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Read Thread: The Ritual~ A Netflix Original

The Ritual~ A Netflix Original
Board: Movie Moments
Apr 23, 2018 10:21pm
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I stumbled upon this Netflix movie one night and noted it. I poked around some websites, trying to get a feel for the movie and after some hawing and hemming, tonight my husband and I sat down and watched it.

It begins with five friends having drinks at a pub and they are discussing their next bro-cation together. Leaving the pub, Luke, a rather sulky guy decides to step into a liquor store for some liquor and he is followed by his friend Rob (Robert). What follows next, haunts them all, especially Luke.

After this night, it cuts to 6 months later, when the men are trekking a trail somewhere in Sweden. As it happens, Dominique, the pegged overly dramatic one, stumbles and severely twists his knee. Refusing to be left behind and rescued, he pleads his case. The group decides to cut through the forest, leaving the trail, to cut time off their hike back to the lodge.

Naturally, it begins to rain. The men then seek cover in a strange, uninhabited cabin where they find a rather unsettling alter. Despite this, the men decide to sleep in the cabin and thus begins their trial of horrors.

"The Ritual" is based on a book written by Adam Nevill. It is a British film, shot in Romania, though the backdrop is Sweden. Since I did not recognize any of the actors, I checked their IMBD backgrounds. The main character Luke is played by Rafe Spall, best known to me as one of the Andys in "Hot Fuzz". Hutch, the toughest guy in the group, is portrayed by Robert James-Collier, Thomas Barrow to you "Downton Abby" fans.

Per Amazon, "The Ritual" is sitting at an average of 4 out of 5 stars. I would argue this is a bit high for me. It reminded me of a cross between "Blair Witch" (the original) and "The Hills Have Eyes" with a touch of the mystic. 3 Kitty Paws is the highest I believe it's worth.

But the truth is, I am not a fan of these types of stories and how this film ended. Though believe me, it has nothing to do with the getting lost in the woods and being hunted scenario. I've been known to duck and cover in many a "forest films" and be happy with the good scare. And since I don't want to spoil anything for any potential viewers, I will just leave it at that.

csk
Re: The Ritual~ A Netflix Original
Board: Movie Moments
Reply to: #959441 by Captain Slick Kitty
Apr 24, 2018 5:57am
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We watched it. Though not our usual fare either, we enjoyed it enough. I agree with 3.

DZ
Re: The Ritual~ A Netflix Original
Board: Movie Moments
Reply to: #959441 by Captain Slick Kitty
Apr 24, 2018 6:28am
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Pretty dumb--men making poor choices. "Yeah, let's take the shortcut through the scary forest instead of staying on the trail." It was fun seeing Thomas out of his Downton livery.
Re: The Ritual~ A Netflix Original
Board: Movie Moments
Reply to: #959441 by Captain Slick Kitty
Apr 24, 2018 9:28am
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I watched this movie because of the mention of Sweden, thought I'd see some beautiful landscapes.
It was stupid! And as far as I know the trail they were walking goes mostly over treeless country, maybe some small birches grow there.
Since I'm a stickler for details like that that was enough for me to not like it.(Gave up watching Gladiator when I saw Mount Whitney in the background)
But the story was the typical "stupid people making stupid mistakes"

Bokmal
Re: The Ritual~ A Netflix Original
Board: Movie Moments
Reply to: #959441 by Captain Slick Kitty
Apr 25, 2018 9:25am
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I read the book a while back and the first half of the book is the scariest thing I've ever read. The second half was so stupid, I was furious I wasted time on it. So the movie is a bit like that. Parts of it are well done, but the rest of it muddles through the really bad source material of the second half. Skip the movie and read the first part of the book, then put it down and walk away. The movie really isn't all that faithful and they erased the scariest part of the whole book! For a really stupid death that made no sense and didn't exist in the book that way at all. Bah. I'd give the movie a 2 1/2.