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.

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.

Ritual takes the often used trapped in a motel room thriller and adds in a satanic cult element but doesn't do anything original with the idea.

The intro had my hopes up with it's stylish opening and eerie credits with the gradually appearing skull mask setting the mood very well. yet as the movie carried on my interest gradually waned as each scene was a real effort to sit through. An almost totally unlikeable female lead and virtually no chemistry between the two main actors made for every exchange between them a real laborious viewing experience.

The cults masks were fairly effective but you never really got to see what they were up to. The strange use of a high pitched whine as scenes got more "intense" was a rather annoying sonic choice that for me didn't pay off. The usual horror movie foolish choices appear but you should be used to that sort of thing if you watch this sort of movie. Obvious comparisons to vacancy are likely but the two movies are almost poles apart in terms of delivery. Vacancy is almost relentless once it gets going were as Ritual is a more sedate slow burn.

The biggest problem with Ritual for me was it wasn't any fun. It was just a little too miserable and slow. Ritual is not really a bad movie but having seen it it's probably one I wish I'd waited to watch on the horror channel.

This movie is not as bad as some of the reviews I have read on here. I gave it a try and I really liked the story about the satanic cult because I think things like that are creepy and something can really happen or has happened. The movie had believable acting and build some great tension and suspense. There was also some great creepy scenes and symbolism through out the film. Also the masked used were simple, but effective enough to creep you out.Where the film falls short is some unnecessary scenes that drag on a bit and the ending was a bit unsatisfying. Overall the movie was OK and good for a one time watch. I recommend people should at least watch it once.

The trailer makes this movie look great but honestly it is not worth watching. It is extremely slow throughout the whole entire movie and was difficult to watch due to such bad acting and a boring storyline!! The creepy masks were a good idea but were not used to their full potential. Seriously nothing happens the entire time. The dialogue is really bad too, the characters have the same conversation for extended periods throughout the movie. It might have been a good short film, it could have been all fit in within 15 minutes. Even then the scary sequences aren't scary at all due to the length of time it takes for anything to happen. There needed to be a "falk in the road!"