My official SPOILER FREE review of: THE RITUAL (2017)
Reviewed by:Jimmy Ray Davis
Reuniting after the tragic death of their friend, four college pals set out to hike through the Scandinavian wilderness. A wrong turn leads them into the mysterious forests of Norse legend, where an ancient evil exists and stalks them at every turn.
Allow me to open with, “I was mesmerized by this film.” The blending of drama, deep woods, legend, creature and cult form one fantastic quilt of unrefined horror. At the forefront is the beautiful shot on location scenes which are lensed exquisitely and the top-notch characterization acted brilliantly by the cast. It made me think that while these two elements do not NEED to be exemplified to make a decent horror film when they are in place it just adds so very much to the overall scheme. Another great job here is the pacing which meanders for just a moment before kicking into high gear and never letting up. My enjoyment was also enhanced by the creepy inclusion of legend and ritual done to perfection. Finale wise while maybe a touch drawn out makes for a solid finish finding ground between typical cliche tropes and inexplicable non-ending.
It should first be touched upon that the opening moments in which a friend is killed in a robbery are crucial to the interaction of our main characters later on. As for the guys, Luke, Hutch, Dom, and Phil are fleshed out and uncharacteristically defined for a horror film. Dom (Sam Troughton) is the whiner, Phil (Archer Ali) is the neurotic, Luke (Rafe Spall) is the jerk, and Hutch (Robert James-Collier) is the leader, strong and confident. At least that’s how they are presented initially. Here, however, is where the film really goes the extra mile by taking those standardized sub-types and giving them real meat while turning the typical and mundane on its ear. I found all of the characters basically likable but I’ll bet like me you will start out not liking Luke very much. Guess what, later on, he will become your favorite and that is part of the magic of the writing herein. All of the actors perform splendidly but I found Rafe Spall a tour-de-force. Pigeon-holed into being considered a coward by his inactions (not exactly a fair take) in the aforementioned robbery, he climbs out of this normal horror character staple and shows bravery and complexity in a revelatory performance.
The scenery here is not simply delightful but a real companion piece to the story itself. The pub and the city, the mountains of Sweden, the dark forests of Norway and the strange homes and villages everything is portrayed in clean crisp strokes, never distracting but always tantalizing the eye. The slow build of suspense is enhanced here as well as the film gets ominously darker as we progress not just representing the under canopy of the forest but the dark heart of evil as well.
Moving at a methodical pace, the film doesn’t meander for long yet also doesn’t move too frenetically finding a really nice middle ground groove that allows the viewer to take everything in and really soak it up. The incorporation of cult, legend, and ritual are not forced and wisely obsequiously portrayed as to keep an air of mystery without giving away to much or force-feeding the audience. I also appreciated the less is more approach until the end which made the movie scarier, creepier and more of a treat to finally see what has been out of full-on sight until the conclusion. Some elements in the last third come dangerously close to convolution and it almost seems the film will collapse under its own quiet, grandiose weight but it doesn’t remaining instead buoyed by a smart script and the performance of Spall. In fact, the film never lets you forget that horror or not, ritual or not this IS Luke’s story. From his wisecracking, assinine suspected cowardice beginnings to his slow realization of what’s happening to his will, bravery, and action to come.
In summation I would have to give kudos, props, and all that jazz to Netflix for coming up with a winner, a crack team of cast and crew, cinematography that bleeds like art and a story that worms inside your mind and keeps you pondering over it. On the downside, some early pacing issues, occasional character action and dialogue mishaps (minor and very few), and a finale that almost implodes yet rights itself beautifully is not enough to bring this one down. I really liked this movie. A lot. But I loved the story of Luke and how his adventure played out. I highly recommend this one to all.
4.5 of 5 stars
