The Ritual [DVD] [2017]

This is a very good movie. The acting is superb, and the story keeps you on the edge of your seat! My only complaint (as an American) is that it isn't Region 1. But it's such a good flick that I actually bought a Region Free player to watch it. I also purchased "The Private Life of Plants" with David Attenborough, and these are the only Non-Region 1 discs that I own. For me to go out, and purchase a dedicated player to watch these items should tell you all that you need to know.

Wish I could have got it in region 1 format.

Under appreciated movie, very creepy

I love this movie but forgot to pay attention to the DVD region and now it's completely useless to me. I can't watch it. It's my fault technically, but I think they should put that info front and center or just not sell non-USA regions to a customer in the USA. Be smarter than me, folks.

It's very fun to watch and gets intense !

A great Netflix Original creature feature! This film really kept me on my toes. It never leads where you’d expect, but always tends to satisfy with its dark atmosphere and the mysterious evil force in the woods.After the tragic death of a close friend, a group of old college friends reunite for hiking expedition in northern Sweden approaching Norway—a venue chosen by their lost comrade.Cast: Rafe Spall (Prometheus, Shaun of the Dead), Paul Reid (Vikings), Sam Troughton (Slumber, AVP: Alien vs Predator), Robert James-Collier and Arsher Ali. They all did a great, credible job as characters doing their best in a horrible situation, lost in the woods.The consequence of a twisted knee, they are forced to take a shortcut home—bisecting the forest and cutting their trip in half in order to get their hurt friend to medical aid. Of course, this is the worst idea in horror movie history! LOL. Short cuts all too often result in death. In fact, there’s an entire horror franchise named for such time-saving strategies… Wrong Turn (2003-2014; 6 films and counting, and they never turn out well).All the typical clichés befall this film. But I appreciate their execution. They never feel tired or stale because everything is delivered naturally. Their compass stops working, but no one makes a fuss—things break, after all, so no need for commotion. The woods get eerily quiet—but four chatty blokes in the woods might quiet the few active late-Fall birds and miles of trees could absorb some sound. They take selfies—but acknowledge their own silliness. We all know they’re in for something bad, but nothing is overly staged for forced upon us. Things creep up, they build, and we are never really sure where this ride is taking us.Of course, things get a little weird after they stumble across a ritualistically gutted and suspended elk carcass (think Event Horizon or Predator) and then take shelter in a creepy witch house surrounded by wood-etched glyphs. Between the opening and end of the first act, this feels a lot like Blair Witch (both the new Blair Witch and Book of Shadows) meets The Descent… but it won’t lead where you expect. Loving the pacing, characters, execution and atmosphere all the way, you’re embarking on a delightfully weird path with this film.The creature effects are solid! You never see much of the monster, but what you do see looks awesome and effective. It’s not something we’ve seen before in horror (at least, not that I’m aware), and it looks pretty cool!Director David Bruckner (The Signal, V/H/S segment “Amateur Night”, Southbound) has a good filmography and I’ve enjoyed everything he’s done… but he was really hitting above his weight on this one! Likable characters, creepy atmosphere, unique monster… to be fair, things get REALLY weird, but only in ways I enjoyed.

An annual vacay shared among five old friends takes on an unprecedented form when they opt for a hike through the Swedish wood, the very hike the one friend who isn't there to take with them wanted to take. He's the friend who was killed during a liquor store hold-up that two of them walked in on. Thus the hike becomes a memorial. By hike's end there's more than one man to memento his mori. They come across witchcraft of a singular and scary kind in these woods: an ungodly creature made up of both man and beast, and yet god's bastard.

The first 75% of this movie is really quite atmospheric and creepy. The look of the forest, the sounds, the colors...it was all incredibly scary. Obviously, we both noticed the similarities to The Blair Witch (minus the found footage), but I actually found The Ritual to be far more suspenseful and compelling.I read another review which compared this film to The Descent. Aside from each movie having 4 main characters, I'm not sure I understand the comparison.Anyway, as is typical with horror movies, the final 25% was more than a little ridiculous. I could think of 10 different directions the movie could have taken, and they all would have been better than what I watched on the screen. Having said that, this is worth watching. The acting is decent and the filming location was perfect to bring on the goosebumps.