“The true story that impressed The Exorcist.” That is the tagline for Al Pacino and Dan Stevens’ new horror movie The Ritual that hits theaters this Friday, but when its Rotten Tomatoes rating is any indication of issues, it appears the film itself is in want of an exorcism. Debuting to a brutal 0% rating, The Ritual is being blasted by critics for being “cheaply made” and never undertaking “a lot of something.”
“If you happen to’ve ever puzzled what a painfully boring, generic exorcism narrative filmed within the model of The Workplace can be like, The Ritual is the reply,” says Joseph Robinson from Fish Jelly Movies. Man, that is robust. Directed by David Midell, Mark Hanson from Slate Journal notes that the movie is “a particular sort of hell,” whereas Jacob Oller from AV Membership provides:
“Ultimately, The Ritual simply turns into a nasty possession film that is not pulling off its hokey scares, fairly than a nasty possession film unable to meet its extra down-to-earth ambitions.”
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Starring Pacino as Father Theophilus Riesinger and Stevens as Father Joseph Steiger, The Ritual follows two monks – one questioning his religion (Stevens) and one reckoning with a troubled previous (Pacino) – who should put apart their variations to avoid wasting a possessed younger lady via a tough and harmful collection of exorcisms. It is based mostly on the real-life exorcism of Emma Schmidt which occurred in 1928, and stays probably the most documented instances of demonic possession in American historical past. Together with the 1949 exorcism of Ronald Edwin Hunkeler, it helped encourage The Exorcist, which to at the present time stays the benchmark for possession movies.
‘The Ritual’ Is the “Worst Film” of Al Pacino’s Profession
Additionally starring Ashley Greene, Abigail Cowen, Patricia Heaton, and Patrick Fabian, Brian Orndorf from Blu-ray.com says “there is no suspense to be discovered” in The Ritual, which he additionally notes is “cheaply made and is not involved with making a worry issue because it slowly reheats scenes from subgenre classics.” Actually, that appears to be the consensus as of late with a number of possession flicks that try to match The Exorcist‘s success, however find yourself being nothing greater than pale imitations as a substitute.
“It is painful to jot down it, however The Ritual will go down as one of many worst motion pictures in each Al Pacino’s and Dan Stevens’ respective careers,” says Shawn Van Horn from Collider. “The Ritual delivers a virtually unwatchable expertise that may be a simmering stew of each horror trope that would exist,” provides Giovanni Lago from Subsequent Greatest Image. It is unhappy, actually, because the trailer (seen above) confirmed a lot promise, however alas, Jack Martin from Movie Feeder says:
“It isn’t scary, neither is it fascinating in any definable method, leaving it probably the most boring exorcism motion pictures in an extended whereas, which is saying one thing given how that is already a subgenre that is generic to a fault.”
If you wish to topic your self to 98 minutes of obvious hell this weekend, you possibly can take a look at The Ritual when it hits theaters on June 6 from XYZ Movies. Nonetheless, within the phrases of critic Billie Walker from Little White Lies, be ready for a film that “fails to scare, entertain or convert.”
Supply: Rotten Tomatoes
The Ritual
- Launch Date
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June 6, 2025
- Runtime
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98 Minutes
- Director
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David Midell
- Writers
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David Midell, Enrico Natale
- Producers
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Andrew Stevens, Enrico Natale, Mitchell Welch, Ross Kagan Marks