The Ritual (2017) Movie Review: A very Tense and uncertain Journey

The Ritual is a 2017 British Horror film directed by David Bruckner. The Ritual is written by Joe Barton and Adam Nevill. The movie stars Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, Sam Troughton and Paul Reid in the lead roles.

The Ritual is about a group of college friends reuniting for a trip to the forest, but they encounter a menacing presence in the woods that is stalking them when they take a wrong route.

My Review: The Ritual is a British Horror movie released on 2017. The movie revolves around a group of friends on their hiking trip to Sweden where they encounter with an evil presence which hunt them in the woods. 

The Ritual is a very tense and well made horror movie. Although the movie is not terrifying, it still manages to maintain an unsettling feeling of being followed throughout the movie. The evil presence is kept hidden for the majority of the movie which adds to the unsettling feeling of the uncertain and makes the movie more engaging and suspenseful.

I watched this movie without knowing or expecting much about the movie. But i was really captured by how well made the movie is. The movie is very atmospheric is shot beautifully in the beautiful mountain range and forests of Sweden.

The movie is very well produced. The sounds and cinematography really captures the eerie feeling of being lost in the woods. The sound design is very well done. It really gave the feeling of being inside a dense forest. The cinematography also showed the beauty of the forest and mountains in the day and the terrifying darkness and uncertainty of the night.The flashback sequences in the forest is very well done and is one of the highlights of the movie for me.

The acting in the movie is not something that stands out. But every actor did a decent job in portraying a group of friends and their banter in the beginning.

The location of the movie is really beautiful and the forest is really creepy and menacing and the cinematography enhanced the feeling of being in a forest. The Monster design is another thing that i really liked about the movie. The evil presence is kept in the shadows for most of the movie. It helped to give a tense and unsettling feeling throughout the movie. But that only adds to the excitement of fully revealing the monster at the end. And it is terrifying to look at.

Positives: The movie is well shot, Cinematography and sound design is what really kept me throughout the movie. The actors did a decent job. The monster is very well made and menacing to look at.The atmosphere and location of the movie is very beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

Negatives: The ending of the movie can be a turn off for some, but i liked it. There is no backstory to the evil presence in the woods said in the movie, but it kind of lets us feel the same uncertain feeling that the characters are feeling throughout the movie.

Overall, The Ritual is a very well made Horror Movie. If you are looking to get scared out of your mind, then this is not the movie for you. But if you like very atmospheric and unsettling stalker vibe movies, then i definitely recommend The Ritual. 

The Ritual is available on Netflix.

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