory that Dani is disoriented and unaware of what's transpiring. In Midsommar's final moment, Dani doesn't have to worry about convenient and reductive labels: she's not a daughter, a sister, or a girlfriend. She's Dani, the May Queen.
Pugh sets up her character's final grin through non-verbal acting throughout Midsommar. Dani mostly squints or stares in the film, and a dropped lowed lip signifies that she's struggling with her emotions. So, the final image works as a wink-of-the-eye moment in the sense that Pugh shows her hand. The grin also subverts audience expectations, as Midsommar doesn't build to a performative wail from which the term "scream queen" gets its name, but rather a moment of complete silence, one that's both chilling and somehow beautiful.
What's actually going on inside Dani's mind? What matters, it seems, is that she's truly alive and can see some type of light shining in the distance. Dani isn't a scream queen; she's a Queen who is truly loved, and that may be all that she needs.
