Ritual

Not long before watching this film, I took a nice long dump. Never did I imagine that would be the highlight of watching this movie. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Please do not waste your time on the unintelligent protagonist or her dimwitted accomplice. The little story that is present in this film advances at the mighty pace of a disabled snail. It would have been very kind for the director to have poured a healthy dose of salt upon said snail, instead the creative direction of the film has him crawl across a southern Walmart parking lot in high sun of July. By the time our mighty snail (this film) finally did meet its overdue end, I had long been praying that a kind shopper would just run over it after fulfilling their family's weekly grocery and household needs. I think the actual story of such a snail would have been more interesting than the film as presented.

You know how DJs do remixes of artists songs and many times these turn out to be better than the original? Well, this movie needs a remix. Buried within Ritual lies a film which probably could have been harrowing and intense, if they'd used much better actors, and much better direction. There were some decent scenes in it, and the use of atmospheric music worked quite well, but many times it just seemed apparent that it could have been improved on....vastly. Of course we have the (now common) 9 and 10 star fake reviews here from people involved with the movie, and hopefully someday we can lose this crap forever on IMDb (I won't hold my breath though). I guess you get better at reading between the lines however to fish out the REAL reviews if you've been around this site for a long time. Ritual isn't a bad movie, but it's not a good movie either. Sometimes it has long, drawn out, parts which seem to sit as padding, other times it jolts from one scene to another. Other scenes make little sense. For example, the main female role is being chased in the dark by two masked men, she hurts her foot, then sits screaming giving away her location. If you were being chased in the dark and managed to evade capture a while, would you then start screaming? Nope, me neither. It's the classic fault of so many horror movies - idiots doing things you would never do in real life.

If you want to kill a couple of hours Ritual isn't the worst film out there, once you get past it's slow start. But it just about manages to hold your attention. And for the fake reviewer here who suggested that someone who gave a negative review might be "retarded" that's simply not nice. Most of us review a film honestly, and there are many of us who are very passionate about the horror genre. If you get mixed reviews of a movie you've made - learn from them. Especially if the film is one of your first. Don't attack people because you think you know better. It's the viewer you're pitching to, not yourself. And Ritual showed promise for now. But really it should have been better.

OK, this movie is far from perfect. BUT, I found it entertaining... and it actually got better as it went along... really picking up about midway through... and the ending was just right for me. It definitely didn't go where I was expecting with some lame 'twist'. People have mentioned that it feels 'padded'... and I agree that the first section, in the motel room, feels too long for what's going on. In general I like slower paced horrors though, so it's not that it was 'boring'... just that the script was kind of weak in those moments. It needed something more. I'm guessing that if they'd had more money to throw at it that portion would have been a lot shorter and the action in the last third would have been more extensive cat-n-mouse.

I'll mention that I think the acting and camera/lighting work was really good throughout. The script and editing were the real problems. Also, the choice of actors, especially for the unmasked cultists, was pretty great... those faces had character and I liked the implications that the cult was mostly blue-collar guys who led otherwise normal lives.

This is the most frustrating film I have ever watched. When the plot finally decides to drag it's way to a point, it makes that point multiple times and lingers on every shot just to drive it home. You could easily cut 45 minutes off the beginning and not miss anything crucial to the storyline. Even the transitions crawl at a mind numbing pace. The characters are boring, and unbelievably stupid, the dialog is boring, the title is boring. This isn't the so bad it's good type of film, this is painful to watch. This movie is wasting your time and relishes in it.

Oh and the female protagonist's name is Lovely.

"Ritual" is a neat little scary movie with a simple plot held together by a very interesting style and strong performances overall. The story takes its time to get where going but suspense always builds with the help of a unique soundtrack and solid delivery by the husband and wife characters. The fuzzy, lingering camera shots create an uneasiness and there are a couple of great WTF moments before the cult arrives (particularly one involving a very creepy doll). I think the most interesting thing about this film is that I never really knew where the movie was going, even when it ended up where you might expect!

Overall, this movie is a great gem for fans of the horror genre and those looking for a unique experience.

*******/10