October 23, 2018
Written by: Joe Barton, Adam Nevill
Starring: Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier
Quote: "My old scoutmaster used to say 'If the shortcut was a shortcut, it wouldn't be called a shortcut, it would be called a route'."
Trivia: The way the monster hangs its victims in the cultists' village mirrors part of asatruar mythology about Odin, who originally gained wisdom and knowledge of rune magic by hanging himself from the world tree Yggdrasil by impaling himself on his spear, Gungnir. In the asatruar mythology, the spear was given to Odin by Loki, though it is unclear if this is an intended reference to asatruar mythology.
The Ritual is a really interesting film that takes the basic premise of The Blair Witch Project and combines it with elements from Nordic mythology. Beautifully shot, the filmmakers take full advantage of the Scandinavian environment to create a stunning and mysterious atmosphere. The film also interposes dreams with reality which blur into a nightmarish world. Unfortunately, the movie falls apart during the last half hour. The monster is shown too early in the movie and comes off looking silly instead of scary. Supernatural movies like this always run the risk of the creature not leaving up to the viewer's imagination and this movie is a glaring example.
The movie begins with a group of five friends trying to decide where to go on vacation, one friend, Rob, suggests going to Sweden but is quickly shot down by his friends. Later, he accompanies his other friend Luke to a liquor store to buy booze when they both notice the store cashier bloody behind the register. Luke hides behind the aisle while two armed men mug Rob and murder him in front of him. The movie flashes forward to the remaining four friends hiking in Sweden in memory of Rob. Almost immediately it is obvious that Luke is racked with guilt and that there is tension between members of the group. When one of the friends hurts his leg, the group decides to take a shortcut through the forest. There, they find a deer gutted and hung from a tree. The group eventually comes along an abandoned cabin to stay at for the night. While there, they notice strange symbols and an effigy to some odd creature. The group all wakes up in nightmares, Luke relives the memory of Rob dying and one of the other ones wakes up naked and praying to the effigy.
The group eventually escapes but is stalked by a monstrous beast in the distance that picks them off one by one. The last two, including Luke, are captured by a Nordic tribe and tied up in their basement. The other friend is given as an offering to the forest monster who they worship in exchange for eternal life. Luke escapes burning a group of ancient human skeletons that are still alive (is this their immortality?) Able to escape, Luke runs through the forest pursued by the creature which forces him to experience visions of Rob's murder. Luke eventually attacks the monster and is able to escape.
One of the most interesting aspects of the film is its use of cult and Germanic imagery from Nordic mythology. Beginning with the symbols carved into trees all the way to the monster itself, the filmmakers did their research adding in logs of elements for Nordic mythology. The monster's hanging of its victims is based on the myth of Odin who learned magic from hanging himself in the same way and the monster itself is supposedly the bastard child of Nordic god Loki. The film, and the book it's based on, build an entire mythology on the creature stating that it hunts for those with emotional pain, offering them eternal life for their worship.
The nightmarish scenes are also great because of both what they show and what they do not show. First, watching Luke being forced to view the worst moment in his life, the killing of Rob, over and over again is terrifying and heartbreaking. What gives it more terror is that this nightmare is mixed with the very real nightmarish world he is hiking through. The fear that the monster puts forth through its victims is palpable. Also, the unknown nightmares of Luke's friends make them all the more frightening. One friend wakes up having urinated himself from fear, the other wakes up screaming, and the final one is naked sleep-praying to the monster's effigy. It is here, what we don't see or know that makes it even scarier.
Unfortunately, this last idea was not taken into account with the monster. I was hoping that it would be a big reveal at the end, but it is show with still thirty minutes left into the film. Which wouldn't be so bad, except that it looks silly instead of frightening. It is more or less a giant deer with person's torso and arms for a head. Almost as soon as the monster is seen, I begun to lose interest in the ending of the movie.
While the film has its faults, it's still worth a watch. The movie begins to lose steam the last thirty minutes, but the hour before that is darn near perfect.
...what's your thoughts?
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