The Ritual, directed by David Midell, who cowrote with his Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain compatriot, Enrico Natale, isn't the first film based on the "true" case that inspired The Exorcist. That distinction goes to Steven E. de Souza's 2000 opus, The Possessed. The latter is closer to the 1949 legend which William Peter Batty drew from, with The Ritual taking place in 1928, based more so on Father Carl Vogel's 1935 book, Begone Satan!: A Soul Stirring Account of Diabolical Possession in Iowa. Begone Satan!, in its own right, inspired Andrew Jones' The Exorcism of Anna Ecklund. On this basis, The Ritual can be considered another hodgepodge in the sub-genre, riding off the heels of other such recent demonic incarnations: The Exorcist: the Series, The Exorcist: Believer, The Exorcism and The Pope's Exorcist.
For the sake of this offshoot (relayed through erratic, hand-held, camera shots), an unfortunate lass, Abigail (Witch Hunt) Cowen's Emma Schmidt, is seized by demons (identifying themselves as Judas Iscariot, Beelzabub, Emma's dead father and so on). A young, questioning priest, Dan (Abigail/Cuckoo) Steven's Father Joseph Steiger, is enlisted to expel them, teamed with an elderly, experienced priest, Al Pacino's Father Theophilius Reisinger, but even the seasoned cleric runs into trouble, so that he, in turn, calls in the nuns. Together they stick to the arduous process of saving Emma from her monsters for a walloping twenty-three days, until a last-in-a-series ritual becomes their big "Hail Mary."
I must be honest. The Ritual is quite basic for this type of horror movie. Does such commonality make it less entertaining than the rest? No. It does deliver on its implied promises, in particular Emma's freakish alteration. Because of this, it'll please those content with the long line of Exorcist sequels/prequels and their many knock-offs, upon which it can now be lumped: Beyond the Door, Abby, The House of Exorcism, The Manitou, The Rite, The Devil Inside, The Last Exorcism, The Possessed 1977, The Possession of Joe Delaney, The Bloody Exorcism of Coffin Joe, The Possession of Emily Rose and The Possession of Hannah Grace. What works in its favor is its performers.
The spectacled Pacino is a prime plus, looking older and wiser, and as he gets demonically drained, all the more believable for it, and the vigorous Stevens is just as solid. Patricia (Everybody Loves Raymond) Heaton's Mother Superior, Ashley (Twilight) Greene's Sister Rose and Patrick (Better Call Saul) Fabian's Bishop Edwards are comparably enriching, and the same can be said of Cowen, who takes matters to the expected, repellent extreme. On the whole, and from all fronts (which includes the additional, supporting players), the cast clicks.
Perhaps The Ritual's too-familiar core is what works against it. I don't know. I'd have to dip further into its characters and spiritual nuances (those elements that may, in fact, differentiate it from its forerunners, beyond those impetuous, camera angles). For now, though, it's probably best to do no more than let it ferment.
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