The Ritual (2017)

I remember watching this one at the cinema during its theatrical run. I was not the biggest fan of folk horror, nor was I a fan of guilt trauma subplots. But oh man, did this one exceed my expectations, delivering a truly unique creature I hadn’t seen on the screen before.

The synopsis reads: Reuniting after the tragic death of their friend, four college friends set out to hike through the Scandinavian wilderness. A wrong turn leads them into the mysterious forests of Norse legend, where an ancient evil resides and stalks them at every turn.

Director David Bruckner truly knows how to set the scene, creating nail-biting tension using the eerie Swedish woodland setting (actually filmed in Romania). Not surprisingly, he was offered and then directed the Hellraiser (2022) reboot soon after. But let’s not fool ourselves; the main draw here is the truly distinctive creature designed by concept artist Keith Thompson. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it. Describing the creature is a bit tricky. Known as Modor, the creature resembles a giant stag in outward appearance. It has two pairs of human arms, a headless human torso, and a pair of enormous antlers on top. To be honest, it’s easier to look at a picture of it than to describe it.