The Ritual (2017)

A group of old college friends reunite for a trip to a forest in Sweden, Eastern Europe, but encounter a menacing presence there stalking them.

Director:

David Bruckner

Writers:

Joe Barton, Adam Nevill (novel)

Stars:

Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rafe Spall	...	Luke
Arsher Ali	...	Phil
Robert James-Collier	...	Hutch
Sam Troughton	...	Dom
Paul Reid	...	Robert
Matthew Needham	...	Junkie
Jacob James Beswick	...	Fiend
Maria Erwolter	...	The Host
Hilary Reeves	...	The Curate
Peter Liddell	...	The Logger
Francesca Mula	...	The Witch
Kerri McLean	...	Gayle
Gheorghe Mezei	...	Parishioner
Adriana Macsut	...	Parishioner
Constantin Codrea	...	Parishioner (as Constantin Liviu Codrea)

Storyline

A group of friends reunite after a long time to plan a vacation. They finally decide to go on a hiking trip in Sweden (northern Europe). When one of them is injured, they have no choice but to cut through the forest in order to arrive at the lodge a couple of hours sooner. During a raging rainstorm, they spent the night in a spooky, abandoned house. What awaits them are things they never expect out of this supposedly bonding trip.

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Plot Keywords:

swedish lifestyle | sweden | friendship between men | lost in the woods | dream | 

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Beside the Othala/Odal rune, the Algiz (also called Elhaz) rune can be seen on the trees and as the shape of a sacrificial pole. Algiz is the name conventionally given to the "z-rune" of the Elder Futhark runic alphabet, from the Common Germanic word for "elk" and it is thought to represent the divine might of the universe.

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Goofs

The subtitles (on Netflix at least) previously described the cult members as speaking and chanting in Swedish. They are however clearly speaking a language other than Swedish.

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Quotes

Phil: [hiking in the rain] Oh, this is awful in almost every conceivable way.
Dom: There are some, Phil, who consider this character building.
Phil: Quite frankly, right now, Sweden can lick my bridge. Lick your what?
Dom: My bridge. Jesus Christ, the bridge.
Phil: Oh, you mean the perineum.
Dom: Yeah, the gooch. The bridge.

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Connections

Featured in WhatCulture Originals: 10 More Underrated Horror Movies You Need To Watch (2019)

User Reviews

A fun Netflix horror flick

Netflix has been pumping out movies left and right and this movie hit the mark.

Honestly did not expect a horror movie from Netflix to be this entertaining and scary psychologically. Starts out alright, but as soon as we dig deeper in the woods, things start to get out of hand. Throughout the movie you only get a few glimpses of the "monster", but the last 25 minutes is everything I've wanted from a movie like this in over 10 years. No dull ending of everybody dying. We actually get a showdown! Entertaining flick!

Details

Country:

UK Canada

Language:

English Swedish

Release Date:

9 February 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Ritual

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,785,977

Company Credits

Production Co:

Entertainment One, Imaginarium Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color (ACES)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1