David Bruckner’s 2017 film "The Ritual" is a psychological adventure/horror story centering on four British men in their thirties who go for a hike deep within the forests of northern Sweden, where it gradually becomes clear that something is hunting them through the trees. The question hanging over everything: will any of them survive? It feels like a combination of “The Blair Witch Project” (1999) and “Ogre” (2008), but without the humor present in the latter film. There’s also an influence from "The Wicker Man" (1973/2006). Similar to “Blair Witch,” the characters become increasingly frightened within the oppressive woods, eventually leading them to turn against each other. However, the visuals are far more impressive thanks to the stunning Romanian landscapes, a significant step up from the rather ordinary film work of "Blair Witch," which was shot in Maryland (though that’s understandable given it's presented as “found footage”). I won't spoil what the creature looks like—it isn’t fully shown until roughly the final fifteen minutes—but it’s essentially a combination of the monsters from “The Relic” (1997) and “Wendigo” (2001), only larger, and better than either. The latter portion of the film moves away from the source material, which some viewers have objected to, but in my opinion, it’s an improvement over the book's underdeveloped black metal cult storyline; there’s one particularly powerful scene that feels like a descent into hell. There’s also an interesting idea explored about attaining something close to immortality through complete obedience. Despite these strengths, the film felt somewhat slow and uninspired at times, and it could have benefited from having more female characters. The movie has a running time of 1 hour and 34 minutes and was filmed entirely in Romania. Joe Barton wrote the screenplay, adapting it from Adam Nevill’s 2012 novel. The main characters are portrayed by Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, and Sam Troughton. GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)

Source on TMDB