The Ritual rates as one of the best horrors I will seen for ages, it's atmospheric, scary, boasts great characters and is superbly acted. I'm certain many will make comparisons to The Blair Witch, and I definitely see similarities, but this felt like it had much more depth.

The beginning was very unusual, very unexpected, the middle was superb, the ending possibly the weakest element.

I loved the sense of horror, the sense of claustrophobia, that feeling of impending doom, all incredibly well captured. The acting is superb, Spall, Troughton, Ali, it was nice to see so many actors from famous perform together.

The beast itself was superb, absolutely terrifying, not as scary as that witch though.

Powerful imagery, scared galore, feet performances combine to make a superb movie. 9/10

The film is about a group of friends who go trekking in the Swedish forests to honour their dead friend's wish. I got enticed due to the trailer n the director's name was sufficient for me. Have enjoyed David Bruckners films. (The Signal 2007, Siren, Southbound). Saw this on a rented dvd. The film captured the eerie nature of the forest so well, it becomes the most important character in the film. The creepiness n sense of dread in the broad daylight n the surrealistic nightmare sequences in the nighttime added solid tensions. The dream sequences in the cabin was truly nightmarish. The suspense is maintained throughout. This film makes getting lost in the woods scary all over again. The woodlands are a sight to see and have a very alienating feel that tells you that you are never safe, no matter if its daylight or night.

A group of guys go on vacation together every year. One in the group was killed, and they decide to do a little memorial along the way as they hike a mountain trail in Sweden (filmed in Romania). Things go well until they feel they need to take a short cut through the dense forest where they discover the proverbial cabin in the woods. The cabin was clearly used for some pagan ritual. They get scared and want out.

The film was slow in developing but wasn't boring. Rafe Spall is set up as the final guy from the beginning. There is a creature that we see at the end. Nice trees.

Guide: f-word. No sex. Male side nudity.