The Ritual Review (2017) - A gruesome, yet fascinating look at loss, and guilt!
Moving toward some of the more serious titles on our Halloween Movie Itinerary! We recently watched The Ritual, and we were thoroughly creeped out and enthralled at the same time!
This film is based on Adam Nevill’s novel of the same name, it includes many tried and true horror tropes while still keeping the formula interesting with clever use of ominous scenery shots and flashbacks.
We will do everything we can to not give too many spoilers in this review but there is likely to be some so please take that into consideration and read cautiously.
This story is about a group of friends, who go on a hiking trip to northern Sweden! They chose Sweden in honor of their friend, Rob (Paul Reid) who was murdered in a convenience store robbery. Our main character, Luke (Rafe Spall), was present when his friend was murdered and deals with survivor’s guilt over Rob’s death. Luke hid in the convenience store while his friend was robbed and killed, all the while watching in frozen fear for his own life from around an aisle corner. The guilt and fear that Luke feels is brought up throughout the film as a part of the overarching story and his own internal journey.
The hiking trip that Luke, Hutch (Robert James-Collier), Dom (Sam Troughton), and Phil (Arsher Ali) embark on starts off strongly but then goes awry when they decide to take a “shortcut” through the woods to their next checkpoint, a lodge on their itinerary.
They end up getting hopelessly lost in the woods and it’s not long before they start to find strange sigils, and other disturbing things as they get deeper into the forest. In addition, they get the distinct impression that they’re, not only being followed, but being stalked by something.
The group is, of course, scared and frustrated at the fact that they are lost, resulting in arguments, bickering, and even some physical violence between them as they struggle to make it out of the forest alive. I will say, the bickering and finger pointing was one of my least favorite parts of the film even though it was a natural progression of the tension.
The longer they are lost, the more they see and experience, leading to some truly horrifying imagery and legit scares!
Spoiler Warning (please skip this paragraph is you would like to avoid spoilers) — There is a creature featured in this film. I won’t go into any detail about it here, but I feel it would be a travesty not to mention how incredible the creature design is. The filmmakers really went above and beyond in this area, creating something that is horrifying and awe-inspiring all at once.
We don’t want to give too much away in this review because there is, admittedly, quite a lot to potentially spoil. If you’re a fan of horror that’s a bit more on the gruesome side, has cult vibes, and involves the worship of inhuman entities, this movie is for you!
We give this film…
Four Whiskey Flasks out of 5!
The Ritual Drinking Game:
Take a Sip Anytime:
The convenience store is seen/referenced
References to the group’s deceased friend, Rob
Anyone gets injured
The group bickers or argues
Anyone complains
Drink with the group to honor their deceased friend (minute 9 of the film)
Dom mentions his wife Gayle
Creature on screen or glimpses of the creature
There are bodies in trees on screen
Ominous scenery shots
Sigils or Effigy on screen
What did you think?? Did you like the movie? Did you hate it!? Do you have suggestions for films we should consider?! Let us know here in the comments and always remember to be safe and drink responsibly!