The Ritual

At first, I thought like I was watching a more technically advanced version of the Blair Witch Project (and that’s not that difficult to achieve, let’s be honest here). Fortunately, this film gets more interesting, turning a bush craft horror into a proper fantasy one with Scandinavian gods, which elevated it to a new level. Marvel movies aside, not everyone dares to invite the Viking gods from Valhalla into their movie. It always seems strange, ethereal. And they made a good use of it in this movie. It does give Sweden a bit of a backwoods feel, but still better than if it took place in the Czech Giant Mountains. (14/05/2020)

Due to a new job opportunity, I've had the opportunity to spend 2 days hiking through the Scandinavian wilderness. Before I did, I was advised to watch this piece for light "acclimatization" :-) I admit that it added a certain authenticity to the uneasiness and fear, because our woods after all end in a friendly village over the hill and an icy shower coupled with really bad weather is a bit rarer here. The behavior of the frustrated travelers was logical within limits, and you have to give credit to the fact that it is the invisible and yet clearly audible evil that robs you of sleep. 3/4 of the time you get chills down your spine and elsewhere, only to end up with a psychotic/action-film ending full of exaggerated occultism solidly kill the wonderfully constructed atmosphere. Considering how well made horror movies have been lately, the creators of Ritual have managed to conjure up a worthy representative of the genre. (11/05/2022)

It's a bit of a surprise to me that such a good horror film came from the UK, because I've recently become accustomed to seeing films from there that are almost at the C level. At least in the horror genre, anyway. However, The Ritual perfectly shows that there are filmmakers in the UK who know how to make a horror film. David Bruckner has the skills to do that. You can find good films in his filmography even before The Ritual. (30/03/2018)

Ninety percent of this movie’s runtime comprises a very minimalist horror story working mainly with sound. A scary forest, witchcraft and an ancient demon whose concealment rouses the audience’s fear and imagination. The Ritual is a goose-bumps-inducing adventure for those who like to watch this type of thing over and over (this time you will be reminded of The Blair Witch Project and Predator). [Sitges FF] (08/10/2017)

A technically solid trek through a Swedish forest, and when three reindeer meet, the joy multiplies and intestines hang from branches. Unfortunately, the acting is wooden, the tempo is very slow and there is not much originality or intensity in the first two thirds. The final third is quite sharp thanks to the Jötunn-redneck mash-up, but still hardly makes a dent. Netflix could slowly produce these "so-so" movies on an assembly line. (13/03/2018)