A former couple (it's all not very clear) wrangles with a Texan satanic cult when the pretty lady offs one of its members in self-defense.The bulk of the action happens in a motel and certainly reminds of the movie of the same name with Kate Beckinsale. The lead actress in this one is not as strong, playing every emotion to the hilt until you can't really make sense of what's actually feeling in the relatively short time span in which the action takes place.This and a stretched-out, unsatisfying ending are the movie's downfall, although it has its moments. The director is one to follow, making the most of the dark, confined spaces and simple, scary set-ups. The lead actor also makes up for his partner, counter-balancing some detestable, macho statements (if the girl was almost raped, that's because she put herself in that position) with humane actions. The movie loses momentum when he's killed by the cult two-thirds of the way. Still, a competent if unachieved time-killer at midnight.

You know how DJs do remixes of artists songs and many times these turn out to be better than the original? Well, this movie needs a remix. Buried within Ritual lies a film which probably could have been harrowing and intense, if they'd used much better actors, and much better direction. There were some decent scenes in it, and the use of atmospheric music worked quite well, but many times it just seemed apparent that it could have been improved on....vastly. Of course we have the (now common) 9 and 10 star fake reviews here from people involved with the movie, and hopefully someday we can lose this crap forever on IMDb (I won't hold my breath though). I guess you get better at reading between the lines however to fish out the REAL reviews if you've been around this site for a long time. Ritual isn't a bad movie, but it's not a good movie either. Sometimes it has long, drawn out, parts which seem to sit as padding, other times it jolts from one scene to another. Other scenes make little sense. For example, the main female role is being chased in the dark by two masked men, she hurts her foot, then sits screaming giving away her location. If you were being chased in the dark and managed to evade capture a while, would you then start screaming? Nope, me neither. It's the classic fault of so many horror movies - idiots doing things you would never do in real life.If you want to kill a couple of hours Ritual isn't the worst film out there, once you get past it's slow start. But it just about manages to hold your attention. And for the fake reviewer here who suggested that someone who gave a negative review might be "retarded" that's simply not nice. Most of us review a film honestly, and there are many of us who are very passionate about the horror genre. If you get mixed reviews of a movie you've made - learn from them. Especially if the film is one of your first. Don't attack people because you think you know better. It's the viewer you're pitching to, not yourself. And Ritual showed promise for now. But really it should have been better.

I loved every minute of this thriller. A great and exciting movie that had me on the edge of my seat. It had me guessing every minute as to what was going to happen next. The twist and turns of the story kept me fully engaged all the way through. The level that writing takes the story to is amazing and when I thought that they could not take it any further, they were able to in ways that I had not necessarily envisioned. The cast did an excellent job all the day around. The direction and production were also so superior. The movie also had great lead and supporting acting. I highly recommend this film to fans of horror, suspense, or adventure films.

Wow, i was once prescribed valium for insomnia but it didn't work, i tried everything, herbal tea, Chinese medicine, Zopidone or whatever that stuff is called. Anyway all of that could have been avoided if i had just had this film at hand. Perfect remedy for peaceful relaxing sleep. Now the writer of this film probably thought that some of his ideas would look really cool once they got round to shooting them but seriously sometimes it's just best to look at the end product & shelve it. The Ritual is a bad movie! Awful Film School style visuals, mind numbing sound, terrible script, over long sequences of nothing in particular or interesting. Snap shot editing that feels clumsy & again like a 14 year old film wannabe threw his hand in. Skull masks don't make a film scary & dropping little homages to older, much better horror films does not make your film any cooler if the idea is crap in the first place. This wants to be edgy but ends up looking & feeling all wrong. If you need a film to help you sleep, wack it on but other than that seriously don't entertain the idea of watching it for real, its a mess.