O Ritual

The Ritual (2025) is an exorcism horror movie that is based on a true story and it is another generic ass exorcism horror movie.

Positives for The Ritual (2025): Dan Stevens and Al Pacino are giving their best with their performances. And finally, the movie is short at only 98 minutes.

Negatives for The Ritual (2025): This is another exorcism horror movie that you've seen a million times before and it plays out the same way as those other movies. There is nothing new about this one that others have done before and have done better. The side characters are boring and forgettable. The woman who is in need of an exorcism is every victim from those other exorcism movies and she acts the same way. And finally, the exorcism scene is so lame and underwhelming.

Overall, The Ritual (2025) is just as bad as every other exorcism horror movie that has been made and it will immediately fall into obscurity after you have watched it.

Based on true events. The movie was really good.

Some scenes were pretty scary, but I felt there

was no dull moment throughout the movie. Al

Pacino was pretty awesome as always. He is such

a great actor and he can play any role. I think he

played his character beautifully. Patricia Heaton

who I've seen in comedy series was awesome. It

was great seeing her n a horror movie. The rest

of the actors were great. Quite honestly, I don't

understand why this movie has a low rating. It

definitely deserves a higher rating. All in all,

it is a very good movie. Intense in some of the

scenes. The nearest theatre playing this movie was

30 minutes away. I'm glad I went.

I'm guessing that Russell Crowe was busy for this latest exercise in priestly exorcism so an hardly recognisable Al Pacino decided to have a go. He is a Capetian father drafted in to help the reluctant Fr. Joseph (Dan Stevens) with a particularly difficult task. Fr. Theophilus must help rid the poor young Emma (Abigail Cowen) of an unwanted bodily guest. His methods do not impress the rather naive young father, nor the sisters in attendance as she increasingly resorts to involuntary bleeding, foul language, violent outbursts and even the usual hanging upside down from the ceiling lamp trick whilst under relentless assault from the repetitious bible verses being read across what I counted are at least seven of those ritual attempts at expulsion. Sound familiar? Well that's because it is. Aside from Pacino turning in a slightly different style of performance from his norm, the rest of this hasn't an original bone in it's body. Indeed, its only claim to fame appears to be that it is based on the original, almost century old, transcriptions from Fr. Joseph of events that are really supposed to have happened but we've seen this all predictably play out so many times before that even the traditional collapsible bed doesn't turn an head - spiritual or metaphysically. The one element that does provoke a little interest is, perhaps, the clear indication that Catholicism in the 1920s was riddled with incantations, superstitions and a degree of symbolism that probably hadn't changed since much since there was a Borgia on the throne of St. Peter. This might work on the telly at Halloween of you're full of Grappa, but as a cinema experience it is disappointing and entirely forgettable, sorry.

Just Got Out of a Screening of The Ritual

🎥This Film is a Moving Picture of the Alleged Exorcism of Emma Schmidt/Anna Ecklund

🔁Look, it's another Exorcism Film, We've Seen These Over & Over & Over & Over & Over Again.

🙂You should pretty much know what you're going to get once you step in the Auditorium of the Cinema.

🎵It's a Less Amped Up, Powerfully Scored Film like for Instance Exorcist Believer, or a 📜Screenplay Driven Experience Like The Popes Exorcist.

📸It's more Pared Down and More of a Home Video Style Experience of an Exorcism Film because it's Shot Like That.

👍All that Said, it was a Good Watch, and it had me Constantly Interested in continuing to watch. So the Film did it's Job, as far as I'm concerned.

👍Dan Stevens & Al Pacino, put in Good Performances. Abigail Cowen😳👌 Puts in an Excellent Performance, it must of Been Rough to act as if Possessed by Such a Thing.

So Overall, again, you already know what this Film is.

The Ritual (2025): Al Pacino has previously played the Devil so it's refreshing to see him bat for the opposing team in The Ritual where he is cast as Exorcist Father Theophilus Riesinger, an elderly Capuchin priest. The film is set in 1928, another priest, Fr Joseph Steiger (Dan Stevens) is prevailed upon to assist in the exorcism in his parish at a convent of Franciscan Sisters. Steiger and the nuns will assist in the exorcism. The possessed woman, Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen), isn't the only disturbed spirit about, Riesinger and Steiger clash over methods to be used, Steiger being a man of science, seeks a medical explanation. Very much an Exorcism Procedural where the various Rituals are gone through in correct order. Some convincing scenes of horror with Poltergeist effects. Nuns bitten, bashed and half-scalped by Emma, Also levitation and Emma knowing more than she should. She even licks Steiger's arm and suggests that he has the hots for Sister Rose (Ashley Greene). Interestingly it is filmed through a dark filter where every scene is in a permanent state of twilight. A few plot twists and information being withheld by a protagonist influences the unfolding of the narrative. Nothing really new here, not a great Exorcist film but not a bad one either. Based on a true story. Directed by David Midell, Written by Midell and Enrico Natale. 6.5/10.