phancy.com - horror reviews - MOH 2019

The Ritual



IMDb Info

Release Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 34min
Country: USA, Canada
Language: English, Swedish
Genre Tags: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Plot Summary: A group of old college friends reunite for a trip to a forest in Sweden, Northern Europe, but encounter a menacing presence there stalking them.

Poster - Title Card


phancy.com rating:

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Outside Reviews:

Simon Abrams
2 out of 4 stars - rogerebert.com

But then the needlessly drawn-out macho conclusion arrives in time to drive home an especially obnoxious trope: men who bully, fight, and punch their way past their feelings are somehow more fit to survive than anyone who thinks, or feels their way into a problem. "The Ritual" is, ultimately, a lousy movie where man tries to not feel guilty, then encounters his sublimated emotions in the form of a strange wood-land happening, and then must fight his way past those knotty emotions.


Mike D'Angelo
Grade: C - The Ritual is a chore

The Ritual coincidentally shares certain elements with this year’s midnight Sundance sensation, Mandy, but is nowhere near as demented or singular. It’s just another formulaic booga-booga, achieving less in 95 minutes than its maker usually manages in 30.