I love these "scary woods" stories and if you haven't seen YELLOW BRICK ROAD, check it out.
The first hour of THE RITUAL is excellent--great acting, dialogue, music and an unsettling mood is quickly established. But once we only have two remaining men...the climax slows to a crawl when it should speed up. What happened to all that scary tension we had built up?
While wisely holding back showing too much or telling too much for the first hour, the final 30 minutes reveal it's all THE HILLS HAVE EYES visit THE WICKER MAN and the film collapses. And, the biggest (?) mistake, they show the creature that the people worship. Not sure why--it's odd looking but not that terrifying and the final scene where the man is yelling at it, thrilled that he's escaped, doesn't work. And then? The screen goes black, credits roll. A real disappointment but the first hour is GREAT!
The first hour of THE RITUAL is excellent--great acting, dialogue, music and an unsettling mood is quickly established. But once we only have two remaining men...the climax slows to a crawl when it should speed up. What happened to all that scary tension we had built up?
While wisely holding back showing too much or telling too much for the first hour, the final 30 minutes reveal it's all THE HILLS HAVE EYES visit THE WICKER MAN and the film collapses. And, the biggest (?) mistake, they show the creature that the people worship. Not sure why--it's odd looking but not that terrifying and the final scene where the man is yelling at it, thrilled that he's escaped, doesn't work. And then? The screen goes black, credits roll. A real disappointment but the first hour is GREAT!