While “Midsommar” is filmed in daylight for about 90% of the 147-minute run-time, make no mistake, the film has enough gore and horrific imagery that makes it just as disturbing, if not more, than most of the darkness-filled horror films. And according to the film’s director, Ari Aster, there was plenty of footage that was deemed too adult even for an R-rating and about 30 more minutes that he’s working on adding back into the film.
Recently, Aster did a Reddit AMA (via Bloody Disgusting), where he was asked a slew of questions about his most recent film. The “Hereditary” filmmaker answered as many as he could, while also giving a few teases as to what’s to come in a new “extended cut.”
When asked if there was any footage that could have earned the film the dreaded NC-17 rating, aster replied, “Yes, we had an NC-17 for 6 weeks. Lots of back-and-forth with them.”
Of the footage that was cut, apparently, quite a bit of it included male nudity from lead Jack Reynor. For those who haven’t seen the film, towards the end, Reynor is featured without pants for a very long, some might call it uncomfortable, amount of time.
But the NC-17 nugget wasn’t all that Aster was talking about. He also said that he’s busy working on an “extended cut” of the film that “will be at least 30 mins longer.” As mentioned, the film’s run-time is hardly brief, clocking in at just under two-and-a-half hours. Adding another half hour gets it up to “Avengers: Endgame” level length. And we’re not talking about 30 minutes of superhero action, either. Whatever is in those 30 minutes is likely going to be more brutality and grotesque images that you’ll have to ask yourself if you really need.
For many, including myself, the answer is clearly, “Yes, please!”