Hi
I haven't watched a horror movie in a while. I did some research watching trailers, but most of the recent horror movies are like duplicates of each other. Seeing the IMDB score a little good (6.3), I said myself let's watch The Ritual.
In the movie, four friends go on a hiking trip in a really scenic place in Sweden. They have to go through the forest to shorten their route because of their injured friends. Some events happen in the forest, a few friends die; but the famous creature never appears in about an hour in the movie.
"Is this the creature that hid itself for an hour?" I asked myself. I did not understand what it was exactly, a deer or a giraffe? They made a ridiculous creature. Then, how can the creature affect those people by getting involded in their dreams and pasts? I suppose they are locals in the forest, why do they worship the creature and sacrifice people to it?
When I saw the locals in the forest, I wondered if the director was inspired by The Hill Have Eyes, Wrong Turn. The tension is not bad in the movie. It seems to be good towards the end, but it falls short in general. Some plots in the movie don't make logical sense to stay connected. If you have spare time to spend, I recommend watching it.