A little over an hour and a half, Netflix’s The Ritual — a British horror film, based on a novel by the same name by Adam Nevill — is all things creepy, eerie and sinister.
Directed by David Bruckner, starring Rafe Spall (Luke), Arsher Ali (Phil), Sam Troughton (Dom) and Robert James-Collier (Hutch), the film isn't the formulaic slasher that we usually get to see. The film is an outright spine-chiller that brings together psychological horror, the mysterious and unknown world of Norse mythology with a bit of supernatural elements and the twisted lifestyle of people from the backwoods.
The Ritual begins with a happy group of five 40-something men, enjoying some time together at a pub, discussing where they want to for a short vacation. And while they end up with an adventurous plan to go hiking in the Scandinavian region, instead of a lad’s weekend to Amsterdam, the night ends up in tragedy — a liquor store robbery— taking the life of the fifth member of the group.
This particular incident later haunts Luke, the lead character, who did not stand up to the assailants who mercilessly murdered his friend in front of his eyes, as he stood hiding behind a store shelf, frozen in fear. This incident forms the basis on which the film moves forward. Six months later, the four men undertake the hike in the Swedish woods as planned, to honour the friend they lost.
Here, the director plays big on the film's setting — mysterious woods, large swathes of forest territory — where an expanse of wilderness unravels. And as the men commence their adventurous trip, everything seems perfect in the beginning. But, it gets ugly when they take an undecided, shorter and quicker route, through the vast expanse of deep, never-ending woods, towards the lodge that they had booked for themselves, after a member of the group (Dom) hurts his knee.
In the woods the group encounters everything from a mummified corpse, ripped open and fixed atop a tree in the most brutal way, creepy runes, a spooky abandoned house — where the men take shelter from the storm — that has object used in witchcraft and a totem that causes them to have the worst nightmare of their lives as they take to their beds.
The chill-inducing noises, ghostly house, mystery surrounding the freaky dream that all four have, are all elements used wisely in the film to create that sense of fear and horror among viewers. And, in fact, all four actors play their part brilliantly and more so believably.
At daybreak, the men make another attempt to reach their lodge. Meanwhile, while the men are dealing with their respective nightmares, the group seems to be falling apart after they fail to find a quick way out of the woods.
However, the director does not reveal too much about the characters in the film. There's no back story, no scenes about the personal lives of any of the characters. The film sticks to the plot, and the story centers around the four friends experiencing strange, supernatural things as they make their way to the lodge through the thick forest.
Here, we get to see the dynamics of the friendship between the four characters, how each responds to the difficult and challenging situations that arise, while at the same time undergoing and experiencing different emotions personally. We also get an insight into the trust issues the men have with one another.
Irrespective, another failed attempt out of the scary forest, forces them to spend two consecutive nights in the dark, deadly and haunted woods, resulting in ‘grave consequences’, with one horrid life-taking incident after another unfolding in front of their eyes.
And while everything seemed to be going in favour of the film, the ending seemed too straightforward and unconvincing.
But several unanswered questions like what exactly is after the men? What resides in the dark forests? Who is killing every living being that attempts to pass through the woods and the fear and horror of the unknown and unseen brilliantly takes the plot forward and also keeps you invested in the film till the end.
In all, the film makes for a nice watch, especially when you all you want to do is Netflix and chill.
Comments
0 comment