Welcome one and all to my review of "The Ritual" As always I encourage feedback and comments on my post, you can do this by leaving a comment below or by following me on Twitter or Instagram.
"The Ritual" has been causing a lot of buzz online of late and rightfully so. What a great horror movie it is. If you live in the UK you can buy the film digitally through platforms such as "Amazon Prime Video" as well as buy a physical copy, like I did, through Amazon. If you live outside the UK you can watch "The Ritual" through "Netflix".
"The Ritual" is a British produced film, by Andy Serkis amongst others and released by "eOne" and is based on the novel of the same name written by Adam Nevill which you can purchase here. The story follows four friends on a hiking holiday celebrating the life of their friend who has been brutally killed. What unfolds next is more than a simple horror movie. The friends decide to take a short cut, never a good idea, through a heavily wooded area where the stumble upon a seemingly abandoned cabin surrounded by mysterious symbols. They are then stalked by a mysterious being intent on destroying them.
I remember seeing the trailer for "The Ritual" before it came out in October of last year and I remember being intrigued. I find that with movies, horror in particular, trailers often over sell the film and I was a little worried I would be disappointed. I can happily report I wasn't in the least bit disappointed and really enjoyed "The Ritual". The story unfolds in such a manner that it held my attention from the opening, and slightly horrific, scene in which we see why the friends gather for a hiking holiday in Sweden. Is the unfolding story predictable ? slightly, especially for fans of horror films. Does that make "The Ritual" any less enjoyable ? absolutely not. The pacing is fast and furious without skipping important details and plot points. The one thing I did enjoy was that it followed the classic monster movie style in which the audience is aware of something stalking the main characters but, we don't really get a good look at the monster, and believe me when I say that it's a fantastically terrifying monster, until the third act of the film.
The characters all play their roles well. Luke (Rafe Spall) is coping with the loss of his friend and feels he is responsible for his friend meeting his end and throughout the story the audience sees him not only accept that he failed his friend but, he can learn and become a stronger person from the experience that he is being faced with through flashbacks throughout the film. The supporting roles are filled out well without too much over expansion of back story. Phil (Arsher Ali) is fantastic although I felt his demise was a little too quick and under developed his experience in the cabin. Hutch (Robert James-Collier) is again not used enough before his demise but, his demise allows for the weaker characters to come to the forefront. Dom (Sam Troughton) is a great addition as the annoying friend that causes a lot of trouble.
The way in which "The Ritual" was produced is incredible. The film relies on story telling and character work rather than the sound and monster design that a larger budget film would rely on. The monster design is fantastic. The audience never really gets a proper close up look at the monster, even in the final scenes of the film the features are obscured and I quite liked that. I find when there is too much exposure of a monster it ruins the mysticism and mystique of a monster. The addition of the cult worshipping the monster was a little under developed, in my opinion but, was probably done so for pacing reasons. I doubt there will be a sequel but, if there was, I would like to learn more about the cult and the creation of the monster.
Overall "The Ritual" doesn't break a lot of new ground but, is one of the more entertaining horror films that have come out over the past few years. The film is a great example of a story driven film that relies more on character work and what the audience can't see rather than the sound driven monster horrors such as "Insidious". "The Ritual" is well worth a watch and I encourage everyone to check it out.
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