Nigel P A young lady called Lovely (Lisa Marie Summerscales) is being chatted up at the seaside. She's coy, all smiles. The next thing, we hear her disembodied voice on the phone crying, pleading for help. When her estranged husband Tom (Dean Cates) turns up to see her at a seedy hotel, he greets her desperate cries with all the sympathy of a sledgehammer. We soon see why. There's a corpse in the room with her, covered in blood. Apparently, 'this kind of thing' has happened before.Summerscales (who bears a resemblance to Billie Piper) is excellent in this, which is a role that really requires her to react to increasingly panicky situations. She's never unbelievable or unsympathetic – even when the 'corpse' turns out to have secrets of his own.Despite the leads' unwillingness to call the police (although looking back, it's just as well), I found myself fully invested in this. The performances are all strong, the atmosphere and music genuinely getting more and more unsettling. The direction is first rate – the hotel room, already seedy and unfriendly, takes on a more sinister tone when bathed only in the blinking static light from the television. The isolated nature of the location is powerfully utilised – poor Lovely's predicament becomes increasingly hopeless.There isn't much gore, and very few special effects to speak of. None of this matters when a story is told this strongly – in fact, sparingly used as they are, the effects depicting Lovely's deteriorating situation are all the more teeth-clenching. The setting, the 1950s, is effective and rids us of the convenience of mobile phones and the like.Director, writer and 'excited Cultist' cast member Mickey Keating has provided a terrific debut with this slow burning, often deliberately muddy production (we don't know much about the cultists and exactly what their 'mission' is, but that really doesn't matter), which continues to restore my faith in modern horror somewhat. At times it seems as if events are passing too slowly, but there's always a twist or a shock that makes sense of the decision. A dark, creepy, often claustrophobic story which remains compelling and unpredictable right until the end. Unnerving!

Greenzombidog Ritual takes the often used trapped in a motel room thriller and adds in a satanic cult element but doesn't do anything original with the idea.The intro had my hopes up with it's stylish opening and eerie credits with the gradually appearing skull mask setting the mood very well. yet as the movie carried on my interest gradually waned as each scene was a real effort to sit through. An almost totally unlikeable female lead and virtually no chemistry between the two main actors made for every exchange between them a real laborious viewing experience. The cults masks were fairly effective but you never really got to see what they were up to. The strange use of a high pitched whine as scenes got more "intense" was a rather annoying sonic choice that for me didn't pay off. The usual horror movie foolish choices appear but you should be used to that sort of thing if you watch this sort of movie. Obvious comparisons to vacancy are likely but the two movies are almost poles apart in terms of delivery. Vacancy is almost relentless once it gets going were as Ritual is a more sedate slow burn.The biggest problem with Ritual for me was it wasn't any fun. It was just a little too miserable and slow. Ritual is not really a bad movie but having seen it it's probably one I wish I'd waited to watch on the horror channel.

pablogomez36 3 thumbs up for Ritual. Hell...let's put in my index fingers as well. Ritual all the elements of a successful thriller...good acting, simple but decent plot and some unexpected "gotcha" scenes. For (what I understand is) a low-budget film...this film packs the punch of many of those costing much much more.I showed the movie to my film class and the large majority of students came away impressed. Who is this frickin' director? Let's hope we see more from him/her....There is obviously room for growth but here's hoping that the room becomes available. I, for one, will be checking in ! Ritual kicked my ass...and it will kick yours as well !

juliojones53 This is not your father's slasher film. And folks who are looking for such should look elsewhere. Instead writer and director Keating has offered his first film as a slow-burn thriller...more Hitchcockian than FreddyKruegerian.Best assessment for a potential viewer is the read the review in IMDb from the critics who, with a few exceptions, provide positive feedback.These are the folks who really know the genre. Why all the hate from some of the viewers? Must be some jealous classmates of Keating's from film school who are working in someone's mail room in LA.For a low budget first-time film, the results are terrific. Savants of thrillers will recognize a number of homages to other directors and films. Good!!!! That's what young directors do. Historically, some of the best painters honed their skills by copying the masterpieces of the greats.The editing is crisp and the acting good. I liked the storyline...mess around and you will get burned.Now, there are some issues with pace. When breaking the film apart, it looks like some scenes were prolonged, probably to reach the 90minute cutoff required for a feature film.Would love to have seen the true director's cut. This aside, I found Ritual to be an excellent start from a young writer and director who appears to have promise. One wonders what he'll do with a better budget. I, for one, would be excited to see the results. As it is, the production values here are good. Ritual offers a thrilling ride for viewers who really understand film.