Midsummer (2003)

Pretty Good

Best movie of this year hands down!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Midsummer(or Midsommer, as it is called in Danish). What an astoundingly unremarkable attempt at a horror flick. Danish films are very rarely any good at all, and our horror films are probably the biggest embarrassments. I decided to check this film out, as a friend of mine had it, and I could borrow it for free. I knew pretty much what the film was about, and was aware that it wasn't particularly good. When I sat down to see it, I immediately had the same gut feeling that I usually have when I (attempt to) watch a Danish film. This film never really got my interest, and certainly didn't keep it at any point. The plot is poor, and the way it evolved was so clichéd and predictable. In fact, the whole film was predictable and dull. The acting is bad. Nothing else to say. It is just plain bad. The characters are poorly written, even more poorly developed and paper-thin. They are stereotypical as well. The script is incredibly poor, and the shocks are cheap. The film seems overly loud, and about half of the scenes involve the characters drinking alcohol. Are we supposed to care if these people live or die? All they do is drink. Their actions didn't seem to make sense half of the time, either. I barely payed attention to the film, but I could make out that much. I'm not entirely sure how it ends, and frankly, I don't care the least bit. One to avoid. I recommend this only to big fans of Danish films(which would have to be Danish people who can't speak English, since everyone else prefer to watch films that involve actual talent in their production). 5/10

***MILD SPOILERS*** I watched this movie cause it was announced to be like a new milestone in danish horror, but it is quite a let-down.The film is in itself ok, has a lot of nice ideas. But honestly, the quija boards are a thing of the past and by no means scary anymore. There's so many cliches in this film, a list would be going too far.There's also a couple of very annoying characters aswell, especially the smart*** "Mark" played by equally annoying Jon Lange - I've seen a couple of other flicks with this guy and he isn't acting, he is being himself - nothing more, nothing less....to see him shot in the gutt in the end actually made me cheer...I was waiting for that....kinda cruel thing to say, but nevertheless true..Anyway, a mediocre film, nothing more, nothing less.. And I kinda got my eyes opened for Laura Christensen who is becoming kind of a babe - Saw her in Von Trier's "Kingdom" years ago, but she sure developed in all good ways of the word...Yummi!

Midsommer is one of the better danish thrillers. Its got okay acting, a nice music score and great locations. The story is actually pretty good and managed to surprise me in the ending, even though the story caused a deja vu. Its like you have seen it all before. None the less it was very well put together. Worth a look! If not for Tuva Novotny. She is one of scandinavias most beautiful women - and she can act!

If you expect a Hollywood-like `action & effect'-packed thriller, this is not the movie for you.But it has an excellent storyline, good actors and actresses - even though most of these are debutants. Furthermore the effects are surprisingly well made, and I personally got quite a few shocks during this movie. See it. It's excellent!