[Once again I'm going to attempt to do a horror(ish) movie review a day for the entire month of October. I've done this the last few years on The Cleveland Movie Blog. Most of the time I succeeded (usually with the help of a few other writers). Other times I didn't. We'll see if I can pull it off this year.]
After a night out drinking with friends, Rob (Paul Reid) and
Luke (Rafe Spall, SHAUN OF THE DEAD,
HOT FUZZ) walk into a convenience
store just as it is being robbed. Luke manages to hide, but the robbers spot
Rob and demand he turn over his valuables. He’s fine with that until they ask
for his wedding ring, and his refusal winds up getting him killed.
Six months later, Luke and the rest of Rob’s friends – Phil (Arsher
Ali), Hutch (Robert James-Collier, Thomas Barrow on ‘Downton Abbey’), and Dom
(Sam Troughton) reunite for a hiking trip in Sweden, something Rob had suggested
they do together before he died. Luke is still dealing with guilt over not
preventing Rob’s death, and at least some of his friends blame him, although they
don’t say anything.
While on the hike, Dom suffers an injury. The cocky Hutch consults
his map and decides they’ll get back to civilization sooner if they take an off-trail
shortcut. Yeah, that’s always a good idea when you’re in an unfamiliar forest.
Once off the trail the guys discover a gutted animal carcass
that’s obviously been put on display, and strange symbols carved into the
trees. The shortcut turns out to be not quite so short, and they have to spend
the night in the woods. And what better place to do that than a seemingly
abandoned cabin that has a weird wooden statue of a headless human torso with
antler hands, not to mention more of those strange symbols?
Not exactly a recipe for a good night’s sleep. And indeed,
it isn’t, as everyone experiences vivid nightmares, complete with physical manifestations.
After this creepy and atmospheric setup, things only get
worse for the intrepid travelers. There’s something in the woods stalking them,
not to mention a village inhabited by whatever the pagan Swedish equivalent of
the hillbillies from DELIVERANCE
are. Things quickly become very tense, and there’s no guarantee that anyone
will get out alive.
Director David Bruckner makes good use of his wilderness
setting to keep his horrors hidden, but not entirely
hidden, for most of the film. The cast is superb, and I especially enjoyed
seeing James-Collier in a different role after spending so much time with him
on ‘Downton’. He still plays kind of an asshole here, but a different kind of
asshole.
Screenwriter Joe Barton has kept much of the action from the
Adam Nevill novel this is based on, but the things he has changed are significant.
Most notably, adding the subplot about Rob being killed, and the guilt and
tensions that arise from that, gives the film more of a THE DESCENT feel, and of course brings in some different themes
than were in the book.
Regardless, THE RITUAL
is a pretty solid little horror flick. It’s smart, serious minded, and polished
without being too polished. The monster,
which draws on Norse mythology, is original and scary, and the special effects
are well executed. It’s on Netflix, so if you’re a subscriber and a horror fan,
there’s no reason not to check it out.
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