Review of The Ritual (2017) by Richard D — 25 Oct 2018
Four college friends reunite for a vacation hiking in Sweden after their friend dies brutally when he stumbles upon the robbery of a liquor store. When one of the four injures his knee, they decide to take a shortcut back to civilization through thick woods.
There's bad mojo in them woods, and the four of them are soon running for their lives while a ... presence ... picks them off one by one. This flick is an interesting blend of elements. The theme of being lost in the woods and the witchcraft inspired relics they run across immediately invokes "The Blair Witch Project", but this is a higher budget film that is not a found footage film.
The fact that it has the basic structure of a body count film makes it feel like a slasher film, only the nature of the threat is very different from your average slasher film. The threat is wisely concealed until the climax, but when you finally see it face to face .
.. it's original. There are other themes thrown in here ... one of the four was there when their friend was killed and couldn't help, so there are some deep seated fears and resentments going on .
.. but at it's heart, this is an extremely well-executed suspense machine that uses it's creepy woodland setting very well.
This review of The Ritual (2017) was written by Richard D on 25 Oct 2018.
The Ritual has generally received positive reviews.
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