Ian Burbank

My favorite part about the modern horror film era that we’re living in is slashers are almost dead. It’s a Renaissance of sorts. Freddy Krueger could never have really killed us in our sleep anyways, why pretend? Now the horror stems from real life in the most refreshingly terrifying ways possible. The putting your grandfather out of his misery (It Comes At Night), systematic racism (Get Out), being intentionally given a deadly disease from someone you care about (It Follows), depression & suicide (Lights Out), and fear of lethal nut allergy reactions (Hereditary) all do the trick. Do they all have the box office success of “It?” Probably not. But they’ve brought a level of intelligent thought & conversation to those willing to have it past the ending credits of Hostel. Midsommar is another one of those movies, and I’ll probably go see it a second time before starting any real conversations with my friends about the awful things that happen directly in front of us on a daily basis.