The Ritual (2018) Review
A new Netflix horror movie that combines elements from the first season of Lost and The Blair Witch Project. So, is this going to be like Open House, The Babysitter, or something new entirely?
After the death of a close friend, four buddies decide to honor is memory by going backpacking in rural Sweden. When one of them is injured, they decide to take a shortcut through the forest to get back to civilization. They soon discover there is something evil in these woods, something that won't let them leave.
What Works:
The Ritual doesn't rely on cheep jump-scares or loud blaring music to scare you. It focus on building tension and dread. The guys know something horrible is happening and it keeps getting worse and worse, brilliantly building the tension. The setting is also perfect for a scary movie, deep in an old forest. It's perfect.
The film borrows a lot of elements form the first season of Lost. It reminds me a lot of the jungle scenes where the castaways are running from the monster or the Others. But it also uses some of the scare techniques The Blair Witch Project used. It's not original, but boy is it effective.
Finally, The Ritual benefits from the characters. We really feel like these four characters are friends. We get a sense of their history through their interactions. Best of all is our protagonist Luke (Rafe Spall). He isn't very likable at first, but the films does a great job showing us his internal conflict and we grow to really like Luke. We are really rooting for him to survive. All in all, he has a great character arc.
What Sucks:
I got nothing for ya.
Verdict:
The Ritual is probably the best horror film I've seen since The VVitch. It really is a phenomenal horror movie. It isn't a comedy like The Babysitter, though it does have two or three solid laughs. It doesn't suck like The Open House. The Ritual is something different from Netflix, and I gotta say, it's got it going on.
10/10: Amazing
After the death of a close friend, four buddies decide to honor is memory by going backpacking in rural Sweden. When one of them is injured, they decide to take a shortcut through the forest to get back to civilization. They soon discover there is something evil in these woods, something that won't let them leave.
What Works:
The Ritual doesn't rely on cheep jump-scares or loud blaring music to scare you. It focus on building tension and dread. The guys know something horrible is happening and it keeps getting worse and worse, brilliantly building the tension. The setting is also perfect for a scary movie, deep in an old forest. It's perfect.
The film borrows a lot of elements form the first season of Lost. It reminds me a lot of the jungle scenes where the castaways are running from the monster or the Others. But it also uses some of the scare techniques The Blair Witch Project used. It's not original, but boy is it effective.
Finally, The Ritual benefits from the characters. We really feel like these four characters are friends. We get a sense of their history through their interactions. Best of all is our protagonist Luke (Rafe Spall). He isn't very likable at first, but the films does a great job showing us his internal conflict and we grow to really like Luke. We are really rooting for him to survive. All in all, he has a great character arc.
What Sucks:
I got nothing for ya.
Verdict:
The Ritual is probably the best horror film I've seen since The VVitch. It really is a phenomenal horror movie. It isn't a comedy like The Babysitter, though it does have two or three solid laughs. It doesn't suck like The Open House. The Ritual is something different from Netflix, and I gotta say, it's got it going on.
10/10: Amazing
Anyone who thinks The Ritual is a masterpiece is OK in my book.
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