In The Ritual, V/H/S’ David Bruckner looks to dish out a tense, terror-laced effort that ticks off plentiful horror tropes as a group of friends then themselves isolated in the wilderness. Does the picture succeed, or does it ultimately leave its audience feeling as stranded and clueless as its key players? Let’s find out.
Where the plot’s concerned, The Ritual opens with a group of five middle-aged male pals discussing their options for a possible holiday. Each offering differing views, and Paul Reid’s Rob suggests a Swedish hiking adventure. For poor Rob, however, any sort of jaunts and jollies are soon taken off the table when he and Rafe Spall’s Luke inadvertently end up in the centre of an off-licence hold-up. Quicker than you can scream “hit him with the vodka bottle!”, Rob is brutally killed while Luke watches on. Fast forward to a few months after this tragedy, and we find the four surviving pals – Robert James-Collier’s Hutch, Sam Troughton’s Dom and Asher Ali’s Phil joining Luke – making a pilgrimage of sorts to the Swedish countryside. Having made a toast to their fallen buddy, a turn in the weather prompts the foursome to make the poorly-judged call of taking a shortcut through the eerie, desolate woods. Clever, eh? Nope, not clever at all, as odd happenings, eerie dreams, and an increasingly-close lurking presence soon descend upon these lifelong pals.
The first thing that instantly grabs you about The Ritual is the kinship and camaraderie shared by the film’s key players. Rarely has the relationship between a group of friends seemed so natural in a movie, with the initial five never afraid to poke fun at each other, and often spending the majority of their time ridiculing their nearest and dearest in a way that feels utterly authentic. Of course, it’s not all laughs and figurative dead arms, and those quips and putdowns soon begin to dry up as the terror of their situation begins to take hold. And terror is most certainly here, with director Bruckner doing a largely brilliant job of building tension. Helping that out marvellously is the simply mesmerising location used, with Romania filling in for Sweden and giving a truly fantastic sense of scope when it comes to just how stranded and out of civilisation our central group is. Added to this, Joe Barton’s script – itself adapted from Adam Nevill’s 2011 novel of the same name – does well to highlight the elements of guilt, grief and even blame felt by its core players following the death of Rob, with these true feelings coming more to the fore as the tale unravels.
Unfortunately, The Ritual begins to lose its way a little as the film staggers to its conclusion, making its final act seem dragged-out, underwhelming, and even a little predictable. And it’s the predictability of The Ritual that is its ultimate undoing, with the movie essentially feeling a little ‘we’ve seen it all before’ by the time the twists and turns are laid bare. Still, that’s not to say that this is a total dud – far from it, in fact – but it just lacks any real sense of adventure or unique ideas, failing to capitalise on an interesting opening and leaving you with a sense of what could’ve been.
Special Features: Cast and crew interviews
THE RITUAL / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: DAVID BRUCKNER / SCREENPLAY: JOE BARTON / STARRING: RAFE SPALL, ROBERT JAMES-COLLIER, SAM TROUGHTON, ARSHER ALI, PAUL REID / RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 9TH (NETFLIX), FEBRUARY 12TH (DVD)
