When I first heard that there was going to be a director’s cut for Ari Aster’s Midsommar, I was taken aback. It was hard to imagine more scenes being added to it, especially after having seen the movie so many times. Several new scenes were added, making the movie about thirty minutes longer than the originally released cut. Thirty minutes of new content.

Some of these new scenes added a lot to the movie! There were some that didn’t add much at all, and you could see why they were taken out, but for the most part they all really felt right. The first scene that gets added is an extended version of the argument between Christian and Dani after they get home from the party. It starts off as usual, Dani getting upset with Christian for not telling her he was going to Sweden.

In the extended version of the movie, it  goes on for painfully long, Christian gaslighting and manipulating Dani more and more. Even convincing her that she “ruined the surprise,” The ‘surprise’ being a ticket to Sweden to go with him.

Another one of the first few scenes that gets added in is an extended version of the road trip through Sweden when they first arrive. This was one of my favorite of the extended scenes. It really establishes Dani’s uncomfortable and awkward relationship with Christian’s friends and also just adds some generally fun moments. This is one I really wish would’ve been kept in – though, I do see how it could slow down the film a bit.

One scene that I think definitely should have stayed includes yet another fight between Dani and Christian. Here, Dani and Christian are already upset with each other and it just leads them to another argument. After arguing over much bigger things, it all comes back to Christian forgetting Dani’s birthday. He accuses her of trying to guilt trip him for forgetting when she wasn’t doing anything like that at all. I adore how the director’s cut has really expanded upon the unhealthy relationship between Christian and Dani.

This cut also adds a new element to the movie that I didn’t know I needed until I saw it. In the original version of the movie, it may seem kind of weird that Dani is suddenly understanding and supportive of how this society functions, but in the director’s cut there’s a lot more to it. Dani is seen with other members of this community. You can see her being manipulated by these people all while she’s in a vulnerable spot in her life. They slowly convince her that a community that functions the way theirs does is perfectly okay. Through this, you can really see the flaws in their society, how cult-like it really is.

With cults, it’s all about manipulation and this movie really showcases that. I think keeping some of the scenes that showed those aspects would’ve made the movie better than it already was.

I think the movie really would have benefited from keeping a lot of these scenes, some may be unnecessary, but I really think most of them add a lot. You get more depth when watching the director’s cut of the movie than you do from the original. In the end, though, it’s really down to preference which one is “better”.