Unlike Hereditary in that here, I knew exactly what was coming just from the poster. It's a play on Wicker Man and any deviation from that would have been a surprise. The film plays with that expectation through ultra deliberate pacing. The full final hour is an extended kaleidoscopic dance number. It's hypnotizing for the spectacle of it all.

There's something here about fake and performative empathy, but the follow-through is oblique. All substantive threads go up in flames as the festivities begin. I would have also watched an alt-world, more grounded version that continued the withering relationship and friendship dynamics. The first hour captures a certain brand of 20-something malaise that is both real yet primed for drama. It didn't need to end in human sacrifice to be compelling.