Movielogr
The Ritual (2017)
Directed by David Bruckner
Twitter Facebook Google+Most recently watched by sleestakk, archstanton43, zombiefreak
Overview
A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest, but encounter a menacing presence in the woods that’s stalking them.
Rated R | Length 94 minutes
Actors
Rafe Spall | Arsher Ali | Robert James-Collier | Sam Troughton | Paul Reid | Matthew Needham | Jacob James Beswick | Maria Erwolter | Hilary Reeves | Peter Liddell | Francesca Mula | Kerri McLean | Gheorghe Mezei | Adriana Macsut | Constantin Codrea | Zane Jarcu
Viewing History (seen 2 times)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/28/2023 | Home Theater | Streaming | Video on Demand | 7.5 stars |
| 02/10/2018 | Home Theater | Streaming | Video on Demand | 7 stars |
| (Average) 7.25 stars |
Viewing Notes
My selection for seventh film of the Scream, Secret Cinema, Scream! horror marathon is a more recent Netflix original that sadly has no physical media release. While Netflix does occasionally release stuff on disc, I doubt this one is anywhere near top of the list. Which is too bad because this is a great little fish-out-of-water horror film. After the setup it starts to lean into a man-vs-nature thriller via a four man backpacking trip in rural Sweden to honor the memory of a deceased fifth friend.
The usual character missteps that lead them deeper into trouble via injuries, bad decisions, and group infighting give way to a much more unsettling folk horror as the trip progresses. The horror notes stay in the background, until they don’t, via nicely subtle sounds, hints, glimpses and impressions, some of which you may even miss the first time around.
The final act goes all-in in suitably horrific fashion and is a nice culmination of all the build-up during the rest of the movie. This is a film that definitely benefits from multiple watches.
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