A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest, but encounter a menacing presence in the woods that’s stalking them.
Genre : Horror
Country : UK
Cast :
Rafe Spall : Luke
Arsher Ali : Phil
Robert James-Collier : Hutch
Sam Troughton : Dom
Director :
David Bruckner
My opinion on “The Ritual”
“He was a good man.
The best of us.
It should never have happened.
But it did…
And all we can do is remember him.
Robert, we miss you, mate.”
“The Ritual” is a British horror that takes place in a Swedish forest where four friends go on a hike in honor of a deceased friend. After seeing so many films where a dark forest provides terrifying and life-threatening situations, I made a decision. I’ll never spend a weekend somewhere in a forest far from the civilized world in my life. Much too dangerous. In addition, it’s also certain that I’ll watch more of those Netflix Originals. Because these films, which are sometimes turned down by big film companies, really aren’t so bad.
An adventurous hike turns into a survival trip.
“The Ritual“, however, wasn’t a complete success. The first part is without a doubt the most impressive. A continuous feeling of threat and desperation, because this piece of pure nature doesn’t seem to be completely deserted. Before they know it, those four city boys, Luke (Rafe Spall), Dom (Sam Troughton), Hutch (Rob James-Collier) and Phil (Arsher Ali), make some bizarre and disturbing discoveries. And this because of an incident with Dom hurting his knee. They decide to take a short cut through the woods. Due to a storm they get lost in this Scandinavian forest rather quickly. They spend the night in a deserted wooden cabin (well, cabins in the woods usually house something bad as we know) where they discover a kind of occult statue and experience a night full of frightening nightmares. And that’s the moment this adventurous hike slowly turns into a survival trip.
An entity and guilt feelings. That’s what’s troubling them.
It’s not only a mysterious entity these gentlemen have to worry about. Inner, personal demons are also involved. Especially Luke, who’s still troubled by guilt about the incident where Robert (Paul Reid), the fifth member of this friend’s club, lost his live. This creates surrealist delusions and you’ll see the interior of the night shop being projected into the threatening forest. And gradually, reproaches about this are also expressed by the others. The things that were never pronounced, emerge under these traumatic circumstances. And this creates an even more intense atmosphere.
On to the next Netflix Original.
Unfortunately, the denouement isn’t of the same level as the first part. The fact that it’s not about demonic forces (such as in “Evil Dead” or “The Blair witch Project“) but something ancient and primitive, is pretty disappointing. The final run is still exciting enough though. I thought this movie was a mix of “Razorback” and “The VVitch“. The title of the film partially explains what it is about. And to be honest, I thought the create was original and the CGI section looked professional. But despite the devilish atmosphere and the excellent camera work (without using excessive amounts of special effects), it still felt like a missed opportunity. There are a lot of situations that you’ve seen before in sortlike movies. And many stupid decisions were made even though they were (in my opinion) highly educated fellows. And finally, at some pont I thought they were kind of annoying who don’t want to work together in a constructive way. But despite everything, I certainly won’t neglect other Netflix Originals. That would be a stupid decision.
The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie material being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Genre: Horror
Release Date: 6 October 2023 in theaters / 27 October 2023 on Shudder
Director: Demián Rugna
Writer: Demián Rugna
Distributed by: IFC Films & Shudder
Production Companies: Shudder, Aramos Cine & Machaco Films
Thanksgiving | Official Trailer — In Theaters November 17, 2023
After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday.
The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie material being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Genre:
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Release Date:
November 17, 2023
Director:
Eli Roth
Cast:
Patrick dempsey, Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon, Addison Rae
Plot Summary:
After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday.
The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie material being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Plot
When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.
Sophie Wilde as Mia (A24)
Movie Review
The movie starts off with quite a shocker, leaving you with a few questions. It doesn’t take too long to get into the action and soon you realize you are in for quite a scare. In a nutshell, the movie is about a group of friends playing a timed game where the communicate with the dead using an embalmed hand, and allow the dead to speak through them, with the emphasis on timed. However, as with all rules, some end up broken, and when the game goes on a little too long things go south, resulting in far reaching consequences. The main protagonist in the story Mia plays this game of talking with the dead, while at the same time working through the loss of a loved one as well. As a viewer I experienced her feelings of grief and it felt real because her performance was just next level.
Both Sophie Wilde and Joe Bird‘s performance as Mia and Riley really grips you, making the feelings of fear on-screen real for the audience. The make-up and effects throughout the movie was really done brilliantly. The ending delivers a unique twist making you hungry for more action and story. The cast really brought life in a horror story focusing around the dead.
Talk To Me (A24)
There is no post-credits scene, so no need to wait to the end. Trailer is amazing and delivers an even greater scare and doesn’t spoil any important parts of the movie. My rating for Talk To Me is 5 out of 5. Talk To Me is a bone-chilling supernatural horror that delivers a real scare on-screen, hands down. I’m all for seeing a possible sequel of Talk To Me one day, or even a prequel where the origin of the embalmed hand is unpacked. But the movie is still brilliant as a stand-alone movie.
Make sure to catch it at a cinema near you or watch online.