Jeff Reviews 'The Ritual' (2017)

Reuniting after the tragic death of their friend, four college pals set out to hike through the Scandinavian wilderness. A wrong turn leads them into the mysterious forests of Norse legend, where an ancient evil exists and stalks them at every turn.

Not to be confused with 'Ritual' (2002) or 'The Ritual' (2009),  'The Ritual' (2017) is directed by David Bruckner and written by Joe Barton. It is based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Adam Nevill, and stars Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, and Sam Troughton. The film premiered in September 2017 at the Toronto International Film Festival, where its international distribution rights were sold to Netflix who quietly scooped it up for $4.75 million. The film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom by eOne Films on October 13th, 2017 and grossed over $1 million during its run. It was later released to Netflix on February 9th, 2018.

Bruckner burst upon the horror scene during the short film anthology craze that brought us 'V/H/S' with his offering the segment "Amateur Night", which lead to the feature-length 'SiREN' which further dug into the history of the shorts protagonist. Prior to this, he scrambled our brains into zombies with 'The Signal' (2007) and later took us to hell with 'Southbound' (2015). So, though not an amateur when it comes to creating mind-boggling horror, 'The Ritual' does showcase much of what he's learned over the last decade. Many of the same experiments from his previous works are on trial here and pulled off with experienced precision. 'The Ritual' is an 80's style cult creature film. It feels like a Hammer film, almost 'Wickerman' like, with plenty of friendly elements to help you feel at home. In a way its 'Blair Witch' (2017) without the found footage, very Wingard/Moorehead and Benson (Resolution) or even Ti West like. Which makes sense they all come from the same school of horror thinking. These guys are the future of horror and strongly keeping the genre alive.

As far as buddy films go we don't really get a sense of how these guys are tight, to begin with. Maybe its the cloak of death and guilt of the friend that died in the robbery, or maybe we just don't have enough time to fully develop, but the characters seem to be trapped too deeply in their own remorse or whiney disdain for this memorial hike. Still, by the climax of the film, and with the rise of the final guy, you will actually grow to like them and appreciate their quirks. A couple moments of dark levity, mostly during the film's climax, helps a lot. 'The Ritual' is not about the sacrifice, as you might want to believe, it is about the moment one becomes a follower. It is about being marked by guilt, living with regrets, seeking redemption, and ultimately maturing beyond the faults. Luke is marked by cowardice and must rise above, or grovel at the feet of a new god and become one of the villagers. It's truly a reflection of society and how we want to be seen in it.

Obviously, we want to take a moment to talk about the creature. The monster is an old god seeking worshippers and sacrifice. Its reveal is actually well done in Cloverfield fashion, with plenty of off-camera build up, to finally seeing the monster in the closing craziness, as more of a silhouette, of an amalgamation of animals in the firelight rather than an in your face CGI nightmare. Although there is still the in your face moment. It is mostly due to the director feeling it would be shirking his duty by not providing the final reveal. Thankfully this reveal mostly results in glowing eyes and Grim Reaper cowled emptiness.

The Ritual is currently available on Netflix

Warning: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS

If you haven’t seen The Ritual (now streaming on Netflix), go watch it now before continuing any further. If you have and want to know more about the Norse monster that wants your worship, continue to the information below provided by Horror Freak News ...

"In the recent creature horror The Ritual, a group of hikers in Sweden run afoul of a 'Jötunn', a somewhat ambiguous term for forest giants (also referred to as 'Risis', 'Thurs', and 'Trolls'). Despite being thoroughly grounded in Norse lore, director David Bruckner incorporated British mythology and completely original elements. The result is the coolest genre demon since Pumkinhead!" (Joshua Millican - HFN)