REVIEW: ‘The Ritual’ Is An Unfulfilling Slog

In horror, the exorcism sub-genre is a well-trodden one. Director David Midell attempts to breathe new life into the format with The Ritual, based on the real-life exorcism performed on Emma Schmidt in 1928. Researched directly from the transcripts of those events and the book Begone Satan!, Midell’s film presents a golden opportunity to take a visceral look at the process of exorcism like never before. The Ritual squanders that opportunity, presenting a flat slog of an effort that’s not scary or dramatically compelling, smothered by actors who seem to be sleepwalking in their roles.

Earling, Iowa. 1928. Father Joseph Stieger (Dan Stevens) struggles with his faith after the loss of his brother. He’ll have to be more resolute than before, however, when Bishop Edwards (Patrick Fabian) approaches him with a chilling request: a troubled young girl, Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen), is suspected of demonic possession. With the help of Friar Theophilus Riesenger (Al Pacino), Edwards suggests that they perform an exorcism at Father Stieger’s church. Reluctantly accepting, Stieger sees his entire parish come undone as they try to help Schmidt, causing him to wonder deeper about what’s real and what’s not.

There are interesting germs of ideas in The Ritual. The troubled priest archetype, as overdone as it is, remains a draw for this kind of horror, as it presents a chance to compound the drama. Enrico Natale and David Midell’s script also gestures at the idea that most cases of possession are simply cases of a mental health crisis not properly treated.

Abigail Cowen gives her all to bring gravitas to an otherwise underwhelming film.

Moreover, it’s less common to see the effect such an undertaking would have on other church members, such as the nuns. The best scene in the film involves Emma turning on Sister Rose, played effectively by Twilight’s Ashley Greene. An unspeakable act of violence done by Emma and the total terror portrayed through Greene’s performance create the only truly scary moment here.

From the start, it’s clear that The Ritual aims for verisimilitude. In only two key areas does it achieve a modicum of realism. One is the cinematography by Adam Biddle, which maintains a “shaky-cam” sort of fly-on-the-wall approach that comes closer to the visual language of documentaries than narrative features. The other aspect that adds to some sense of immediate atmosphere is Abigail Cowen as Emma Schmidt. Cowen commits harder than the rest of the cast by a long shot. Her ability to transform from a weeping, traumatized teenager to a wry, steely gaze and a total monster in human skin is powerful. It’s a shame that the rest of the movie is, at best, extremely generic.

David Midell cannot conjure up much tension in this film. The pacing of The Ritual feels less like a ritual and more like a begrudging routine. Despite Abigail Cowen’s best efforts, there’s no real sense of progression in the demon taking over her, nor do the scenes build on top of each other.

The Ritual falls into a familiar holding pattern of an attempt at exorcism, a scene where the church staff discusses what happened, and then rinse and repeat. Maybe this would work if the actual exorcism scenes were compelling, but they’re not. The most generous thing that can be said about this film’s horror set pieces is that they feel like regurgitated mimicries of other scenes from much better movies.

Dan Stevens and Al Pacino phone in their performances in The Ritual.

The Ritual‘s script is also a total wet blanket, despite the aforementioned allusion to some stronger ideas. Characters will drolly lay out their motivations and describe what is happening in the scene. There’s next to no tangible interiority to any of them. I’m also dubious about this film being meticulously based on the transcripts of the exorcism because it feels so beholden to every other exorcism movie that’s ever come out. One doesn’t come out of The Ritual having truly learned anything new about “the most documented exorcism in history.”

It takes two to tango, and the failings of the script/direction are only made worse by lead performances that give nothing to chew on. Al Pacino playing a German-American priest should be catnip for fans of the actor, and his accent is impressive, but Russell Crowe in The Pope’s Exorcist he is not. Pacino feels actively bored with the material, phoning in a turn as a wise authority figure that doesn’t play into the multi-faceted nature of his real-life component.

Dan Stevens is a proven leading man with a large range, yet he can’t get a grip on making the character anything more than “a priest.” He’s given so many immediately iconic performances, from Legion to The Guest, that it’s puzzling to see him this subdued and seemingly bored. When this is the duo you need to hang your film on, it’s not going to work.

The Ritual doesn’t accomplish much of anything. Despite the potential for a fresh approach to exorcism horror, David Midell’s film isn’t scary, lacks the conviction to see its fact-based story through all its facets, and falls apart due to disinterested lead performers. In a landscape where original horror films such as Sinners and Bring Her Back have dazzled audiences, The Ritual simply isn’t going to cut it.

The Ritual plays in theatres everywhere on June 6.