If you’re a creature-feature, ominous horror loving fan, then you’ve got to check this “The Ritual”. Based on the 2011 novel of the same name written by Adam Nevill. This Norse mythology based film was very well done and features a Jötunn, a giant straight from Norse mythology. Directed by David Bruckner, even though he has a small number of titles under his belt, he makes quality films such as V/H/S/85 (2023), The Night House (2020), and even a horror TV series Creepshow (2019). This was how I envisioned Antlers (2021) to look like, but that movie sucked.

If you were not aware of the plot of the film, it would seem like the typical “bucket list for a friend” kind of a storyline. At first, it really was that, until they decided to go through the forest for a short cut. That was probably the worst decision they could’ve made. A fun stroll through nature and everything else it offers. They said some prayers for their departed friend, one might say a ritual, but they were not aware that a different kind of ritual is coming their way.

Stellar cast

The Ritual had a stellar cast, they were able to bring the audience in with their journey. I felt the gravity of when they lost one of their dear friends, even if his appearance was short, the conversations beforehand gave us everything we needed to know before he got killed. Their bond and how they interacted with each other from the start was authentic. The terror in their eyes in seeing each other getting picked off by the creature one by one was heavy, and you’d feel for them. Perfect casting, even for the cult within the forest.

Tone of the film

The overall tone and atmosphere of The Ritual was ominous with a heavy sense of dread. Even before they entered the forest, we’d see the expanse of land they had to cover, and that would intimidate anyone. The music paired with the setting was perfect. With little to no loud and sharp sounds for jump scares, you’d know that the crew knows what they’re doing and doesn’t need any of those cheap tricks for shock value purposes.

Great dialogue

The script of The Ritual was fantastic. It was engaging and nothing felt forced. A fluid exchange of conversations.
The effects were done tastefully, they didn’t do too much, just enough. The horror of what could happen to them shone through.

One of the best creature designs I’ve seen in a while

Now let’s get down to the best bit, the creature. It is called Moder. Moder is a giant creature that looks like an elk, but its body is overgrown with plants. Instead of a head, it has a human torso where its head should be. His torso has antlers where arms would be, human arms where legs should be, and a dark hole with glowing yellow eyes where its lower body is. It also has another set of human arms near its hips. The design was awesome. The growl/roar of it would send shivers down your spine.

Never have I thought of coming up with a design like this, not even in my nightmares. Even when we got a closeup of the creature, it lived up to the horror that it spread. Other mediocre creature feature films, when they finally reveal their monster, I’ll be like “Eh? This is it?” and it would just ruin all the build up that they made prior to the reveal.

As the female cultist have mentioned in the film, it is a jötunn, an Ancient god, a bastard son of Loki, it chooses who has the biggest grievance in life and gives them a choice: To stay and worship it or be impaled on top of trees. Luke (played by Rafe Spall) was chosen because of the events that took place prior to them going up the mountain.

I’m a huge myth/legend buff so The Ritual is right up my alley. The pacing was great. It felt slow at times but it was packed with good script writing that the scenes flowed smoothly. Some say they didn’t like the ending, for me it was okay, felt rushed a bit but I enjoyed about 95% of the film, so that 5% I could easily brush it off.

Conclusion

The Ritual was on my to-watch list for almost a year now and just last night decided to give it a try. I was blown away by it and will definitely be one of my top 10 creature feature films. Definitely recommended.