The Creeper aka Rituals is a surprisingly good slash adventure-horror film. The movie is easily comparable to the 1972 movie "Deliverance". And really would make a great double feature together.Five men on a simple fishing and relaxation trip turns into a deadly game of survival. Although the film has a basic and typical plot, the way the movie plays out is actually makes for a really good thriller.The Creeper does have quite few thrilling and chilling moments to keep the viewer engrossed. It does have some gore in the film but it is done a way that it's not a total blood-and-gore-fest. As I mentioned, the film is more like "Deliverance" - it's less like Friday the 13th or similar slasher flicks.9/10

***SPOILERS*** Strange but very effective "Deliverence" clone that has to do with a number big city doctors, mostly brain surgeons, taking their yearly vacation in the Canadian wilds to get in touch with nature. Headed by reform alcoholic Harry, Hal Holbrook, trouble finds them before they make their way into the what turned out to be unfriendly wilderness with someone stealing their expensive, costing as much as $50.00 a pair, hiking boots! With only D.J, Gary Reineke, holding on , by hiding them in the brush, to his own. Using rags and plastic garbage bags as boots the rest of the adventures including Harry went out on their own to see and experience the wonders, in the hills woods and streams, of nature not quite realizing what was waiting for them.If you thought that "Deliverence" was a terrifying film "Ritules" or "The Creeper" made it look like a picnic in the park. With the doctors not only dealing with the terrors not wonders of nature going haywire but this deformed and scary looking mountain man, Michael Zenon, out to do them in for past deeds. It turns out that some 30 ago after WWII he, the mountain man, was operated on by the doctors for war injuries he received in the South Pacific. Their operations changes his striking and handsome good looks from looking like Cary Grant to the Phantom of the Opera! Hiding from humanity all that time in the Canadian woods like Big Foot "Big BoBo"-as he's known by those in the area-now sees his chance to get even with those that ruined his both professional life, in no one wanting to hire him, as well as social life, in that no woman wanting to go out on a date with him!****SPOILERS**** With the exception of D.J the only one of the crew with a pair of boots who checked out to civilization trying to get help as well as new pairs of boots for his fellow hikers the rest of the doctors are put through the ringer by the trials of nature as well as "Big BoBo" the mountain man until Harry is the only one left alive. It's then that Harry in a last desperate attempt to save both his sanity as well as life confronts in a life and death struggle the crazed mountain man in, with the movies not being able to pay its electricity bills, total darkness! Pretty good final if you have cat wolf or owl-like night vision to be able to see it but for most of us watching, who don't, you have to use you imagination to get an idea in how the movie actually ended!

Five doctors on a wilderness outing are stalked by disfigured, crazed killers.The only purpose of my writing this review is to stress the importance of watching a quality copy of a film. While this movie sits at 6 out of 10 (a decent rating, especially by horror standards), I cannot commit to anything more than a 5 because I simply was not able to see the film. I would probably have only given it a 4 if it was not for Hal Holbrook in a starring role.I watched this on CrypticTV, which is an incredible service for catching horror movies free on the internet or through devices like the Roku. Unfortunately, the version they used (presumably public domain) was so blurry that more often than not the screen was filled with green or brown splotches.

Often compared to John Boorman's "Deliverance" (1972), Peter Carter's "Rituals" (aka. "The Creeper") of 1977 is a creepy and effective Canadian 'backwoods' Horror film which isn't too well-known, but enjoys a certain cult-status among Horror fans. The comparisons with "Delicerance" are obvious: A bunch of civilized men take a trip into the wilderness in order to have an adventure in the beauty of nature, and have to experience unexpected terrors. In this case, five medical doctors take a trip to go hiking in a remote lakeside area in the deep Canadian woods, days' walks away from civilization. In the first night, their boots get stolen. From that time onward, the friends are getting stalked by a murderous phantom fiend...The film was obviously shot on a modest budget, and is very well-made. The beautiful but inescapable Canadian wilderness is a perfect location for a backwoods horror film, and "Rituals" maintains a truly creepy and menacing atmosphere from the beginning to the end. None of the characters is really likable, which slightly lessens the suspense, as one isn't as scared for them. The characters are thereby those one would expect in such a film: There is the heroic tough guy (Hal Holbrook), the scumbag (Lawrence Dane), the wuss (Robin Gammell), the clown (Gary Reinecke). Personally, I always lament the lack of a woman character in a Horror film, as I find it a lot easier to be scared for a woman than for a man. However, I see the point, as a trip into the wilderness is something that a bunch of guys would do together. The somewhat gonzo-style cinematography in the wilderness sometimes increases the feeling of presence (and therefore the creepiness) and reminded me of the Italian Cannibal films (such as "Cannibal Holocaust") that were shot around the time and later. The score is very good and effective, and the moments of powerful Classical music fit the film very well. The violence is not overtly gory, but quite disturbing. Especially in its second half, the film gets creepy as hell. Overall, "Rituals" is highly recommendable, especially to my fellow fans of gritty low-budget 70s Horror.