The Ritual
Short description
Four former university friends reunite for a hiking trip in the wilds of northern Sweden, honouring the memory of a friend who died violently. Tensions among them surface early, particularly for Luke, who finds the others changed in ways he struggles to accept. When they stray from the marked route onto what seems a shortcut, the group is drawn deeper into old, remote forest, where they lose their bearings and come upon a strange building and signs of ritual activity. Something in the woods then begins stalking them, turning the trip into a fight to survive.
David Bruckner directed the film from a screenplay by Joe Barton, with Andy Serkis among the producers. It followed Bruckner's segments in the anthology films V/H/S and Southbound, and preceded The Night House, Hellraiser and V/H/S/85. Rafe Spall plays Luke, alongside Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, Sam Troughton and Paul Reid.
Made for about 1 million USD, the film took roughly 2 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.4/10 from 142,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.3/10 from 3,575 votes. A critics' rating of 6.2/10 from 94 reviews places it close to both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The markings carved on the trees are symbols of Wicca (a Western neopagan religion based on the veneration of nature). They are neither words nor a warning.
- The rune shown at the beginning of the film on the trees, and also in the final act, is the Othala rune from the Elder Futhark. It is considered the 'rune of Odin' and means 'heritage' or 'property'.
- At the end of the film, the cultists repeat the word blóte. This is a reference to the ritual of offering to the gods (food, drinks, possibly the carcasses of slain animals) of the Ásatrú cult. Human sacrifices, however, were not part of this ritual.
- The film is based on a novel published a few years before filming, but some scenes in the film were inspired by the 'rituals' from horror films of the 1970s.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
