HEREDITARY writer/director Ari Aster's second feature MIDSOMMAR is in theatres right now (you can read our 9/10 review HERE), and with a running time of 2 hours and 27 minutes it's not exactly a short movie. Aster has said that his first cut was in the range of 3 hours and 45 minutes, though, and to pare the film down to its current length he had to make some tough cuts. Speaking with GameSpot, he mentioned that there was a big argument between the Dani and Christian characters cut from the middle of the film that
…if you told me that I would have cut that scene before we went into production, I would have told you that you were crazy. I really love the scene that we cut. It's some of my favorite dialogue in the whole film, and in some ways it was as big of a decision to cut that as it would have been to cut the dinner table scene in HEREDITARY between Toni and Alex. It was that big of a cut. It was a very, very big day when we lost that from the film."
sponsored content
While Aster eventually made peace with the cut and liked that not having the argument in there allowed the film to maintain the tension between the characters, I suspect he might put it back in for the extended cut he's currently working on.
Aster confirmed there will be an extended cut during a reddit AMA session yesterday. He's not boosting the film back up to that 3 hours and 45 minutes running time, but the extended cut
will be at least 30 mins longer.
Which would take MIDSOMMAR up to around the 3 hour mark.
Starring Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor, MIDSOMMAR delves into "Scandinavian folk horror" to tell an "apocalyptic breakup" story about
a couple that travels to Sweden to visit their friend's rural hometown for its fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
Will Poulter, Vilhem Blomgren, William Jackson Harper, Ellora Torchia, and Archie Madekwe are also in the cast.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed