10 Most Messed Up Horror Movie Openings
3. Midsommar
Midsommar’s opening chapter is one of the most heart wrenching and deeply disturbing ones out there. Protagonist Dani frequently expresses concerns for the wellbeing of her sister, a vulnerable and mentally ill young woman who has a past of sending Dani concerning bits of contact.
Christian, Dani’s terrible boyfriend, is simply not interested. He is bored with the tales of the ‘crazy sister’ and sick of comforting his girlfriend (because why would you want to be a decent person when you can just ignore her and hang out with the boys, eh?) - he dismisses her concerns consistently, saying everything will be fine.
Spoiler alert: everything is not fine.
Despite Christian’s doubts, Dani’s sister really is in trouble this time. A slow sequence reveals that she has taken the most tragic final action, attaching a car exhaust to a pipe and killing both herself and her parents.
In one fell swoop Dani is left with no family. She evidently has no friends and her boyfriend is a piece of garbage, she is utterly and completely alone with her grief.
With such a crushing opening, you barely have the emotional capacity left for the rest of the movie.