The Ritual (2017)-A Smart Creature Feature That is Hard not to Love-Fitz of Horror Review

Written by Bryan Fitzgerald (Fitz of Horror) March 4, 2018

Leading up to finally watching The Ritual I had been hearing rave reviews both critically and from close trusted sources. Of course there are always naysayers but in my mind the hype was so built up that I was afraid I would be let down so I kept putting it off. After finally saying fuck it, I decided to see for myself and I am so glad I did.

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

I love creature features both smart and silly so when I learned that The Ritual from director David Bruckner (V/H/S, Southbound) was in fact a creature feature, I was more than intrigued. The movie begins with a group of friends partying when something horrific happens that results in the death of one friend and the strength of the remaining friends being tested.

They decide to take hiking/camping trip in his honor and to help gain closure for themselves but almost immediately there is in fighting and travel issues that lead them to taking what turns out to be the worst shortcut through the woods of their lives.

As they make it into the woods things go from bad to worse but the pacing of the film is so well done that you feel present with them and extremely uneasy with the things they experience. From creepy cabins in the woods with life size headless voodoo doll type things to being completely lost because the forest is so silent and dense to badly mutilated large animals hanging from the trees, I felt like The Ritual was a perfect mix of movies like The Blair Witch Project, The VVitch and The Village taking the very creepy elements and expanding on them, or I felt, doing them right and culminating in a payoff which included actually seeing what was after them and out in the woods.

The guttural growling of the monster in the woods building up to finally catching a glimpse of the creatures immense size was and excellent touch of keeping the intensity up throughout the film and the final act with in which we see mostly dark, but satisfying shots of the very unique and original monster that is after them.

Given the look and nature of the monster in this movie I feel like there is a lot more backstory that could be told if Bruckner wanted to, which would be amazing but even if he decides not to, The Ritual is an amazing stand alone and highly original film that definitely has staying power in the horror world.

This will no doubt be a staple in my collection that I turn to at least once a year and recommend to friends. Remember the name David Bruckner because he is a hugely talented director who I have a feeling is just getting started with making great horror movies.

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