- The ritual. (UK, 2017. Dir. David Bruckner). Four long-time friends take a hiking trip through King’s Trail in Sweden to honor the memory of a recently murdered fifth. Seeking a shortcut, they wander into a forest off the trail. Big mistake. This seemingly endless ocean of trees has quite a few surprises in store for them —like the mysterious symbols carved on a few trunks, the eviscerated animals hanging from high branches, the effigies that bring eerily prophetic nightmares… and a certain supernatural entity…
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Terrific chiller based on a novel by Adam Nevill. Drawing inspiration from assorted tales of pagan horror a la Arthur Machen or Algernon Blackwood (and indeed the novel opens with a quote from Blackwood), this movie is also a nicely downbeat tale of guilt and betrayal. Luke, who organized the trip, is wrestling with his guilt over his friend’s Rob death —he was killed in a robbery gone bad, while Luke hid, too afraid to act in time. And as he comes to discover, at least two of his friends blame him as well.
Then, the creature that is hunting them down, apparently a Jötunn, can grant certain privileges upon people in exchange for being worshipped. At one point the men come upon the remains of camping site, including a photo of the family vacationing back in the 70’s. Later, the woman in the photo is revealed to still be alive and to be one of the creature’s worshippers —apparently she traded her family for functional immortality.
By the end of the movie Luke is once again the sole survivor, now with so many more deaths hanging on his shoulders and the knowledge that he was only spared because he actually did bow down to the monster in a moment of sheer terror.
All in all, very recommended for horror fans.
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