David Midell, known for more humanist fare like NightLights and The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, is a surprising choice to helm an exorcism movie. With no films of that type to his name, one assumes he must have had a great pitch. Unfortunately, what Midell lacks in experience, he makes up by referencing other (better) films. William Friedkin’s The Exorcist is the gold standard for the genre. Friedkin, fresh off an Oscar win for directing The French Connection, wanted to make an exorcism film that scared people without resorting to sensationalism. We still talk about The Exorcist for a reason, and that success means there’s no worse film to rip off. Nothing survives that comparison. Yet that doesn’t stop The Ritual from trying.
The film opens with text sharing that the case in the spotlight was the most documented exorcism in history. It concerns Anna Ecklund (real name Emma Schmidt), who was allegedly possessed on and off from the ages of 14 to 46. The real-life Father Riesinger performed an exorcism when she was 12, before Father Joseph Stieger tracked him down to perform another exorcism two decades later. The Ritual depicts the final eight-day-long exorcism of Schmidt, which took place in 1928. Fun fact: the resulting journal, titled Begone Satan!, was one of the inspirations when William Peter Blatty wrote The Exorcist.
The character dynamics are familiar to anyone who’s seen a possession film. Two priests must overcome their differences to perform a risky exorcism. Father Steiger (Dan Stevens) is the younger priest tackling a crisis of faith. Father Riesinger (Al Pacino) is the senior priest with skeletons in his closet. Now, I know what you’re thinking. With Al Pacino and Dan Stevens onboard, The Ritual must be a campy good time. Alas, both leads are uncharacteristically reserved. Anyone hoping that Pacino would conjure a bombastic demon (The Devil’s Own) or an incendiary crusader (Heat) is out of luck. The actor seems as bored with the film as the audience.
Since the death of her mother, Emma (Abigail Cowan) has fallen under the demon’s spell again; ranting and raving, the Church is the only place that will take her in. Sister Rose (Ashley Greene) and her Mother Superior (Patricia Heaton) go to great lengths to keep her from harming herself, but Father Steiger knows only one man can spare Emma her horrible fate. Too often victims like Emma are overlooked in this sub-genre, but the priests and sisters make it a point to keep her humanity at the forefront. The emotional components of The Ritual are well-intentioned, keeping with Midell’s previous films about marginalized people. Yet, everything else is handled so ineptly that this lone success is even more frustrating.
The cinematography doesn’t build atmosphere or dread, it’s simply murky. Whether that’s to hide the unconvincing CGI or to facilitate jump scares is anyone’s guess. The choice of handheld camera is meant to evoke documentary-level authenticity, but the results are amateurish. There are so many cuts to supporting characters at odd times you half-expect Jim Halpert to pop up and break the fourth wall.
The Pope’s Exorcist was self-aware and leaned into playfulness. Russell Crowe knew exactly what type of movie he was in and performed capably. The Ritual, for all intents, is trying to be a serious take on this, but it fails miserably. One of the most egregious failures occurs after an impassioned speech. Pacino’s Riesinger tells everyone to “rest and prepare, for once we start we must go on until it’s over.” With the comic timing of Monty Python, the very next cut features the ensemble on a break.
Cowan is very game for what is asked of her. The physical commitment to her performance is one of the few commendable things in the film. Her more famous co-stars are likely to get more attention, but Cowan does a lot, considering the film doesn’t flesh her character out much. Other exorcist stories usually introduce characters before possession to show the loss of innocence and how families break down around them. The Ritual throws you into the deep end early, with Emma slobbering, swearing, and levitating. We have nothing to cling to while hoping for her survival.
Roughly two exorcist movies come out every year, so you have to offer something unique. Otherwise, your film winds up in the cinematic wasteland. By the time the escalating exorcisms take place in this film, the audience is desperate for it all to be over. The Ritual relies on action seen many, many times before, including bone-crunching sound effects cranked up to 11 for even the slightest movement by the possessed woman.
The draw of The Ritual is the pairing of its lead actors, but the writing fails them at every turn. I can’t adequately describe just how disappointed I am that an exorcism film with Pacino and Stevens is a bore. It should have been a campy blast. At least the film has the decency of being only 98 minutes long.
