‘Midsommar’ Star Jack Reynor Recalls The Intense Challenge It Was To Complete The New Horror Film
Director Ari Aster freaked out audiences everywhere in 2018 with his horror film Hereditary. Now he’s at it again with the new film, Midsommar. The film is extremely different than Hereditary but is still holding its own in the box office and getting positive reviews. It’s different than just about any horror movie you’ve seen before, utilizing the concept of light rather than dark to add to the creepiness. One of the stars of the film is actor Jack Reynor, who recently recalled just how challenging this film was to create, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Reynor signed on to do the film before ever getting the chance to see Aster’s earlier hit Hereditary, which starred Toni Collette. Thus, he wasn’t yet aware of just how much Aster was truly capable of. When he did begin reading the script, he was taken aback by how complex and ambitious it was and recalls wondering if they’d actually be able to finish it.
The film follows a couple who travel with a group of friends to Sweden, where they think they are going to attend a festival. Instead, they get wrapped up in a bizarre cult.
In the end, it was the level of ambition the script possessed that convinced Reynor to join the project. He knew it would be a challenge, but that was what intrigued him, he said.
“I can’t see a clear path for how we’re going to pull this off, but that’s exactly why I should do it, that’s the reason to sign on to something like this in my opinion. This is the thing, I don’t want to sign onto things that I’m always confident [are] going to be easily achieved.”
#Midsommar is the conversation piece of the season, because (of course!) a lot of mainstream audiences hate it. Here's my take in @Variety on what Ari Aster's controversial Swedish-cult horror movie is really about: https://t.co/wz9NrSqHIg
— Owen Gleiberman (@OwenGleiberman) July 7, 2019
Aster did obviously complete the film, but it wasn’t an easy process. The film takes place near Budapest in Hungary. A lot of the cast didn’t speak the same language, which made it difficult to communicate and make sure everyone was on the same page, as Reynor described.
“This was a hard film to make in every respect. When you consider the fact that we’re shooting out in Hungary, one portion of the crew is Hungarian, one portion is Swedish, one portion is English-speaking, and the same applies to the cast.”
Not to mention the fact that most of the takes were long and took place in the heat of the day. Nevertheless, Reynor is pleased with the result and glad he embarked upon the process.
