Al Pacino and Dan Stevens star in this (allegedly) true story of a real-life exorcism, but Film Brain thinks the real demon is the camerawork...
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00:00Hello and welcome to Projector, and on this episode,
00:03Al Pacino and Dan Stevens are performing a series of exorcisms in The Ritual.
00:24In 1928, Father Joseph Steiger, played by Dan Stevens,
00:28is us taking the troubled Emma Schmidt, played by Abigail Cohen,
00:31who is believed to be demarkly possessed,
00:34so that Father Theopolis Reisinger, played by Al Pacino,
00:37can perform a series of rituals to exorcise her.
00:40As Steiger witnesses the ritual, he has doubts about Reisinger and his methods,
00:44but as Emma's condition worsens, they will all need their faith to heal her.
00:50The ritual is essentially based on the true story of the real-life exorcism of Emma Schmidt,
00:54who was given the name Anna Eklund in accounts such as the pamphlet Begon Satan,
01:00which is one of the sources that this film is based on.
01:03This isn't the first time that Schmidt's exorcism has been adapted,
01:06you'll be completely unsurprised to hear,
01:08as there was a very low-budget film called The Exorcism of Anna Eklund released in 2016.
01:13I've not seen it, but by all accounts, it's pretty rubbish.
01:17But Emma Schmidt's story is purportedly among several that William Peter Blatty took inspiration from
01:21when he wrote The Exorcist, which of course would be famously adapted as a film,
01:26especially elements like an old and a young priest working together.
01:30And The Ritual is directed by David Medell,
01:32whose last feature was the critically acclaimed The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain,
01:36so he has experience in adapting fact-based dramas,
01:40and he re-teens with Enrico Natale to write the script.
01:43Of course, when I say this is a true story,
01:45you should absolutely take that with not so much a pinch of salt,
01:49but the entire salt shaker.
01:51Not just because The Ritual obviously sensationalises events for the sake of the film,
01:55although a lot of the basic facts are correct,
01:58but because, frankly, the story itself is a bit dubious.
02:01With a more sceptical reading,
02:03Schmidt's behaviour sounds more like episodes of severe mental illness,
02:07and whilst it's, quote,
02:08the most reported exorcism in American history,
02:10we know that exorcisms are more usually abuses that are committed on the unwell.
02:15That makes it hard for me to really get into an exorcism movie,
02:18especially ones purporting to be based on real events.
02:22Besides, the obvious problem with exorcism movies,
02:24they're all the bloody same.
02:27It's the same tropes from The Exorcist played out ad infinitum.
02:31Oh, and needless to say,
02:32this has nothing to do with the 2017 movie with Ray Spool
02:35that I reviewed a few years ago on this very channel.
02:38I know this is petty,
02:40but it's genuinely annoying that this shares the name with a fairly well-known movie,
02:44not just because it's a bit confusing,
02:45but because it really should be called The Rituals.
02:48There are several rituals performed in this movie,
02:51and you even get little subtitles that say Ritual 1,
02:54Ritual 2, and so on and so forth that appear in the corner,
02:58and The Rituals is a far more distinctive title
03:01that doesn't share the name as several other movies already.
03:05And if it seems like I'm being especially grumpy today,
03:07then that's because I watched The Ritual 2025.
03:11I had something of an epiphany regarding exorcism films after I saw The Ritual.
03:16They're the cinematic equivalent of the faith healer at a revival meeting.
03:20Since The Exorcist came out, there's been a decline in religious belief,
03:24so more modern exorcism films are less about religion,
03:27and more just putting on a big show for horror fans.
03:30They present exorcism as spectacle,
03:32with big pyrotechnics, people getting ragdolled,
03:35buckets of blood and vomit being thrown around everywhere,
03:38becoming in this fantastical battle of good versus evil,
03:42allowing them to distance themselves from the reality of exorcisms.
03:46It's all theatre,
03:48just like the healer using the energy of the crowd.
03:51Oh lordy, lordy, lordy,
03:53give me the power to heal this sick girl of Reagan
03:56and pull the demon out of her!
03:58It's no surprise that more recent exorcism flicks lean into their camp value,
04:02usually featuring a slumming Oscar winner to give it some credibility,
04:06and also hammer it up,
04:07like The Pope's Exorcist,
04:09which is nominally based on a real person,
04:12but gives us Russell Crowe with a dodgy Italian accent riding a Vesper.
04:16And the less said about THE exorcism, also featuring Crowe, the better.
04:21And it's in that tradition that we have Al Pacino as our exorcist,
04:25which is a bit of a coup for this kind of movie.
04:28Pacino might not carry the same prestige he once had
04:31after doing a lot of direct-to-video movies,
04:33but outside the devil's advocate,
04:35it's very rare to see Pacino in a horror film,
04:38unlike his peer, Robert De Niro,
04:40who has dabbled in the genre several times,
04:43usually with quite mixed results.
04:46Given Pacino's reputation for loud, shouty performances,
04:50you almost expect that kind of acting from him in this kind of role,
04:54like he's going to tell the devil,
04:56I knew it was you,
04:57and I cast you out!
04:59Hoo-ha!
05:00Alleluia!
05:01I almost wish it was that kind of acting,
05:05because it's far more interesting than what we get.
05:08Instead, Pacino is in fairly subdued form,
05:11and you can sort of see why he was drawn to the role.
05:13Reisinger is doing these unorthodox things
05:16that seem to be making the situation worse,
05:18not better,
05:19and his secrecy makes you question his morality.
05:22But there's also a paternal edge to him,
05:25almost like he's a surrogate father to Emma,
05:27having been in her life for so long,
05:29so he feels an obligation to rid her of this demon
05:32once and for all,
05:34no matter the cost.
05:35In a couple of the better moments,
05:37you can sort of see that come out from Pacino.
05:40And Pacino is a great actor who has made some classic films,
05:44there's no denying that.
05:46But as soon as he turned up in this movie,
05:48wearing a robe,
05:49and mumbling in some cod European accent,
05:53I just couldn't take him seriously.
05:55My brain just went,
05:57nope, not having that.
05:58And I couldn't help but giggle,
06:00especially in his fairly early scenes.
06:02He doesn't even get a memorable introduction.
06:05Forget the iconic entrance in The Exorcist,
06:07Pacino is introduced in this movie,
06:09just sitting in a church pew.
06:12This might be the most unconvincing Pacino has been
06:15in his entire career.
06:17He's downright hokey in The Ritual,
06:19and that's pretty much symptomatic of the entire film.
06:23Like Pacino,
06:25the film is trying to take this seriously.
06:27In contrast to other Exorcism films,
06:29which almost flirt with self-parody,
06:31the Ritual is trying to take things almost back to basics.
06:35Medell wants to try and ground this in reality
06:38and make it feel authentic.
06:40He wants the audience to feel how punishing this is
06:43on everyone involved,
06:45and how doing these Exorcisms casts a heavy toll on them.
06:49Having to watch all these disturbing,
06:51sometimes unexplainable things
06:53just play out in front of you.
06:55It's a noble aim,
06:57but it's taxing for an entirely different reason
06:59for the audience.
07:01It's incredibly boring.
07:03The Ritual, as you would expect,
07:05runs through the usual tropes of Exorcism movies,
07:08from projectile vomiting,
07:10to Emma shouting out blasphemy
07:11and talking dirty to the priest,
07:13or mysterious cuts and swelling appearing in her body,
07:16or suddenly bouncing off the walls
07:18and attacking people.
07:19In fact,
07:20pretty much the only thing they don't do in this movie
07:22is have her head do a 360,
07:25because that's unrealistic to do in a true story,
07:28as opposed to her doing her best Spider-Man impression.
07:31Poor Abigail Cowan is clearly giving it her best.
07:35She's intensely committed to playing this possessed character
07:37and was clearly a very physically intensive part.
07:40She even gives a girl-next-door sweetness to Emma
07:43in the moments where her possession is less apparent.
07:46That's despite the fact
07:47that she's at least two decades younger
07:49than her real-life counterpart reportedly was,
07:52who was likely in her 40s at the time of her Exorcism,
07:55but they've cast someone younger in the role
07:57because they want to evoke Reagan in The Exorcist.
08:00And therein lies the issue.
08:03If you're going to take this seriously,
08:05you have to reimagine it and find a fresh angle on it.
08:09But Medell doesn't.
08:10He just recycles the same imagery
08:13that we've seen in countless other Exorcism movies
08:15in the exact same ways that they've been done before
08:18and brings nothing new to the table.
08:22And in the film's defence,
08:23because the story inspired The Exorcist,
08:25of course there's going to be things
08:27that feel very familiar because it's The Originator.
08:30But this is a film that's coming after 50 years
08:32of copycats and derivatives,
08:34so the original has to do something to make itself memorable,
08:37but instead it's the John Carter of Exorcism movies.
08:41It doesn't work as drama,
08:43and we'll get to that,
08:44and it sure isn't scary.
08:47And because there are so many Exorcism scenes,
08:49it also becomes reparative too,
08:51so there's plenty of opportunity to be bored.
08:55And if you're all sceptical about Exorcism,
08:57then the movie's actually playing towards you somewhat.
09:00The real main character of the film
09:01is Dan Steven Steiger,
09:03who does come from the angle
09:04that he isn't entirely convinced
09:06about what is going on.
09:08Steiger was the observer in the original pamphlet,
09:10so Steven spends a lot of the movie
09:12just standing around on the sidelines,
09:14just jotting notes to himself,
09:16when he isn't doing his other main bit of acting,
09:19which is putting his head in his hands like this.
09:22That might not be acting.
09:26Stevens is a solid actor.
09:27You think of something like The Guest, for example,
09:29but he struggles to do much with the material.
09:32I suspect he took this for the chance to work with Pacino
09:35rather than the part itself,
09:37where it was a last-minute replacement
09:38for Ben Foster, who dropped out.
09:41But Steiger as a character is struggling with his own faith,
09:44not just because of the horrors of Exorcism,
09:46but because he's dealing with the grief
09:47of recently losing his brother.
09:50I have to admit that last part actually came as a bit of a surprise
09:52to me as an audience member,
09:53because in the opening scenes,
09:55he almost seems cheerful,
09:57even cheekily pinching a bit of food,
09:59almost flirtatiously.
10:01Later on, though,
10:02he spends a lot of the film looking very glum indeed.
10:06They talk about the toll
10:07that this whole affair is having on the local community,
10:10but you don't really see much of that
10:12other than Stevens being tasked to try and convey that
10:14in his meetings with Mother Superior,
10:16played by Patricia Heaton of Everybody Loves Raymond fame.
10:20Steiger is the one that's debating
10:21whether Emma is actually possessed
10:23or whether she's just mentally unwell,
10:26but these ethical questions draw attention
10:28to uncomfortable things
10:30that the movie doesn't really want to address.
10:33If anything,
10:34the fact that he keeps asking questions
10:35is part of the problem.
10:37Steiger thinks that Emma shouldn't be tied up at first
10:39because that's cruel,
10:41but he soon relents
10:42once she starts getting up and injuring the nuns
10:44by ripping their hair out.
10:46Reisinger tells him that the reasons
10:47that the Exorcisms keep failing
10:49is they simply doesn't believe enough.
10:52If they're going to succeed,
10:54he has to give himself entirely to faith,
10:57not just in the Lord,
10:58but also Reisinger and his methods.
11:01In other words,
11:02shut up and stop asking questions.
11:05That's pretty much the same conclusion
11:07the movie comes to.
11:08But Medell doesn't just recycle
11:10from other Exorcism films,
11:11he also recycles their visual looks too,
11:14even where it makes absolutely no sense.
11:16A lot of the Exorcism films
11:18in the last 15 years or so
11:20have been found footage
11:21or mockumentary style
11:23like The Last Exorcism
11:24or The Notorious Devil Inside.
11:26So they have that kind of
11:27shaky handheld look
11:29you associate with that.
11:32Inexplicably,
11:32Medell and his cinematographer,
11:34Adam Biddle,
11:35have applied that aesthetic
11:36to this movie.
11:38You know,
11:38a period film that's set in the 1920s.
11:41It's a very strangely anachronistic choice
11:44and I think they're trying to make the audience
11:46feel like they're in the room,
11:48but it feels like they copied it
11:49because they thought
11:50that's how Exorcism films should look
11:52and didn't understand
11:53why they were filmed like that.
11:56But it's also
11:57such a modern digital video look,
11:59it also calls attention
12:00to other things
12:01in the production design
12:02that don't feel like the period.
12:04Like the fact that The Nuns,
12:05led by Twilight's Ashley Green,
12:07appear to have stepped out
12:08of a Hollywood beauty shop
12:10before they put on their habits.
12:12And the camera work in this movie
12:14is absolutely horrendous.
12:16Everything is shot like
12:17it's being grabbed across the room
12:18in a zoom lens
12:19and the camera is constantly swaying
12:21and moving,
12:22often crash-zooming
12:23in the middle of a line of dialogue.
12:25I'm not exaggerating here,
12:27every single shot in the movie
12:29is like this.
12:30It's absurd.
12:32It's filmed like you handed a camcord
12:33to your drunk uncle at a wedding
12:35and they're just twiddling
12:36with the zoom lever.
12:41It's so constantly distracting
12:43not to mention downright nauseating.
12:45It was absolutely doing my head in.
12:48And the worst thing
12:49about this kind of fidgety camera work
12:51is that it mistakes constant movement
12:53for being engaging.
12:54It's a crutch
12:55instead of making actual choices
12:57in the moment.
12:58If the film started stable
13:00and then got gradually more handheld
13:02as it escalated,
13:04that would be a choice
13:05and one that served the story.
13:07But constantly filming
13:08like you're in the midst of an earthquake
13:09is exhausting
13:11and meaningless.
13:12So you end up
13:13with this perfect storm
13:14of poor coverage
13:15exacerbated by choppy airting
13:17like the impact
13:18because the camera work
13:20is so bad
13:20where key moments
13:22border on visually unintelligible.
13:24There's a moment
13:25where Emma throws up
13:26in a bucket.
13:27Yeah,
13:27we sympathize.
13:28And there's meant to be
13:29mysterious tobacco leaves
13:31in what she's just honked up.
13:33But because it's filmed
13:34at such an awkward angle
13:35and the shot cuts
13:36after almost like
13:37a split second,
13:39you don't even get enough time
13:40to actually register
13:41what's in it
13:41and I wonder
13:42what the hell
13:43I was supposed to be looking at.
13:44I only know
13:45that it was tobacco leaves
13:46because it was reported on
13:48in the real event.
13:50I genuinely spent
13:51a lot of the movie going
13:52what possessed you
13:54to make your film
13:55look like this?
13:57The original 2025
13:58valiantly wants to return
13:59the Exxon film
14:00to something real
14:01after years of films
14:03that play towards
14:03the more outrageous aspects
14:05of the subgenre
14:06but unfortunately
14:07it's a slog.
14:09Horror fans are not going
14:10to find anything
14:11that they haven't seen before
14:12nor is it engaging
14:13on its own terms
14:14failing to even feel
14:15credible or believable
14:17as a true story.
14:19Pacino and Stevenson
14:20are both actors
14:21that are far better
14:22than this film deserves
14:23but that doesn't mean
14:24they can save it.
14:25And Pacino especially
14:27just comes across
14:28as a bit goofy
14:29for trying to be as solemn
14:30as the film itself is.
14:32But by far
14:33the worst thing about it
14:34is the irritating cinematography
14:36which feels colossally misadvised
14:39and never stops
14:40drawing attention to itself
14:41away from the action.
14:43And when by far
14:44the most memorable thing
14:45in your movie
14:45is the camera work
14:47in the worst possible way
14:48then you need an intervention.
14:51I don't care if it's a cross
14:52or a tripod
14:53just find something
14:55to rest a godforsaken camera on.
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15:21Until next time
15:22I'm Matthew Buck
15:23fading out.
15:24I'm Matthew Buck
15:30I'm Matthew Buck
15:30I'm Matthew Buck
15:31I'm Matthew Buck