The Ritual, a horror feature hitting theaters this Thursday, July 31, knows exactly how big of a challenge it faces. The film attempts to break a curse that has lingered in Hollywood for over 50 years: making a good exorcism movie that surpasses the 1973 classic directed by William Friedkin. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t even come close.
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Directed and co-written by David Midell (of The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain), The Ritual tells the story of Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen), a young woman who underwent the most thoroughly documented exorcism in U.S. history. She’s struggling, with some episodes misinterpreted as psychological issues, and the Church is her last hope. Fathers Theophilus (Al Pacino) and Joseph (Dan Stevens) lead the process alongside local nuns.
It’s the kind of story we’ve seen dozens (or even hundreds!) of times since Friedkin brought his masterpiece to the big screen. Many films have tried to achieve the same impact—just like with Jaws by Spielberg, released in the same decade—and failed, with varying degrees of success, ranging from total disasters like The Pope’s Exorcist to modest hits like The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
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The Ritual, a Movie Afraid of Itself
The truth is, Midell tries to steer as far as possible from the typical exorcism playbook. To do that, he mainly makes a few aesthetic choices. Much like an episode of The Office, The Ritual relies heavily on handheld camera work to create a documentary feel. That might have been clever, had it not been the only stylistic choice, unsupported by the narrative. Remove the documentary feel, and you’re left with a shaky, annoying camera.
Another aspect, somewhere between aesthetic and narrative, is that The Ritual tries not to be a horror film—but not proudly, more like it’s ashamed. There aren’t many jump scares and the exorcism process is portrayed coldly, almost distantly. Again, it aims to feel like a documentary, but comes off as pretentious. The movie ends up apathetic, almost sanitized—and not quite anything. It’s not scary, not even interesting.
The result is a film that tries to reinvent the wheel but, like dozens before it, simply doesn’t. In its quest to be different, The Ritual ironically becomes more of the same. It even attempts to introduce some discourse around faith and religion, as if that’s groundbreaking—but it isn’t. Even the lackluster The Exorcist: Believer brought that discussion with more nuance and better execution.
Between the Cross and the Cringe
In the end, what remains are Al Pacino and Dan Stevens trying to avoid ridicule. Pacino doesn’t succeed. His character is as shallow as a puddle on a hot summer day, merely reciting psalms and prayers. He may have three or four truly structured lines. Stevens has slightly more to work with, but is held back by the bizarre aesthetic that constantly cuts his scenes short. There’s no continuity, no developed drama here.
The Ritual can already be considered one of 2025’s biggest failures—even if it does well at the box office, which seems unlikely. In trying to justify itself and be something different, the film ends up pretentious, silly, and even unfinished. It’s as if it’s ashamed to commit to any real decision. Meanwhile, The Exorcist remains untouched as the only truly great exorcism movie in Hollywood history.
