SHERDOG MOVIE CLUB: Week 103: The Ritual

[europe1]

NOTE to NON-MEMBERS: Interested in joining the SHERDOG MOVIE CLUB? Shoot me a PM for more info.

Here's a quick list of all movies watched by the SMC.

Sweden 3 - England 0

Our Director​

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David Bruckner is a writer and director, known for V/H/S (2012), The Signal (2007) and The Ritual (2017).

Our Stars​

Film Overview


Premise: A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest, but encounter a menacing presence in the woods that's stalking them.


Budget: ?
Box Office: $1 million

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Trivia
(courtesy of IMDB)

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* The original tagline that was used when advertising the film was 'They should have gone to Vegas'. But due to the massacre in Vegas that took place on 1st of October 2017, the tagline has now been changed to 'They should have gone to Ibiza'.


* The sign the hikers see on the trees near the cabin is the last rune of the futhark (ancient Germanic alphabet) called Odal or Othala. It is pronounced 'o' and means 'property'.


* In the final act of the movie, the cultists can be heard chanting the word "blóte". This refers to the Asatruar ritual practice of offering food, alcoholic beverages and possibly animal sacrifices to the gods whose favor they sought. The practice did not include ritual sacrifice of humans, however. [europe1's note: this is incorrect. There existed human sacrifices in Ancient Norse religion.]


* The writing on the trees is mostly modern Wicca script, but they do not form actual words or "warnings".
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Members: @shadow_priest_x @europe1 @MusterX @Scott Parker 27 @the muntjac @Cubo de Sangre @sickc0d3r @chickenluver @FrontNakedChoke @AndersonsFoot @Tufts

 

[europe1]

You know, sometimes it's just so darn refreshing to watch a movie like The Ritual. It faithfully and straightforwardly plays into all the cliches and expectations that you as a viewer can expect of it. Yet despite that it manages to be an excellent flick sheerly through all it's filmic skills and qualities.


There are no metaphors or gimmicks here, no pretensions, no flashy-shit. It's just a bare-bones genre story about survival and encountering horrors you did not believe exist. It's like a room full of guys that have been discussing Crackhead Control and X-guard for ages suddenly encounter Roger Gracie who submitts them using nothing but old school Gracie-method techniques. Again, real refreshing.

The filmmaking in this movie is just fantastically on-point. In The Ritual, tension is mounted through making the camera linger on details that are presented as off-putting. The camera will zoom into the woods as if searching for something where nothing appears to exists, peering aimlessly, until there is a swift flicker of movement on the edge of the screen and a sudden cutaway. There is a tightness and tautness to everything that is presented. And the movie keeps escalating the tension throughout the film until the climax. Things just keep getting eerier and eerier -- you just know that the characters are in some deep shit when they find the gutted deer carcass strung up in the threes.

The iconography of the cult is disarming and freshly creative -- especially with that headless abomination. I also love that moment where Luke is told that the Joutun saves them from death. Yet later when Luke ascends into the attic and finds all those ghouls sitting down as if attending church... and then they start moving! They live yet they still root. Well, I guess immortality isn't as cracked up as it's supposed to be.Creative visual touches like that are real gold-nuggets in a film like this. I will say that the cultist themselves were rather underdeveloped -- but I don't necessary see that as a problem.

The design of the monster was also really damn striking. The two, beady eyes was a really haunting touch. I suppose a film like this wakes the age-old discussion of if it's better to show the monster or not. In this movie -- I think it works. There is an steady escalation until it's revelation and then it works as an action climax. It's aggressive appearance during the last part also changes things up a bit.

The liquor-store robbery scene almost have a comedic undertone. They stand there for ages -- discussing holiday plans -- and suddenly the notice a battered clerk lying bloody on the floor next to them. It's one of those moments you just have to gawk at. It's like suddenly being blindsighted by a buss. I really like how it just appears out of nowhere.




Plus being Swedish and all this was a hilarious movie to riff with my mate

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Mediocre film all around.

 

[europe1]

Another thing I was thinking about.

So the Joutun shows visions to all the main characters. These visions are designed to show them thinks that cause them great distress and mental worry. Luke -- naturally -- has flashbacks to the liquor-store robbery where his mate died. Dominic, meanwhile, has visions of his wife (I really like that part where she emerges from the woods and then it's revealed that it's the Jouton all along).

However... Phil's visions make him... worship idols? So... is Phil's great terror idolatry or something? Is he really Old Testament about venerating graven images? WTF?

 

[europe1]

Mediocre film all around.

Bah! You reprobate! You wouldn't have said that if the four main characters been nubile cheerleaders who stumbled on a secret BDSM sex-cult within the woods where everyone had whips and chains and one of them had a humongou... hey where am I'm going with this again?

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Bah! You reprobate! You wouldn't have said that if the four main characters been nubile cheerleaders who stumbled on a secret BDSM sex-cult within the woods where everyone had whips and chains and one of them had a humongou... hey where am I'm going with this again?

Well duh!

 

[europe1]

Apparently the Bat Signal didn't work this time either:

Members: @shadow_priest_x @MusterX @Scott Parker 27 @the muntjac @sickc0d3r @chickenluver @FrontNakedChoke @AndersonsFoot @Tufts

 

[Guestx]

Apparently the Bat Signal didn't work this time either:

Members: @shadow_priest_x @MusterX @Scott Parker 27 @the muntjac @sickc0d3r @chickenluver @FrontNakedChoke @AndersonsFoot @Tufts

Got it.

Maybe you should talk to @Peteyandjia or @Lethal about your technical difficulties.

 

[Peteyandjia]

I found this film underwhelming. It had some good points, but nothing great. The very beginning in the convenience store, was probably my favorite part. After that, trope after trope, and it really fell apart by the end. Very forgettable movie to me.

Personally, I think a much better version of this film is The Edge, with Alec Baldwin & Anthony Hopkins. Underrated flick.

 

[the muntjac]

This film follows familiar horror tropes we've probably seen one too many times. A group of friends go on a trip somewhere remote and unluckily stumble into evil-doings. I guess it's a formula that works even if it's pretty stale at this point. Honestly, this movie was better than what I was expecting, so I'll give it that. However, I feel it suffers from some missed opportunities, or some story details are brushed over too broadly. In the end, it wraps up in a not so satisfying way.

I liked the juxtaposition of the liquor store and the woods. I thought those set pieces looked really neat, and seeing into the flashbacks while still retaining the current situation (or danger, if you will) worked very well.

I was expecting Luke to save Dom from the worshipers. We see that Luke is haunted by freezing up during the liquor store robbery, and he feels guilt from not doing anything when Rob gets killed by the robbers. I expected him to find redemption by deciding to not sit idly by while Dom is being tortured and offered up to the Jotunn. Dom is the one who was most critical about Luke not doing anything to save Rob, which caused a rift between them. It would have been poetic had Luke ended up choosing fight over flight to rescue Dom. I feel this would have brought Luke's dilemma full circle and provided a better closure. Instead, the movie shows Luke with the choice to either lay down and accept the Jotunn as his god, or reject it and fight back. He chooses the latter, and this is the way that Luke is shown as redeeming his past cowardice. Okay...? So...he saves himself at the end. He saved only himself during the liquor store robbery by staying out of sight, so why am I suppose to find solace in him just saving only himself once again at the end? Note to self, don't befriend Luke. He won't save you in any situation of distress. But don't worry, he'll be fine.

When we're introduced to the worshipers close to the end of the film, the one lady gives us a swift few sentences to catch us up to speed with why they and this creature exist. Really, all this did was raise more questions for me. Are we too assume that hikers go missing all the time in these woods, stumble across these people, and then get put up for sacrifice? If that's the case, how come a widespread investigation hasn't happened, which would expose this whole operation? If we're not to assume that hikers go missing all the time, then that would mean that these village people would have to routinely sacrifice their own to appease the Jotunn, so wouldn't they eventually sacrifice themselves out of existence? How often do sacrifices have to take place? It just seems like any horror movie really, you just gotta not ask so many questions, or else you'll just poke holes through everything.

I laughed out loud when Luke punched that old lady in the face. That was funny.

Let's talk about the creature design. It's cool. I dig it. It looked like a demonic giraffe with a grim reaper-esque face. This shot was bad ass.

I'd say this was just okay. Not something I'd revisit, but I don't think it was a complete waste of time. The movie does a good job of mounting tension and luring you into its mystery, and it really intrigues you to know what the hell is going on. But the payoff didn't really work for me.

 

[Just Creed]

I wasn't impressed tbh. The book is always better of course but a big part of the book was the guy being imprisoned in the house and tormented by the 3 captors. I was really excited to see them but obviously that never happened.
I liked the film up until their capture. After that I felt really unentertained

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

He chooses the latter, and this is the way that Luke is shown as redeeming his past cowardice. Okay...? So...he saves himself at the end. He saved only himself during the liquor store robbery by staying out of sight, so why am I suppose to find solace in him just saving only himself once again at the end?

This confused me as well. I guess it's a big moral step to go from hiding to running.

Not that it mattered much. I didn't care about any of these characters. Just happy when it ended.

 

[MusterX]

Well, first of all, I think I have to eat my words at least somewhat. I felt that The Ritual would be the weakest link but that is not the case. I watched A Dark Song this week as well and it started good but then went off the tracks, quite disappointing. @shadow_priest_x watched Gerald's Game and walked away unimpressed so I feel The Ritual is at least #1 or #2 out of the four. I still want to watch The Devil's Candy but didn't get to it yet.

On to The Ritual. My first impression when I watched this film turned the corner several times along the way. When the guys decided to cut through the forest I immediately thought of An American Werewolf in London when they were told to stay on the path but didn't. When you are out in the open like this with a trail and signposts, you DON'T go off the fucking trail.

Have we learned nothing from these other movies! Then as they enter the forest and find the cabin and everything starts to happen it took on a very Blair Witch feel because there was stuff hanging from trees and when they were in their tents at night they could hear breaking branches like in Blair Witch. They also were unable to find their way out like in Blair Witch and at this point I thought to myself, I get it, but I'm still liking it.

Then when Phil was taken in the middle of the night and the rest of the guys could hear him screaming in the distance, I thought damn, they really are taking this Blair Witch thing seriously. That is exactly what happened in the Blair Witch. This is where things started to turn down a different path for me. When I first saw the creature I immediately thought of Pumpkinhead. The crazy ass forest people have summoned a Pumpkinhead to do their bidding.

Obviously the creature didn't look like Pumpkinhead but the idea is there, a summoned evil that does the bidding on the summoner. If you are one of the four people on Earth reading this, it is at this point that I'm thinking, wow this film is really borrowing from a lot of different ideas and then the final turn happens and this is when I decide that I love this movie. The remaining two guys, Dom and Luke, are captured as they run from the beast into the cabin.

Now the freaky forest people have them and things start to be revealed. The beast is an ancient god and the forest people worship it, or they themselves are sacrificed. This is where I go.



The reason why I was so suddenly entertained is because I realized at that moment that the entire thing felt Lovecraftian to me. Many people may not have ever read the works of H.P. Lovecraft but he was a tremendous wordsmith obsessed with ancient gods and evil. I have a copy of the Necronomicon that is filled with most of his short stories and this film really felt like something out of a Lovecraft story.

I went from feeling like it was a good film that borrowed from many sources to, wow, I think I love this film. @europe1 had told me that he really liked this film and I have to agree. Lovecraft was big on showing the frailty of mortal humans to the ancient ones and this film really delivered something like that for me. There are more reasons why I liked it but I don't want too large a wall of text right now.

8.2/10

 

[MusterX]

This film follows familiar horror tropes we've probably seen one too many times. A group of friends go on a trip somewhere remote and unluckily stumble into evil-doings. I guess it's a formula that works even if it's pretty stale at this point. Honestly, this movie was better than what I was expecting, so I'll give it that. However, I feel it suffers from some missed opportunities, or some story details are brushed over too broadly. In the end, it wraps up in a not so satisfying way.

I liked the juxtaposition of the liquor store and the woods. I thought those set pieces looked really neat, and seeing into the flashbacks while still retaining the current situation (or danger, if you will) worked very well.

I was expecting Luke to save Dom from the worshipers. We see that Luke is haunted by freezing up during the liquor store robbery, and he feels guilt from not doing anything when Rob gets killed by the robbers. I expected him to find redemption by deciding to not sit idly by while Dom is being tortured and offered up to the Jotunn. Dom is the one who was most critical about Luke not doing anything to save Rob, which caused a rift between them. It would have been poetic had Luke ended up choosing fight over flight to rescue Dom. I feel this would have brought Luke's dilemma full circle and provided a better closure. Instead, the movie shows Luke with the choice to either lay down and accept the Jotunn as his god, or reject it and fight back. He chooses the latter, and this is the way that Luke is shown as redeeming his past cowardice. Okay...? So...he saves himself at the end. He saved only himself during the liquor store robbery by staying out of sight, so why am I suppose to find solace in him just saving only himself once again at the end? Note to self, don't befriend Luke. He won't save you in any situation of distress. But don't worry, he'll be fine.

When we're introduced to the worshipers close to the end of the film, the one lady gives us a swift few sentences to catch us up to speed with why they and this creature exist. Really, all this did was raise more questions for me. Are we too assume that hikers go missing all the time in these woods, stumble across these people, and then get put up for sacrifice? If that's the case, how come a widespread investigation hasn't happened, which would expose this whole operation? If we're not to assume that hikers go missing all the time, then that would mean that these village people would have to routinely sacrifice their own to appease the Jotunn, so wouldn't they eventually sacrifice themselves out of existence? How often do sacrifices have to take place? It just seems like any horror movie really, you just gotta not ask so many questions, or else you'll just poke holes through everything.

I laughed out loud when Luke punched that old lady in the face. That was funny.

Let's talk about the creature design. It's cool. I dig it. It looked like a demonic giraffe with a grim reaper-esque face. This shot was bad ass.

I'd say this was just okay. Not something I'd revisit, but I don't think it was a complete waste of time. The movie does a good job of mounting tension and luring you into its mystery, and it really intrigues you to know what the hell is going on. But the payoff didn't really work for me.

In terms of "hikers going missing all the time", that's actually a thing. You can check out stuff like Missing 411 and be mind boggled at how many people a year walk into a forest and are never seen again. I mean its a lot, happens constantly. There are investigations but often the people never turn up or are seen again. The feeling that I had while watching the film was that this ancient evil god had been doing this for far longer than just a year or a decade, this fucker was truly ancient and evil and it wanted worshippers so it could continue to do its thing.

The creature also had other powers like when Sam was being sacrificed and the creature made him see his wife. It also was in their dreams. This was no normal forest beast, it was some sort of ancient evil or god. I'm sure there is something about it in Swedish lore so I don't know exactly but it had that dark creeping H.P. Lovecraft feel to it. I went from just liking the movie to loving the movie when the end was revealed.

 

[the muntjac]

In terms of "hikers going missing all the time", that's actually a thing. You can check out stuff like Missing 411 and be mind boggled at how many people a year walk into a forest and are never seen again. I mean its a lot, happens constantly. There are investigations but often the people never turn up or are seen again. The feeling that I had while watching the film was that this ancient evil god had been doing this for far longer than just a year or a decade, this fucker was truly ancient and evil and it wanted worshippers so it could continue to do its thing.

I mean, yeah, I wasn’t thinking the span of this creature stalking these woods was only in the past few years because we see the old rotting worshippers in the attic meaning this has been going on for a long time. But I’m wondering how frequent this creature needs to kill people. Obviously, it requires sacrifices from the worshippers, so if not enough hitchhikers are getting lost, then they’d have to be offering themselves up. Also, if enough hitchhikers keep disappearing on this particular trail in a certain amount of time, surely that would catch the attention of authorities. All it would take is one fly over with a helicopter to spot the village in the one clearing, especially since the villagers light fires.

The creature also had other powers like when Sam was being sacrificed and the creature made him see his wife. It also was in their dreams. This was no normal forest beast, it was some sort of ancient evil or god. I'm sure there is something about it in Swedish lore so I don't know exactly but it had that dark creeping H.P. Lovecraft feel to it. I went from just liking the movie to loving the movie when the end was revealed.

One weird thing to me is even after Luke starts burning up the rotting worshippers and torching the cabin, shoots a guy, and then even shoots the monster, the creature is still adamant on trying to get Luke to submit to it. You’d think the creature would be pissed off at him and just easily waste Luke like it has done to everyone else. Heck, it kills the blonde lady without hesitation, and she was as loyal as they come.

I don’t know, man. I appreciate that you really liked this movie. For me, it started unraveling as soon as the villagers and worshipping elements were introduced. I think I would have preferred more of a mysterious approach where we never really learn the extent of the creature’s origins. We just know it’s in these woods, has some sort of trickster/possessive power, and it kills anyone it comes across. Perhaps change it to the protagonists finding a book or scroll in the cabin that vaguely explains the creature, and then chaos ensues. Hmm, now it sounds like I just described Evil Dead.

 

[MusterX]

I mean, yeah, I wasn’t thinking the span of this creature stalking these woods was only in the past few years because we see the old rotting worshippers in the attic meaning this has been going on for a long time. But I’m wondering how frequent this creature needs to kill people. Obviously, it requires sacrifices from the worshippers, so if not enough hitchhikers are getting lost, then they’d have to be offering themselves up. Also, if enough hitchhikers keep disappearing on this particular trail in a certain amount of time, surely that would catch the attention of authorities. All it would take is one fly over with a helicopter to spot the village in the one clearing, especially since the villagers light fires.



One weird thing to me is even after Luke starts burning up the rotting worshippers and torching the cabin, shoots a guy, and then even shoots the monster, the creature is still adamant on trying to get Luke to submit to it. You’d think the creature would be pissed off at him and just easily waste Luke like it has done to everyone else. Heck, it kills the blonde lady without hesitation, and she was as loyal as they come.

I don’t know, man. I appreciate that you really liked this movie. For me, it started unraveling as soon as the villagers and worshipping elements were introduced. I think I would have preferred more of a mysterious approach where we never really learn the extent of the creature’s origins. We just know it’s in these woods, has some sort of trickster/possessive power, and it kills anyone it comes across. Perhaps change it to the protagonists finding a book or scroll in the cabin that vaguely explains the creature, and then chaos ensues. Hmm, now it sounds like I just described Evil Dead.

Its a thing man, the national parks especially don't even want to keep track of how many go missing in the forests. Check this out as an example of a doc about it. Its pretty crazy stuff. Disappearing in the forest happens a lot and some of it is pretty mysterious.

Thousands of unsolved missing person cases are occurring in National Parks and Forests in the US and around the world, and one researcher has been feverishly looking into the mystery. David Paulides, former law enforcement officer and current private investigator, has published four books detailing these disturbing disappearances, leaving others to speculate about the cause.

Then there are cases that are truly inexplicable, like the ones detailed in Paulides book Missing 411 and the three volumes published since. These cases differ in strange ways from other missing person cases. They are happening in remote areas of National Parks, monuments and forests, and federal agencies are not keeping track or sharing information.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

The reason why I was so suddenly entertained is because I realized at that moment that the entire thing felt Lovecraftian to me.

As a Lovecraft fan I object to you besmirching his name with this comparison. H.P. could built incredible tension. Unlike this film.

 

[Tufts]

Meh....but kinda good. Like many have said a little trite, but well executed. I enjoyed the mood and cinematography. Thought the acting was good. Didn't care too much for the characters. Critter was fun and certainly not disappointing. Old lady was hard core creepy. Glad I watched it. Would have been more engaging on the big screen.

 

[MusterX]

Another thing I was thinking about.

So the Joutun shows visions to all the main characters. These visions are designed to show them thinks that cause them great distress and mental worry. Luke -- naturally -- has flashbacks to the liquor-store robbery where his mate died. Dominic, meanwhile, has visions of his wife (I really like that part where she emerges from the woods and then it's revealed that it's the Jouton all along).

However... Phil's visions make him... worship idols? So... is Phil's great terror idolatry or something? Is he really Old Testament about venerating graven images? WTF?

I didn't get that feeling about Phil but its hard to say. Interesting to note that Phil was the first one taken. Maybe his dream was the sacrifice preparing thing which is why he was upstairs doing his thing. There is this information concerning the Jotun though.

According to The Ritual, ancient Scandinavian people who were burdened by emotional pain were sometimes granted an otherworldly escape—their gods sent a nameless beast to ease their suffering. The beast gave every tortured person a choice: Submit and worship it for life, or die in unimaginable pain.

It's that ancient creature which hunts the characters in The Ritual, but that aspect of the story doesn't appear until halfway in. The film feels like an all-male reboot of The Blair Witch or The Descent, until the scene in which Bruckner lays all his Scandinavian-death-cult cards on the table. Some critics called the mid-move switch from a camping nightmare to a monster movie jarring, but—to this viewer—it was exhilarating.
http://www.newsweek.com/ritual-best-horror-movies-netflix-2018-801140

The red above is pretty much how I felt. The deathcult worshipping an ancient god thing is what turned it from just a good movie to a movie I really love. As I posted in another post, the entire thing unfolded like something out of an H.P. Lovecraft story but that didn't occur to me until the story unfolded and we find out what the thing is at the end. I felt like it was a great reveal. While others thought the reveal was a let down, I felt the reveal made the entire movie, it was an excellent reveal.

 

[the muntjac]

Its a thing man, the national parks especially don't even want to keep track of how many go missing in the forests. Check this out as an example of a doc about it. Its pretty crazy stuff. Disappearing in the forest happens a lot and some of it is pretty mysterious.

Thousands of unsolved missing person cases are occurring in National Parks and Forests in the US and around the world, and one researcher has been feverishly looking into the mystery. David Paulides, former law enforcement officer and current private investigator, has published four books detailing these disturbing disappearances, leaving others to speculate about the cause.

Then there are cases that are truly inexplicable, like the ones detailed in Paulides book Missing 411 and the three volumes published since. These cases differ in strange ways from other missing person cases. They are happening in remote areas of National Parks, monuments and forests, and federal agencies are not keeping track or sharing information.

Wow, that trailer was pretty unsettling. That spooked me more than this movie did. The idea of vanishing into remote wilderness is quite harrowing.

I’m getting a memory jog, but I remember you (or I think it was you) once posting in a thread about two young ladies going missing in South America on a trail, and all that was found was like one of the girl’s foot in a shoe. I remember that freaking me out. I like nature and hiking, but stories like that want me to be armed to the teeth if I’m hiking somewhere super remote.