Does anyone else think the exorcism movie could use an exorcism of its own? I only say this because I've long owed something to anyone who wants to make a film based on this infamous religious act: if you don't have an original idea, please don't bother. While religious horror can sometimes satisfy that desire that other subgenres can't, barring a few interesting details (the image of an Italian Russell Crowe in a Vesper, for example), generally speaking, films featuring the ritual expulsion of demons haven't changed much in essence since William Friedkin's The Exorcist, which remains the highest-grossing of all.
However, there's a new star in town. With a star-studded cast that includes Al Pacino and Dan Stevens, can David Midell's The Ritual achieve something different with a genre that has drowned in the same clichés since the 1970s?
Director: David Midell
Writers: David Midell, Enrico Natale
Stars: Al Pacino, Dan Stevens, Ashley Greene
The year is 1928, and Father Joseph Steiger has just received some alarming orders from his immediate superior (no, not from God, but from someone lower down the line). After receiving Emma Schmidt's disturbing medical records, detailing her harrowing experience, Steiger discovers that, after exhaustive tests and fruitless psychological examinations, the church has decreed that the young woman must undergo an exorcism. Initially shocked that the church would insist on such a seemingly antiquated practice, Steiger is unsure why any of this bothers him when his superiors give him the damned conclusion: the ritual must be performed at his parish, and he must attend and take notes.
While recovering from the order, things quickly escalate, and soon Emma, looking miserable, appears tired and dehydrated. However, when the elderly Father Theophilus Riesinger shows up to perform the ritual, his and Steiger's beliefs begin to clash uncomfortably. While the older priest insists that Emma must be restrained for everyone's safety, the younger man deems it excessive and unnecessary. Thus begins the first of many rituals: Theophilus performs the exorcism, Steiger takes exhaustive notes, and a trio of nuns tries to assist. But it soon becomes clear that the older priest has already been involved in the ecumenical chaos, and as the nights draw in, Emma's condition worsens.
Soon, the impact of the nightly exorcisms on those involved worsens, and the multiple injuries the nuns endure, such as a crushed hand and a torn scalp, mean that if they don't unite and agree on the same religious ethos, the ritual will be canceled, Emma's soul will be lost, and redemption for all involved will be nothing more than a pipe dream.
So, once again, I'm forced to watch yet another exorcism movie that stupidly assumes we haven't already seen the greatest exorcism ever performed. As a result, we all sit in a movie theater for 98 minutes, receiving floggings on our backs and shoulders from severe déjà vu. Literally, everything is here: bed restraints, self-mutilation, green vomit, disbelieving young priests, wise old priests, various creepy voices—literally, all the stuff—and to be honest, I'm sick of the entire genre at this point. I mean, at least horror, vampire, zombie, and other films have the self-awareness to reinvent themselves and try to take new and original approaches to maintain unpredictability and vitality. However, exorcism movies have been stuck in the same rut for over 40 years, and The Ritual, frustratingly, is no exception. Oh my God, even the title has been overused, and despite the sincerity of everyone in front of the camera, the whole ordeal feels completely pointless.
I'm honestly not sure what director David Midell intended by rehashing the story of America's most documented case of "real" exorcism, making it seem identical to every other tale of demonic possession ever made, but the fact that the story was last adapted in 2016's The Exorcism of Anna Ecklund only makes things worse. In fact, I'm still wondering why Al Pacino and Dan Stevens signed on in the first place. Perhaps the former wanted to stay busy and the latter a more conservative line of work after playing a gangster vampire and the dentist in King Kong in 2024, but while they're predictably solid, neither brings anything new to their time-tested roles. Anyone expecting Pacino to draw on some of that old-school fire from Heat or The Devil's Advocate and scream at the demon within is in for a huge disappointment, as he's firmly stuck in old-man mode. On the other hand, Stevens is tense, but the film's only good idea, which is that the nightly rituals affect the sanity and physical health of those present, doesn't go beyond the occasional sudden jump scare and Dan Stevens shouting "I can't take anyone!" with dark circles under his eyes.
Similarly, the growing list of injuries accumulated by the hapless nuns tasked with helping (including Twilight's Ashley Greene) is also an interesting touch; however, an outburst from the Mother Superior (Patricia Heaton) about how the Church treats women perhaps suggests that a more original approach would have focused on the group of sisters, since they do all the hard work and accumulate serious injuries for it. The film's final indignity is that Midell seems to believe that using such a shaky handheld camera style to film the action isn't immediately reminiscent of sitcoms like The Office or Modern Family. Instead of making everything feel more real and immediate, the climax becomes so unstable that one wonders if it wasn't the cameraman who needed an exorcism.
However, while her role is as undernourished as her beleaguered character, you have to give credit to Abigail Cowen, who has to go through the whole Linda Blair thing like a proper ballerina. As both Blair and Jennifer Carpenter will tell you from bitter experience, playing a possessed girl is a thankless and unglamorous task, but Cowen grimaces, drools, writhes, and grunts with the best of her ability, covered in self-inflicted wounds. But again, while her performance is appropriately harrowing, it's also something we've sadly seen a million times before. Any temptation to watch Pacino trying to master a demon fades upon discovering that the whole thing becomes far more dull, predictable, and overly familiar. Maybe I'd add half a star to The Ritual's rating if you've never seen an exorcism movie, but if that's the case, why the hell would you want to start there?
Damn those unoriginal possession movies, may the devil take them.
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