'The Ritual' Film Review!

⭐ The Ritual ⭐ Review ⭐ 7/10 ⭐

'The Ritual' is a technically competent and conceptually confident horror picture that manages to crank up the tension without relying on false or obnoxious jump-scares, instead using its ominous musical score and brilliantly foreboding sound design to create a slow-building sense that there's something sinister lurking amongst the trees.

And it's in the script where the piece really shines as an example of a group dynamic done right because you honestly do get a sense that these four men have been mates for a long time and yet they are all completely different people who react differently to their bizarre and frightening situation.

It's when the film moves into its third act when it starts to lose its way a bit, and the closer it comes to its eponymous ritual the less tense and unique it gets, but the finale does introduce a visually interesting and well developed creature that's only real fault is being shown slightly too much during its climactic debut, a shame since prior to then it was handled with a deft restraint that allowed the flick's infrequent yet visceral splashes of gore to truly have an impact, which does happen right before a little bit of a rushed and wet ending.