24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
MOVIE REVIEW: We suffer frightening familiarity with horror 'The Ritual'
No emotional connection to cast and nothing on screen we haven't seen before in the possession-themed genre.
Young (Dan Stevens' Father Joseph Steiger) and old (Al Pacino's Father Theophilus Riesinger) priests team up to save a possessed young girl (Abigail Cowen's Emma Schmidt) - so far, so The Exorcist.
If only The Ritual was half as gripping, scary and engaging as that horror classic.
Inexperienced director David Midell's film is set in 1928 but truthfully I kept forgetting this as there is so little separating it from dozens of other possession-themed outings.
The main selling point of The Ritual for me was seeing Pacino make a mainstream comeback.
Sadly, he looks and sounds worn out and bored - if you want to see what the legendary actor can really do in a religious horror flick check out his barnstorming turn in The Devil's Advocate instead.
Midell co-wrote the script with Enrico Natale and it claims to be based on true events - 'one of the most documented possession cases in American history'.
So little is done, though, to make you care about any of the characters and there is absolutely nothing here that we haven't seen on screen before.
The most impressive thing about Midell's movie is that he attracted Pacino and Stevens to star in it.
Stevens, in fairness, is the cast standout, with Father Steiger, having just suffered a personal tragedy, being conflicted with saving Emma and the drastic measures being taken to do so.
As with any possession-afflicted victim on screen, Cowen's body is shaken and twisted from pillar to post but, as her plight is so familiar, the emotional connection just isn't there.
Ashley Greene's ( Sister Rose) only purpose seems to be suffering physical abuse at the hands of Emma and all Patrick Fabian's ( Bishop Edwards) presence does is evoke memories of his role in the vastly superior The Last Exorcism.
I really tried to give The Ritual the benefit of the doubt but as a horror fan who has been down this road so many times, I actually felt frustrated and fed up sitting through it.
If you're new to the possession film world maybe give it a go; otherwise grab that holy water and crucifix to keep it at bay.
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