The Ritual

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Jason L The Ritual delivers a great spin on the Wendigo myth. Its only notable flaw is repetition. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/25/25 Full Review TI H This movie is for those of you who wanted to like BLAIR WITCH but did not. THE RITUAL and BLAIR WITCH are very similar wilderness survival stories, except THE RITUAL eventually shows you the threat. In my opinion, the personal conflicts in BLAIR WITCH were more visceral, more believable. In the RITUAL, we see four male hikers in possession of a very, very useful compass and an effective map. Their problems do not arise from becoming lost, for they are never lost, but you will be happy to know these dudes still make bad decisions. Those decisions delay them in enemy territory for far too long. At night, they become hunted by something. . .unique. The story doesn't go quite as I anticipated, resulting in a refreshing twist on the timeworn idea of a sadistic witch in the woods. I can't especially fault the film, but I give it only 3.5 stars. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/22/25 Full Review Ash P Based on the book of the same name, we have the Ritual, where we see four friends, hiking through a forest in honor of their friend where things get freaky. This is a psychological horror film that themes around witchcraft, surrounding itself with Nordic folklore in the Scandinavian mountain range, with the theme of doubt when it came to their friends death. Before we get into this review any further, I remembered watching a Short on YouTube that showed what the monster of the movie looked like. I had done a little research on it and as it turns out, it's practically an offspring to a Norse god and it's specific to this movie alone. I won't say anything else because it is something you should watch yourself to either be amazed or find it silly. The four friends are Luke, played by Rafe Spall, Phil, played by Arsher Ali, Hutch, played by Robert James-Collier, and Dom, played by Sam Troughton, who hike in honor of their friend through collage, Rob, played by Paul Reid, after his death when Rob and Luke went into a liquor store that was being robbed six months prior. As they traverse through the forest of Sweden, things get freaky surrounding them. Like seeing an elk hung up in the trees with its middle open, running into a lodge with signs of witchcraft, even some buried campsite that was from the 1980s, and experiencing dreams that make them freak the hell out. Especially Luke when he keeps seeing the events of the liquor store where Rob was killed. The freaky stuff does work well since the four are isolated within the forest of Sweden and are effective enough for that supernatural feel. A dead giveaway that occultism was also involved when you even see human bodies being displayed on the trees. Makes the atmosphere good. Although, I will admit, about sixty-five percent is when these four good fellows would mostly bicker at times. One of them would still blame Luke for Rob's death. Does work for how the theme of doubt works since Luke couldn't help but blame himself, too. That could go the same for the dialogue. Like take a shot every time you hear them drop the F bomb. Actually, don't do that. You'll die of alcohol poisoning for that. I mean, it doesn't offend me or anything, as someone who does curse like a sailor most of the time. It's just comical that these four would bicker even after things get freaky the further they're deep in the forest. As far as the design of the creature that's in this movie, it looks interesting for what they were going for. Again, the creature, whom I don't wanna spoil too much, is an offspring of Loki, the Norse god of trickery. Makes sense on why it's messing with the four good fellows' heads. They used a mix of practical and digital effects. Wire work and a practical monster head for close-ups while the creature itself was completed with CGI. It does depend on how you feel about it as a whole. To me, it's interesting for it being what the production crew has made that's outside of Nordic mythology and why it's worshiped. Now for the cinematography, the range of the mountains and the depths of the forest are incredible. Something that works when it's a decent low-budget B movie that'll make it believable. The acting is pretty good for being a believable troupe between the four college friends who are just going on a hike in honor of their friend before things have gone bump in the night. It's a decent supernatural horror movie that I'd say is worth checking out. At times, you might get a little bored, but that's pretty much all I have to say about this movie. I had a decent time with it and maybe you'll have a decent time, too. With that said, I'm gonna give it seven Phil on the floor naked, worshiping this idol in the lodge, possessed out of ten. 7/10. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/17/25 Full Review Will G A horror film that's genuinely unsettling and scary. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/10/25 Full Review Some G. It started off just fine. A little tropey but, that’s to be expected from a lot of horror films. The characters fit the typical archetypes, but lacked depth and weren’t much more than that: an archetype. The creature wasn’t quite what I expected, but that’s more of a personal gripe rather than a critique of the film. What absolutely killed it for me though was the ending. Zero resolution and, IMO, incredibly anticlimactic. Of your a horror fanatic who loves the tropes, this is probably a fine watch. For me though, it was very underwhelming and predictable. Which is a shame because I think it could have had potential if it wasn’t so poorly executed. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/08/25 Full Review Troy R Has everything I love: interesting characters, good cinematography, a creature, and a tie in to folk lore. Not much bad to say about the film its just not perfect. I will say watching this film for the second time high, was a trip. The amazing mixing of the two different worlds, ughh so good. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/07/25 Full Review Read all reviews

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