The appealing artwork on this makes it a bit of a letdown. To cut to the chase, this cannot be compared in the same class as some of the good or great anthology offerings. (It's no V/H/S, Creepshow, Tales of Halloween, Tales from the Darkside, Trick R Treat, or Cat's Eye- just to name a few). It's a random collection of amateur-acted horror shorts to walk through if you seek these out (horror film festival grade). That doesn't mean all the content is bad- a couple or few of the shorts are pretty decent, but most of them have no closure (and lack adequate cohesion to be a "short story"). One happens to be dubbed quite poorly over Korean actors (especially the young girl.. oof!). The synth track overlaying the last short caught my attention several times in a good way; it was probably the best entry (imo). Prepare for some daring nudity in the first short. My rating may be generous, but I'm a seeker.
11 Reviews
Haunted House Repetition - The Red Book Ritual
arthur_tafero19 October 2022
If I see one more lousy horror movie in 2022, I am going to move to New Zealand and raise potatoes. What an original plot! A group of morons go to a haunted house and perform a moronic ritual. The other 1000 films of this genre are also pretty horrific, but not in a good way. For every good horror movie, there are at least 100 that are pure crap. This is one of the crappy majority. Every line of dialogue and every scene is predictable. The only original thing in the film is the location of the bathroom, which I am sure was wll-utilized by the cast after severe drinking bouts. I saw this turkey for free, but you can't. So save your money.
It's a B-movie and a really terrible one. Almost laughably terrible...
imseeg19 September 2022
Not any good at all? If I really have to think of something positive to say then I would like to point to the photography, which wasnt bad. Not great, but not bad either. So some kind of attention for detail went into making this movie, BUT...
The bad: these actors are incredibly terrible. They are so terrible at trying to come across scared or dangerous that it is really, honeslty laughable. While it is definitely not intended to be a comedy, but it has got that effect on me.
The story is gibbledigook nonsense. Well, a lot of stories in the movie business dont make sense, but there is a level of silliness that I do not like tot watch and this "movie" is guilty of just such a silliness.
What a waste of time and money.
Recommended to be avoided...
The bad: these actors are incredibly terrible. They are so terrible at trying to come across scared or dangerous that it is really, honeslty laughable. While it is definitely not intended to be a comedy, but it has got that effect on me.
The story is gibbledigook nonsense. Well, a lot of stories in the movie business dont make sense, but there is a level of silliness that I do not like tot watch and this "movie" is guilty of just such a silliness.
What a waste of time and money.
Recommended to be avoided...
A boring snorefest badly put together.
MikeHunt107513 September 2022
This is something along the lines of V/H/S putting a story around why you're watching s bunch of short films. Only this one's story doesn't even bother half the time to explain WHY a short story just started playing.
The shorts themselves are pretty weak, mostly with no ending to them and no tie in to anything else. The story plot of 3 teens playing a spooky game is nothing memorable at all either.
There's nothing redeeming to be seen here, bad editing all over the place and short stories with no pay off's or endings. The entire thing is not worth watching.
Avoid it. You'll thank me for it.
The shorts themselves are pretty weak, mostly with no ending to them and no tie in to anything else. The story plot of 3 teens playing a spooky game is nothing memorable at all either.
There's nothing redeeming to be seen here, bad editing all over the place and short stories with no pay off's or endings. The entire thing is not worth watching.
Avoid it. You'll thank me for it.
Don't watch!
glowiemad24 November 2022
It mad no sense didn't explain how the witch came about and was alot little stories in one movie thrown together with no sense of reason. Watch of time watching and trying to understand it... ugh many thumbs down. It wasn't as scary as i thought it would be. Leaves you with alot unanswered questions and some stories left me saying "Wth" I'm lost or just didn't get it. Wasted my precious mind watching this.... you want torture somebody make them watch this piece of crap confusing movie. I like movies that explain why she became witch and why she so evil and came about. I need background information to be happy and I WAS FAR FROM FREAKING HAPPY!
Dumb teens ritual
kikiboo_822 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The only reason I watched this is because I saw it trending on the fmovies homepage. Then I come here and see a very low rating, along with very few ratings and reviews. But I think to myself, I might as well give it a chance anyway, plenty of movies from their homepage end up with a greater number of ratings and reviews after a while.
So, I started watching.
There's just these three typical teens who decide to play a scary game. They get a book with red covers and ask it questions taking turns. Then it turns out the book is evil and basically wants to possess or kill them all. And it shows a few dumb, creepy but uninteresting and unrelated stories along the way. The stories are somewhat scary but they don't have any meaning nor do they mean anything at all for the plot. They're pretty much thrown in there just to fill the screen time. Not pretty much but definitely. It's completely stupid.
So, I started watching.
There's just these three typical teens who decide to play a scary game. They get a book with red covers and ask it questions taking turns. Then it turns out the book is evil and basically wants to possess or kill them all. And it shows a few dumb, creepy but uninteresting and unrelated stories along the way. The stories are somewhat scary but they don't have any meaning nor do they mean anything at all for the plot. They're pretty much thrown in there just to fill the screen time. Not pretty much but definitely. It's completely stupid.
Don't waste your time.
dlmyst-2981322 January 2023
This movie at first reminded me of another with the same premise but way better than this movie. The stories presented in this one weren't related in anyway. Heck they didn't make sense unless I'm missing something. Only story I liked was the nurse one and that's about it. There's some nudity in the first story but nothing "sexy" at all. I feel like I wasted my time watching this movie. I was not impressed with this movie at all. Cheap, no point, ending was terrible. Plus it was just painful to sit through this pathetic attempt at horror. To top it off it was another bad anthology with poor story lines.
An incoherent mess of a storyline...
paul_haakonsen26 September 2022
I have to admit that I was initially lured into watching the 2022 horror movie "The Red Book Ritual" given the movie's cover and its title. Sure, I hadn't even heard about this movie from writers Ariel Luque and Daniel J. Phillips prior to sitting down to watch it.
However, I must say that "The Red Book Ritual" fell short of entertaining movie. The storyline was just too much of a scrambled and incoherent mess. So it was difficult to get submerged into the movie here. And even more so since the storyline was all over the place, and never felt like anything that was brought out on the screen ever got to be completed or brought full circle.
The acting performances in "The Red Book Ritual" were adequate. It was just a shame that the actors and actresses had so little to work with in terms of a properly written script and storyline. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in this movie, and that is usually something I enjoy when watching movies, but given the subpar script here, then I just found little enjoyment as the movie trotted on.
Visually then "The Red Book Ritual" was an adequate movie. However, the special effects just could do only so much to lift up an otherwise poorly written storyline.
If you enjoy horror movies, like I do obviously, then do yourself a favor and stay clear of directors Chris Beyrooty, Dean Law and Ariel Luque's 2022 horror movie.
My rating of "The Red Book Ritual" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.
However, I must say that "The Red Book Ritual" fell short of entertaining movie. The storyline was just too much of a scrambled and incoherent mess. So it was difficult to get submerged into the movie here. And even more so since the storyline was all over the place, and never felt like anything that was brought out on the screen ever got to be completed or brought full circle.
The acting performances in "The Red Book Ritual" were adequate. It was just a shame that the actors and actresses had so little to work with in terms of a properly written script and storyline. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in this movie, and that is usually something I enjoy when watching movies, but given the subpar script here, then I just found little enjoyment as the movie trotted on.
Visually then "The Red Book Ritual" was an adequate movie. However, the special effects just could do only so much to lift up an otherwise poorly written storyline.
If you enjoy horror movies, like I do obviously, then do yourself a favor and stay clear of directors Chris Beyrooty, Dean Law and Ariel Luque's 2022 horror movie.
My rating of "The Red Book Ritual" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.
nonsense
amymay-6991631 October 2023
I say it all the time,but this one REALLY takes the cake because instead of ONE dumb movie,we have one dumb movie with three (four? Five?) dumb stories within it,just compounding the stupid and nonsensical. None of these stories had a beginning,we just get dumped confusingly in the middle of something,and most didn't even have an proper end. They just happened with no rhyme or reason given,including the "main" story of the witch. Just unremarkable recitations. Characters weren't fully developed into people you cared about-only character you worried about was the little brother because he was a kid in his pjs....he didn't ask to open the gates to hell. Overall just jumbled,inconsistent, and unexplained. The crap movie trifecta. I can't unsee this,bit it's not too late for you. Save yourself!
A fun enough indie anthology that has some problematic shorts
kannibalcorpsegrinder6 February 2023
Arriving at a remote mansion, a group of teens decides to play The Red Book game only to discover that doing so has awakened a powerful witch inside the house.
The Good Stor(ies): Stray-Returning home to find his wife disheveled, a man slowly comes to believe his wife has become demonically influenced by a strange cat and tries to break its hold. This was a solid and fun way to get this started. The setup here with the arrival at the house in the state it is, finding his wife in the condition she is, and the complete confusion he finds himself is a great way to go with setting up an unnerving plotline. It starts to turn into a genuine genre effort once he realizes the connection between her and the cat that's brought to bear when the dog appears to kill it sending her into a rage that starts in the brutal, bloody confrontations here to give this a lot of fun. The near-total lack of dialogue makes much of this inference rather than literal but it's the only drawback against this segment.
Little One-Traveling home from an unsuccessful trip, a couple sees a strange kid on the side of the road and tries to save him leading to a deadly confrontation for their souls. This was a troubling if somewhat enjoyable effort. The overall setup here is chilling and quite realistic-sounding as the build-up to the incident involving their trip to the convenience store and the argument after leaving provide enough context as to why they would get involved the way they do. That's terrifying enough on its own but this one stumbles slightly by the ever-present formula of never explaining anything from those in the know which could've saved the trouble of everything by just explaining it. As well as ending right before it gets going which makes it feel disappointing more than anything, these factors do manage to bring it down.
The Red Book Ritual-Arriving at a remote mansion, a group of teens decide to play The Red Book game only to discover that doing so has awakened a powerful witch inside the house. This is a pretty fun segment that serves as a solid wraparound piece here. The escalating nature of the stories comes off rather nicely with the group coming to terms with the rules of the game which is a great tie-in to launch the next segment so it serves its function to get the stories being told. The atmosphere of the interstitial pieces is quite nice with the darkened house and the nature of how everything is quite unknown that plays up the tension even if this segment tends to make the group a lot more unlikeable with their reactions to everything that takes some sting out of this. However, it's really the only thing to knock this down.
The Bad Stor(ies): Nose Nose Nose Eyes-Terrified by strange dreams and visions, a young child tries to get to the bottom of her belief that her mother is torturing her injured and disabled father behind her back. This segment could've been something but doesn't really have much going for it. The main thing about this, which it easily could've explored further and done more with, is the child's innocent reaction to everything slowly fading into believing more malevolent activity is taking place. While that does prove to be the case, this one is so short on actual answers for these factors that it never develops the fear it really should've with the way too much here is spent on the mother trying to assure her nothing's wrong which takes a lot of energy out of the segment.
Release-Trying to get through a hospital shift, a woman looking to get her nurse job over with is stalked by a strange being throughout the hospital and tries to get away. Overall, this was a generally fun if slightly troubled segment. The main setup here is the weakest part of this one with a strange setup involving her frazzled state about the patient being treated that it sets this up to be an entirely different type of story overall. It's when this one turns into a slasher effort with the masked figure showing up and chasing her in the darkened hallways of the hospital wing that it brings about a stellar atmosphere to play with. However, there's another issue here where this turns into a morality tale in the finale through the clumsiest means possible which undoes a lot of the fear from this segment and lowers it overall.
The Sermon-Living in an oppressive religious community, a woman sees her chance to flee their grip when they bring up another woman in the community on offensive charges. This was a strange entry to close this one. The whole idea of the society at play here and what they're about including the strict religious overtones rule their lives to the point of oppression rears itself into an intriguing community that could've been more fun to stay around longer. The early scenes with the tormented victim they're trying to torture signaling the upcoming turn are fun, but much like earlier there's almost nothing here about what's going on as the indiscretion is never stated and most attempts at explaining this are drowned out for religious sermons that don't help much leaving this to be a solid idea that could've used more time.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Full Nudity, and violence-against-animals.
The Good Stor(ies): Stray-Returning home to find his wife disheveled, a man slowly comes to believe his wife has become demonically influenced by a strange cat and tries to break its hold. This was a solid and fun way to get this started. The setup here with the arrival at the house in the state it is, finding his wife in the condition she is, and the complete confusion he finds himself is a great way to go with setting up an unnerving plotline. It starts to turn into a genuine genre effort once he realizes the connection between her and the cat that's brought to bear when the dog appears to kill it sending her into a rage that starts in the brutal, bloody confrontations here to give this a lot of fun. The near-total lack of dialogue makes much of this inference rather than literal but it's the only drawback against this segment.
Little One-Traveling home from an unsuccessful trip, a couple sees a strange kid on the side of the road and tries to save him leading to a deadly confrontation for their souls. This was a troubling if somewhat enjoyable effort. The overall setup here is chilling and quite realistic-sounding as the build-up to the incident involving their trip to the convenience store and the argument after leaving provide enough context as to why they would get involved the way they do. That's terrifying enough on its own but this one stumbles slightly by the ever-present formula of never explaining anything from those in the know which could've saved the trouble of everything by just explaining it. As well as ending right before it gets going which makes it feel disappointing more than anything, these factors do manage to bring it down.
The Red Book Ritual-Arriving at a remote mansion, a group of teens decide to play The Red Book game only to discover that doing so has awakened a powerful witch inside the house. This is a pretty fun segment that serves as a solid wraparound piece here. The escalating nature of the stories comes off rather nicely with the group coming to terms with the rules of the game which is a great tie-in to launch the next segment so it serves its function to get the stories being told. The atmosphere of the interstitial pieces is quite nice with the darkened house and the nature of how everything is quite unknown that plays up the tension even if this segment tends to make the group a lot more unlikeable with their reactions to everything that takes some sting out of this. However, it's really the only thing to knock this down.
The Bad Stor(ies): Nose Nose Nose Eyes-Terrified by strange dreams and visions, a young child tries to get to the bottom of her belief that her mother is torturing her injured and disabled father behind her back. This segment could've been something but doesn't really have much going for it. The main thing about this, which it easily could've explored further and done more with, is the child's innocent reaction to everything slowly fading into believing more malevolent activity is taking place. While that does prove to be the case, this one is so short on actual answers for these factors that it never develops the fear it really should've with the way too much here is spent on the mother trying to assure her nothing's wrong which takes a lot of energy out of the segment.
Release-Trying to get through a hospital shift, a woman looking to get her nurse job over with is stalked by a strange being throughout the hospital and tries to get away. Overall, this was a generally fun if slightly troubled segment. The main setup here is the weakest part of this one with a strange setup involving her frazzled state about the patient being treated that it sets this up to be an entirely different type of story overall. It's when this one turns into a slasher effort with the masked figure showing up and chasing her in the darkened hallways of the hospital wing that it brings about a stellar atmosphere to play with. However, there's another issue here where this turns into a morality tale in the finale through the clumsiest means possible which undoes a lot of the fear from this segment and lowers it overall.
The Sermon-Living in an oppressive religious community, a woman sees her chance to flee their grip when they bring up another woman in the community on offensive charges. This was a strange entry to close this one. The whole idea of the society at play here and what they're about including the strict religious overtones rule their lives to the point of oppression rears itself into an intriguing community that could've been more fun to stay around longer. The early scenes with the tormented victim they're trying to torture signaling the upcoming turn are fun, but much like earlier there's almost nothing here about what's going on as the indiscretion is never stated and most attempts at explaining this are drowned out for religious sermons that don't help much leaving this to be a solid idea that could've used more time.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Full Nudity, and violence-against-animals.
It's not bad
mjsreg25 October 2022
It's an Indie film not a big budget production so if you have high expectations you are going to be disappointed.
Overall, it's not a bad collection of stories, some better than others, and equally some of the acting is not going to win any awards.
Even so, it is perfectly watchable with some interesting twist and turns and enough to keep you engaged (with the occasional groan) for the near ninety minutes it is on screen.
It is certainly better than a lot of the American teen cabin in the woods films that have flooded the horror genre in recent years.
So if you happen to see it is available then it is worth watching.
Overall, it's not a bad collection of stories, some better than others, and equally some of the acting is not going to win any awards.
Even so, it is perfectly watchable with some interesting twist and turns and enough to keep you engaged (with the occasional groan) for the near ninety minutes it is on screen.
It is certainly better than a lot of the American teen cabin in the woods films that have flooded the horror genre in recent years.
So if you happen to see it is available then it is worth watching.
See also
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