The Ritual
2017
***
Director: David Bruckner
Cast: Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, Sam Troughton, Paul Reid, Maria Erwolter, Jacob James Beswick, Hilary Reeves, Peter Liddell, Kerri McLean
Four college friends go on a hiking trip in Sweden. They opt to take a shortcut through a forest, but encounter an evil presence tied to ancient pagan mythology. David Bruckner's folk horror film introduces four characters who are annoying, bickering bores even before the odds after stacked against them. Luckily, their personalities play a smaller role as events take a sinister turn. In the end, this is a short and effective shocker. Based on Adam Nevill's 2011 novel.
