The Ritual

I definitely have a bone to pick with whoever gave this film to Netflix - US OVER HERE IN THE UK HAVE NEVER GOTTEN IT.  It's an English cast, yet, it never seemed to reach over here, and that made me sad.  I had heard some good things and I have waited about two years for this.  I ended up turning to my best friend CEX and buying it from there instead...  "Reuniting after the tragic death of their friend, four college pals set out to hike through the Scandinavian wilderness. A wrong turn leads them into the mysterious forests of Norse legend, where an ancient evil exists and stalks them at every turn."

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I tell you what, this movie is great at pulling you in to start with, Rob's death is harsh as hell!  It's a massive punch in the face.  And that's not a spoiler by the way, before anyone gets worried.  It's a very dark death to say the least.  I watched part of this with my parents and neither knew he was going to die, unlike me, but it was still as shocking knowing it was coming.  I feel that makes a very good opening to a film.  

We then skip ahead and the group of friends have gone on the holiday Rob wanted, and most of them aren't loving life, let's say the least.  One thing I really didn't like about this film, was how 'laddish' the guys all tried to act.  It was all "mate" this and "mate" that, and it just didn't match many of the characters.  I could never expect Rafe Spall to say mate that much or even Sam Troughton, but then again, I do just think of him as Much out of Robin Hood...  I just felt it was pushed, for all of them.  It's a bit like if someone as nice as David Suchet, was in a film with Danny Dyer, but he did all the swearing instead of Mr Dyer.  It just doesn't really feel that natural... 

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Don't get me wrong, I did like this film, but I do feel it slowed down the further it got into the film.  I was really into it at the start, and when they found the cottage, it was very tense in my living room, but by the end, I wasn't that happy.  The ending was not a good one.  It just felt like they ran out of ideas, action and more action, right up until the last scene and it just ends.  Nahhhhh.  It didn't ruin it, but it definitely could have been better. 

Overal, I am glad I watched The Ritual, but the ending could have been so much better, and I did feel it lost it's spark in places, but I still enjoyed it.  Luckily the ending did not kill the mood.  

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