The Ritual

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.

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. Theres 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 pedest...

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.

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 cer...