Film Review - The Ritual (15)

Yeah yeah - four twats in a forest.

The Ritual is a no-nonsense British genre pic from Andy Serkis' new Imaginarium production company. That's 'no nonsense' in terms of it being a pared-to-the-bone horror film that wastes no time in set-up. It does get pretty nonsensical as the story goes on, but never at the expense of its fundamental creepiness.

Rafe Spall plays Luke, who with a group of mates set off on a lads' Scandinavian walking holiday. The trip is partially an act of memorial following a nasty trauma that has shaken the group to its core, none more so than Luke. But things veer towards the sinister when the boys take a dubious short-cut through the woods. (Don't go through the woods! Haven't you seen... any horror films, lads? Like, ever in your life?) 

In fairness to the writing, every debatable decision made by the group is - well - debated, so that their poor choices make some kind of half-arsed sense. And the writing is one of this modest film's considerable strengths. The source of the friends' emotional turmoil is established in a neat but shocking opening sequence, and from there a sense of real if strained friendship is established. These are guys who've known each other a long time, resentments building up along with the camaraderie. Their dialogue is spiky and funny and utterly believable, so that investment in their brewing plight occurs very naturally. 

The overall feel of the story is Blair Witch, only with much more steady-cam, and beautifully shot throughout. The sense of the woodland growing denser, as danger increases, is achieved to genuinely unnerving effect. Laughter gives way to urgency and terror, and to its credit the film plays its scares completely straight, refusing to undercut it with knowing humour. And whatever I suggested earlier, it does well to sidestep genre cliches, never quite doing what the audience expects.

Spall's likeable everyman is perfect for the role of Luke, although this time the likability is compromised by cowardice - a central theme in the film. He's backed up by his ageing-lad associates, notably Robert James-Collier (formerly Downton Abbey's dodgy under-butler Thomas) as the alpha-male of the group. Together they make for a funny bickering group, who play the drama and the horror in dead earnest.

If there's a flaw (and there is) it's that having grounded events in reality, the latter stages of the film do stretch credulity beyond snapping point. The nature of the threat is rather too much at odds with what's gone before, although maybe the point is to take these ordinary blokes well beyond their usual bounds. Also whether or not the central themes of the movie play out satisfactorily is open to debate.

The Ritual is a solid horror trip nonetheless, as focused in its progress as the boys' is meandering. Character-based throughout, it combines empathy with its chills, more than justifying its existence.

Gut Reaction: Simultaneously unsettled by the environment and entertained by the laddish banter. A bit deflated by the end.

Ed's Verdict: It's a standard horror, elevated by great atmosphere and ensemble playing. Bodes pretty well for Mr Serkis' Imaginarium company.