The Ritual
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): February 9, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
10
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Total FilmMatt Glasby
Entertaining, engrossing and at times genuinely unnerving, Bruckner’s bad trip is one for horror fans to relish. Read full review
75
IGNWitney SeiboldMar 2, 2018
While not exactly transcending the familiarity of its very predictable genre, The Ritual is a spooky, shadowy horror film with good character work, an excellent mood, some provocative themes, excellent lighting, and a scary... thing... that horror fans will love. Read full review
75
ConsequenceRandall ColburnFeb 8, 2018
The Ritual is rich, meaty horror that, despite your feelings regarding its twists and turns, offers up a gripping balance of psychological terror and physical revulsion. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoFeb 8, 2018
The Ritual may start on familiar footing, but trust in David Bruckner's ability to summon some nasty tension and a third act that horror fans will be talking about all year. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshFeb 8, 2018
The Ritual is efficient and highly effective in its style, relying on sound, creepy production design, and the men's own fear and misjudgment to create the sense of pervasive doom. We don't see the monster in too much detail, leaving the mystery intact, but the creature design is stunningly original. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineHenry StewartFeb 4, 2018
Eventually, the filmmakers reveal the secrets they'd previously withheld, spoiling the film's sustained mystique. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerJan 26, 2018
While thoughtfully done, the entertainment value of this sombre scare fiesta isn’t high. It’s about life’s paths taken and the rituals (and fears) we submit to. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonJan 26, 2018
Somewhere in the murky depths of this modestly gripping thriller lurks a more interesting film about real-life monsters, the kind that prey on human minds not human flesh. Read full review
60
EmpireAndrew LowryJan 26, 2018
Straightforward, unpretentious and well-acted, this is a solid if unsurprising genre piece. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawJan 26, 2018
Spall is good casting in the lead: miserable, hangdog, humorous and scared, like a handsomer version of Josh Widdicombe. James-Collier is a fierce screen presence: some film-maker needs to find something more for him to do. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyJan 26, 2018
It’s the character dynamics here, more than the dark and stormy set-pieces, that get things off the ground. Read full review
60
Time OutTrevor JohnstonJan 26, 2018
If it lacks the originality and sheer muscle of the best horror fare, this does offer an astute take on fragile thirtysomething machismo, and Spall treads a convincingly anguished path towards potential redemption. Read full review
60
VarietyDennis HarveyJan 26, 2018
Though well-cast and competently written, The Ritual owes its primary effectiveness not so much to story or character per se as to the unsettling atmosphere Bruckner and company have eked out of the forest itself. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsFeb 9, 2018
The atmospheric but threadbare male bonding horror flick The Ritual is so well-directed that you can't help but groan at its lightweight script's many little inadequacies. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlFeb 8, 2018
The characters wander in baffling circles, but the story soldiers dutifully from beat to beat, scare to scare. It has this going for it — when it comes to offing its characters, The Ritual proves more pitiless than you might expect for a film that has this tony a look. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloFeb 7, 2018
Horror fans who’ve wondered what Bruckner might do with an entire movie of his own will be disappointed by his solo feature-length debut, The Ritual, which attempts to put a twist on the Blair Witch formula but demonstrates surprisingly little imagination. Read full review
42
The PlaylistKyle KohnerFeb 14, 2018
While The Ritual is an incredibly shot and confident horror picture that does manage to crank up the tension for the first hour, an unfulfilling finale and subpar execution of commonplace motifs add up to a forgettable experience. Read full review
25
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 10, 2018
A British eOne/Netflix production, packs a bunch of boy-bonding lads off into the wilds of Sweden. No “found footage,” but it’s “The Borgholm Witch Project” in the Swedish “Cabin in the Woods,” “Wicker Man,” the works. Read full review
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