The Ritual movie review

_{Image from 2017 film The Ritual}

I love horror films but in recent years the genre has been a bit of a mess. With the exceptions of big hollywood hits like IT and The Cloverfield franchise, few horror films have managed to surprise and satisfy me. So recently a british horror film was released to Netflix entitled The Ritual. The trailer didn't look very promising and it wasn't until I found myself bored with some time to kill that I decided to give this film a try and boy I am so glad I did.

The Ritual centers around a group of friends who recently suffered the tragic loss of a friend and decide to go hiking in the Swedish wilderness to set up a memorial in honor of the deceased. During the hike one of the men injures his leg on the trail so to save time on the hike back to their lodge they decide to take a shortcut through the forest. It soon becomes apparent that someone or something is stalking them.

This film immediately drew me in with it's great script, astonishing cinematography, and creepy atmosphere. I was constantly on edge throughout the experience as who or what exactly is stalking this group of friends is kept hidden for the majority of the film. The acting is very well done and the film deals with several complex emotional themes that I won't get into. There's not much else I can say without giving anything away so if you have Netflix and you love horror that also gives you something to think about, watch this film. The Ritual is a treat and quite easily the best horror film of the year.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5!