The Ritual review: An atmospheric and well-crafted horror flick
By Matt Conway
The Ritual’s unsettling atmosphere and assured craftsmanship make up for it’s contrived script.
Horror films are a dime a dozen, which makes it even harder for most of these flicks to stand out. For every great success like The Conjuring or Get Out, there are dozens of other films that either suffer from a lack of quality or a lack of profit. This fact is what makes Netflix a great home for genre films, as many offbeat horror flicks can instantly find a wider audience.
The latest Netflix horror flick is The Ritual. Based on a novel, the film follows a group of friends who go on a hike in remembrance of their dead friend. When they try to take a shortcut on the way back, the group gets caught by a spiritual force that begins to haunt them.
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The Ritual is sure to both surprise and frustrate its audience. From a visceral standpoint, it’s a wonderfully crafted horror film that builds an intense atmosphere. Sadly though, it doesn’t have the narrative nor emotional backbone to be truly great.
Director David Bruckner has contributed to horror anthology films in the past, but this is his first opportunity to truly take the reigns. After jump-starting the film with an emotional punch, Bruckner spends most of the film building up a sense of atmosphere. A combination between his eerie imagery and the tense score creates a lot of tense environment. Bruckner also does a good job of building up the mystery as to what is going on, leaving audiences on the edge of their seat searching for answers.
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The Ritual succeeds as a horror film because it doesn’t pull any punches. While sparing, Bruckner’s use of blood and gore sends a haunting message. There are some shocking images that are sure to stick with audiences long after viewing the film. Its visceral effect also aids the movie’s psychological horror, as the characters’ minds begin to unravel.
Performance-wise, the respectable cast are an improvement over most horror films. Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, and Sam Troughton all give naturalistic performances. The problem is, Joe Barton’s screenplay doesn’t give these actors very much to work with. Aside from a trite arch involving Spall’s guilt, none of these characters have much in terms of background or personality. This makes the characters feel disposable, with the audience not really caring when they begin to push daises.
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The Ritual is masterful at creating a sense of mystery, but once the film reveals the cards up its sleeve, it gets significantly less interesting. The actually answer as to why everything is happening ultimately proves to be unsatisfying, and the final act as a whole suffers because of it. The film doesn’t end with the bang that a horror movie should.
Even with noticeable flaws, The Ritual is an effective horror film that leaves a memorable impression. This is certainly one of the better original films Netflix has released so far.