The Ritual
released 2017
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“The Ritual” is a British, horror film that was actually filmed in Romania. It is based on a novel by Adam Nevill. It was produced by Andy Serkis and directed by David Bruckner. Adam Nevill and Joe Barton wrote the screenplay. It stars 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 and many others.

“The Ritual” is the story of college friends getting together to go hiking in Sweden even though they did not want  to. They all decide to go hiking in memory of a friend of theirs who died as a bystander in a robbery while they were going out on the town. These are older friends with established careers who really don´t see themselves as adventurers or outdoors people for that matter but they go anyway. Things get strange as they hike deeper into the woods of Sweden. They see strange symbols carved on trees, animal bodies carved up and hanging upside down and they rightfully get worried. It´s when they try to leave the woods that we realise they´re in some deep sh*t.

This is your classic horror film with characters who are trapped in a bad situation and trying to get away. The characters are trapped and we, the audience, are trapped with them and that´s what makes for a good horror picture. This movie combines elements like an ancient cult of long lived people who are kept by an ancient Scandinavian god (called a jötunn) and the mysterious forest it rules over. This story ultimately deals with parts of ourselves we would rather not look at, in this case it´s unwarranted guilt. One fun fact, according to internet sources, is that the symbol on the tree in the beginning of the film is called the Othala and basically means – property. I´m guessing as in private property and ownership. The strange people in the forest are not only long lived but they are also the property the god of the forest.

I really think that at the heart of this movie is the terrifying feeling of survivor´s guilt. The characters are trying to lay to rest a friend of theirs who died while they were all out together and they feel horribly guilty. Anyone of them could have died that day and there was nothing they could have done about it. So why was it them that survived? They must be asking themselves.

This is a good horror film with a good story and weird twists and turns in the story. I recommend it as a must see and own.

Written by John 

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