For many years, movies have tried to capture the spiritual onscreen. And it’s usually by way of our dalliances with the demonic.
Based on true events, The Ritual tells the story of Father Joseph Steiger (Dan Stevens), a priest who is struggling with his faith. However, his quiet ministry is threatened when Father Steiger is ordered to connect with Father Theophilus Reisinger (Al Pacino), an older priest who specialises in exorcisms. Theophilus requires his help to conduct a series of controversial rituals on Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowan), a young woman who remains afflicted in her bed. Although Joseph remains skeptical, the events he witnesses will challenge his beliefs in ways he never could have imagined.
Directed by David Midell, The Ritual is a middle-of-the-road supernatural thriller with high ambitions. Segmenting the film primarily by each ritual, Midell chooses to emphasize the battle between man and demon. In that spirit, credit must be given to Ritual for doing its best to show events as they’ve been recorded. Even as things intensify, Ritual resists the temptation to go entirely off the wall (pun intended.) in its depiction of demonic events. We are meant to believe that these are the events that took place in 1928 and lean into them with belief.
As such, even if it borrows heavily from other films, The Ritual isn’t meant to be The Conjuring or even The Exorcist. There are no spinning heads or tables flying around the room. Instead, this is the type of horror that is meant to be unsettling as the viewer sits in the room with the priests who wish to quell demonic forces. Yes, there are moments that feel sensationalized but, in general, the scenes feel surprisingly tempered compared to other films of this nature.
What’s more, Ritual wisely includes some skepticism in its portrayal of spiritual battles. In our modern climate, conversations exorcisms and spiritual warfare has recognized the many ways that mental health has been largely ignored in the church as well. Obviously, whether or not one believes in the demonic is key to this particular film. However, it is interesting that Stevens’ Father Steiger advocates strongly for Emma to receive proper medical attention. In this way, Midell attempts to merge conversations of faith with the more balanced conversations surrounding mental health in church settings. There’s clearly a tension between belief and practice taking place amongst these characters that can be interesting, particularly through Stevens’ character.
However, there’s no doubt that Ritual has its issues. As Father Theophilus, Pacino often seems befuddled by his own accent. Meanwhile, Greene and her chorus of sisters who are assisting are often left to stand around without meaningful stories.
However, the biggest issue with the film itself is its assembly. While the film tries to make use of the facts of the recorded events, the film’s ‘ritual-based structure’ leaves the viewer wanting. Because the film spends most of its runtime in the midst of the daily exorcisms, it leaves little room for character development. For instance, although Father Steiger is grappling with the recent loss of his brother and his struggle with belief, that story isn’t given much of an opportunity to leave an impact. This is the sort of addition that can truly elevate a film that wants to revel in the darkest levels of the spiritual world. However, Midell neither leans into genuine conversations of faith to give the film pause nor does he lean into the campiness of horror to make the film scary.
As a result, it’s the script to The Ritual that feels spiritually lost. Rather than taking the opportunity to truly engage the questions surrounding the complex relationship between the spiritual and tangible, the film tries to focus on what it believes to be factual. Following Emma Schmidt’s exorcisms, The Ritual believes these events to be genuine. And it wants the viewer to believe in them as well.
Whether or not they believe that’s what took place is entirely up to them.
The Ritual is available in theatres on Friday, June 6th, 2025.
