There is always some excitement when it comes to a Secret Screening, and the Cineworld Secret Screaming 6 turned out to be The Ritual starring Al Pacino and Dan Stevens.
The movie directed by David Midell is based on a true story about two priests, one in crisis with his faith and the other confronting a turbulent past, who must overcome their differences to perform a risky exorcism.
The Ritual is another in the long line of movies that are based on an exorcism, and I have to say that, for me, they are starting to wear a little thin these days. Being a fan of The Exorcist, it takes a lot for a movie to beat that, and with so many films on the subject over the years, the genre has been watered down considerably. That’s not to say all films based on exorcisms are bad, but most of them just don’t have the scare factor or the psychological touch that The Exorcist brought to the genre.
The movie is a real slow burner that doesn’t come to the boil until almost the end of the film. There are some nice touches at each stage of the ritual to exorcise the demon from Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen, Stranger Things). As the stages progress, so does the intensity of the demon trying to take over Emma, but the battle is relentless as Father Theophilus Riesinger (Al Pacino, Serpico) and Father Joseph Steiger (Dan Stevens, Cuckoo) attempt to save her body and soul.
Between the stages of The Ritual, the Fathers and the nuns are set at unease as each time they try to fight the demon fights back with sounds and visions to try and put them off from carrying on with their battle.
If you are someone who jumps very easily at loud noises or things in the shadows, then I’ll warn you know there are plenty of those, but sadly, the film just seems to lack anything that will pull you into the story and the characters. As I mentioned earlier, movies of this genre have watered down the market when it comes to the scares, and most of what we see, we have seen so many times before.
The style of The Ritual does seem to be very “hand-held” with shaky camera movements that give it a sort of documentary style shoot, almost as if the camera crew are there just to document the event.
I was surprised at how wooden Stevens and Pacino came across in their performances, which didn’t help build up the characters to see what they were going through.
The Ritual was a sad let down for me, maybe others may enjoy it more and that for those of you that go to see it to make up your minds, but there are so many better exorcism movies out there that grab the viewer and make the hair on their arms stand to attention.
The Ritual is out in UK cinemas on May 30.
The Ritual is an Extremely Slow Burning Movie
Movie title: The Ritual (2025)
Movie description: Two priests, one in crisis with his faith and the other confronting a turbulent past, must overcome their differences to perform a risky exorcism.
Date published: May 27, 2025
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 38m
Director(s): David Midell
Actor(s): Al Pacino, Dan Stevens, Ashley Greene
Genre: Supernatural Horror, Drama, Thriller
Summary
This film may not appeal to everyone; there are better movies about exorcisms.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
