The Ritual
The brief
David Bruckner turns a familiar setup - friends hiking through creepy woods - into something genuinely unsettling by leaning hard into ancient folklore and body horror. The first half builds dread through excellent sound design and increasingly paranoid group dynamics, while the back half goes full creature feature with some wonderfully grotesque practical effects. Rafe Spall anchors it all as the guilt-ridden protagonist whose personal demons feel as threatening as whatever's lurking in the trees. Perfect for fans of The Descent or The Blair Witch Project who want their forest horror served with actual monster payoff.
The verdict
If you love atmospheric forest horror that builds genuine dread before delivering satisfying creature feature thrills, this is exactly what you're looking for. If you prefer psychological horror that stays subtle or can't handle grotesque practical effects and body horror, you'll want to pass on this one.
Watch with
- 👥 Horror fans craving creature features
- ⚠️ Those sensitive to body horror
Heads up
- Graphic body horror and grotesque imagery (frequent)
- Jump scares throughout (moderate)
- Violence and gore (moderate)
Credits
- Director
- David Bruckner
- Cast
- Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, Sam Troughton, Paul Reid, Matthew Needham, Jacob James Beswick
Official synopsis
A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest, but encounter a menacing presence in the woods
The Double
Make a night of it
Pair this with The Long Walk (2025)
Both feature groups facing psychological terror during punishing outdoor ordeals.
Total runtime: 1h 34m + 1h 48m = 3h 22m
