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By Keith Walther
Even demonic forces would find this film too cruel a punishment to sit through from start to finish. “The Ritual” is another supernatural type of horror based on the true story of America’s most well documented exorcism. Unfortunately, not even the great Al Pacino is able to make you an offer you can’t refuse to see this movie.
Earling, Iowa 1928 is the setting for the chronicled exorcism of Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen), who had been reportedly dealing with demonic possession for many years. Father Joseph Steiger (Dan Stevens) allows the exorcism, led by Father Theophilus Riesinger (Al Pacino), to take place in his parish. Nothing could prepare him for events that would transpire in his church.
As Father Riesinger begins the series of rituals, Emma’s condition worsens as her body seems to rebel against the exorcism. The insidiousness of the evil force that has hold over her embeds itself in the church, causing fear and turmoil amongst the nuns in addition to Father Steiger’s growing doubt in faith. For this risky exorcism to work, everyone must overcome these challenges and unite to force this evil spirit from the young woman’s soul.
There have been many attempts to recreate the horrific magic from 1973’s “The Exorcist,” arguably the greatest horror film of all time, but few have ever come close. Writer/director David Midell only succeeds in making the worst film of the year so far, if not the worst exorcism based horror film of all time. With so many of these types of films coming out on a regular basis, something new and different has to be brought to make it stand out in a positive way. However, Midell uses the same tired tropes and formulas that have been done ad nauseum, creating a bland, utterly predictable waste of time. Being that it’s a true story, he doesn’t even enlighten audiences as to who these people are or even how Emma became possessed. He simply starts and ends the movie with an overly long exorcism, avoiding any kind of character development whatsoever.
The worst filmmaking sin Midell commits is the horrendous cinematography. The constant jerky and shaky camera movements, even during the still moments, make the movie look and feel like a cheap high school production. Even the use of a simple tripod would have helped with the dialogue scenes. During the attempted horror scenes, he tries zooming in and out to incite fear, which only elicits disgusted laughter at the amateurish attempt. This is some of the worst cinematography for a major motion picture in the history of film and is a perfect example of how it can destroy the storytelling of a movie.
Outside of Al Pacino, the acting is not much better with English actor Dan Stevens providing a lackluster, uninspired performance as the priest with lapses in faith. He fails to convincingly portray any depth or emotional intensity despite having the richest backstory of any other character in the film. Instead, he comes across more as a bored accountant who then over-embellishes his character’s crisis in faith with comical explosiveness. The lack of authenticity extends to the rest of this underwhelming ensemble, from Abigail Cowen who plays the possessed young woman to Patricia Heaton who plays the Mother Superior role.
For Al Pacino himself, this simply represents a sad turn in the decorated actor’s career. He follows in the footsteps of Russell Crowe, who starred in not one but two horrendously similar movies, “The Pope’s Exorcist” in 2023 and “The Exorcism” just last year. While Pacino does his best to add some semblance of gravitas and professionalism to this production, it is not nearly enough to overcome the film’s countless follies.
The moral of the story is don’t trust these supernatural horror films with actors in the twilight of their careers. With inept direction, shoddy camera work, and a mundanely told story that’s been overdone, the only exorcism needed for “The Ritual” is the movie itself. It should be buried in the deepest catacombs never to be seen again and erased from memory.
This movie earns
