The Ritual

2/9/20181h 34m

Digital Release (US)

~ Your darkest dream awaits you. ~

Overview:

A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest, but encounter a menacing presence in the woods that's stalking them.

Director:

David Bruckner

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$1,000,000.00

Revenue:

$1,786,396.00

Key words:

robbery
monster
based on novel or book
nightmare
sweden
hiking
scandinavia
forest
friends
grief
murder
cabin
guilt
survival horror
pagan
norse mythology
guilty conscience
folk horror
lost in the woods
amused

Cast

Rafe Spall

~ as ~

Luke

Arsher Ali

~ as ~

Phil

Robert James-Collier

~ as ~

Hutch

Sam Troughton

~ as ~

Dom

Paul Reid

~ as ~

Robert

Matthew Needham

~ as ~

Junkie

Jacob James Beswick

~ as ~

Fiend

Maria Erwolter

~ as ~

The Host

Hilary Reeves

~ as ~

The Curate

Peter Liddell

~ as ~

The Logger

View full cast & crew

Reviews (6)

Gimly
Written 7 year(s) ago
7
I'm sorry, but who the fuck, with no promotional material, and with a name as generic as The fuckin' Ritual, told this movie, it was allowed to be so good?

Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time.
Wuchak
Written 7 year(s) ago
7
RELEASED IN 2017 and directed by David Bruckner, "The Ritual" is a psychological adventure/horror about four British dudes in their 30s who embark on a hike in remote northern Sweden wherein it slowly becomes evident that some THING is stalking them in the dark woods. Will any of them make it out alive?

This is basically a meshing of “The Blair Witch Project” (1999) and “Ogre” (2008), but without the tongue-in-cheekiness of the latter. There’s also a little bit of “The Wicker Man” (1973/2006). Like “Blair Witch” the foul-mouthed protagonists become increasingly horrified in the foreboding forest and eventually turn on one another. But the sylvan cinematography is leagues superior due to the spectacular Romanian locations as opposed to the pedestrian film-work of “Blair Witch” in Maryland (which is understandable since the latter is a “found-footage” flick).

I’m not going to give-away the creature, which isn’t fully revealed until the last fifteen minutes, but it’s basically a hybrid of the monsters in “The Relic” (1997) and “Wendigo” (2001), albeit bigger, and superior to both. The second half deviates from the book and people complain about it, but it’s superior to the lame black metal cult of the book IMHO and you can’t beat one potent sequence that smacks of hell-on-earth. There’s also an intriguing element about achieving nigh-immortality at the price of submissive veneration. Despite these positives, the movie’s a little uneventful and humdrum, plus it's lacking in the female department.

The movie runs 1 hour 34 minutes and was shot entirely in Romania. WRITERS: Joe Barton wrote the script based on Adam Nevill’s 2012 novel. CAST: The four protagonists are played by Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier and Sam Troughton.

GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)
Walruse
Written 7 year(s) ago
4
The Ritual is a monster movie with psychological ambitions and seemingly a decent budget. The jötunn monster is actually quite good and so are the cyclic re-enactments of the early on liquor store trauma. Unfortunately the rest of the movie is as bland as the title and relies too much on exotism of the deep Swedish forests. Sadly even that component gets watered out and the endgame cultists seem to be some recycled wiccans from Scotland rather than pre-christians of northern Scandinavia.
R
RalphRahal
Written 1 year(s) ago
7
David Bruckner's The Ritual is an atmospheric horror film that effectively combines psychological tension with a touch of the supernatural. The story follows four friends on a hiking trip in the Scandinavian wilderness, where they encounter not only the haunting landscape but also their own fears and regrets.

What sets The Ritual apart is the authenticity of the characters and their relationships. The dialogue and interactions feel natural, and the bond between the friends comes across as genuine, with years of shared history subtly woven into their exchanges. This grounding in realism makes the escalating terror all the more impactful.

The film takes its time building suspense, though some scenes linger longer than necessary, and certain dialogues feel repetitive. These moments, while noticeable, don’t detract significantly from the overall experience. The latter part of the movie veers into unexpected territory, delivering an unsettling and imaginative climax that feels fresh in a genre often bound by convention.

Visually, the film is stunning, with the eerie forest serving as a character in its own right, amplifying the isolation and dread. The Ritual succeeds in blending human drama with horror, creating a story that's both haunting and deeply relatable. While not without minor flaws, it’s a compelling watch for fans of atmospheric and character-driven horror.
h
hand2a
Written 10 month(s) ago
6
Has a great first half but really lets itself down after the monster makes its first appearance. Still a solid horror, definitely worth a watch but nothing to cry about. The first house sequence was really well done and genuinely scary 3/5

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