Review of The Ritual (2017) by Tal G — 08 Apr 2018

An all around solid horror movie that just stumbles a little bit towards the end.

I adored the set up for the events of this movie. It gave the film an immediate sense of character and an emotional core, and imbued the central character with much needed personality so that we actually care about him and his friendships later on. It was just a great, tight start to a great adventure.

The movie then presents us with great, believable and realistic character interactions that make sense given what's happening. It doesn't overly dumb down the characters for them to die like idiots in a horror movie. They just believably fail in the face of an overwhelming opponent. The atmosphere is great throughout most of the movie. The tension and our emotional closeness with the characters is preserved well, mostly.

The great scenery, visuals, music, and respectable acting all come together very well. A distinct mood was created. Well done by the production. It was very impressive for a Netflix movie. I also gotta hand it to them for the monster design and realization. A beauty.

The story had a clear and coherent body. It felt well conceived, well thought out. The emotional core of the movie was utilized very well and in tune with the horror genre.

The parts where it stumbles a bit are when the cult appears. That's where some of the fear and uncertainty leave. It's just a simple case of seeing the threat too much and becoming desensitized to it.

But overall it works surprisingly well. It's consistent. It's competent. It's visually striking. It's well acted. It has a rare emotional core (for a horror movie). I enjoyed the hell out of it. Shoutout to the granny punch.