The Ritual Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

The Ritual Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 20, 2025

“The Ritual” is a little late to the party. Over the last few years, there’s been an abundance of films released concerning the powers of Satan and his insistence that the only way to disrupt faith and humanity is to emerge through possession. There was “The Pope’s Exorcist,” “The Exorcist: Believer,” “The First Omen,” “The Exorcism,” and “Immaculate.” Hollywood loves their demon tales, but “The Ritual” hopes to distance itself from the pack, labeled as “based on true events,” examining the case of Emma Schmidt (a.k.a. Anna Ecklund), an alleged victim of possession who battled evil with help from Father Theophilus Riesinger nearly 100 years ago. Co-writer/director David Midell seems to think there’s dramatic potential in an extremely well-worn topic, and he tries to find the urgency of the story. However, there’s no suspense to be found in this offering, which looks cheaply made and isn’t concerned with creating a fear factor as it slowly reheats scenes from subgenre classics.

In Iowa, 1928, Father Joseph (Dan Stevens) is dealing with the loss of his brother, struggling with the details of his death and the emptiness it creates within him. Father Joseph is snapped out of his daze by duty, assigned to oversee the exorcism of Emma (Abigail Cowen), a young woman moved into the church, cared for by a team of nuns, including Sister Rose (Ashley Greene). Father Theophilus (Al Pacino) is in charge of the ritual, brought in to lead the journey into danger, approaching Emma carefully as she’s locked in her room. As the exorcism begins, Father Joseph has his doubts, unable to process the changes in Emma he’s witnessing, challenging his feelings and faith. Mother Superior (Patricia Heaton) wants results, monitoring the situation from afar, while Father Theophilus engages with evil, using his education and experience to extract the demon from the innocent woman, who’s being torn apart in the process.

The screenplay introduces Father Joseph at rock bottom. He’s trying to maintain focus on his church duties, but the death of his brother is too much to bear, becoming town news as others offer their condolences. He’s in a sensitive place, leaving him open to curiosity concerning Emma and her case, finding himself suddenly entrusted with her care as she’s moved to a “safe space” for her exorcism, presenting a unique situation. “The Ritual” wins on speed, setting up the central conflict rather quickly, as Emma is placed in a room and Father Theophilus arrives, intending to defeat evil through a series of rituals he’s organized, chipping away at the Devil’s control over innocence. There are multiple nights covered in the writing, beginning with introductions to the horror, which shocks Sister Rose, who’s never been exposed to such corporeal and spiritual corruption before.

“The Ritual” tracks the events of these evenings, putting Father Theophilus and his team in the middle of a danger zone with Emma, who’s brought to the brink of death during the rituals. She’s extremely violent when possessed, managing to rip a chunk of Sister Rose’s scalp out of her head, traumatizing the nun. Emma vomits strange liquids, speaks in demonic ways, weaponizes her bed, and slowly rots away. There’s even a bit of wall- crawling to help the movie live up to expectations. Midell tries to maintain some handle on characterization along the way, delving into Father Joseph and his hidden loss of faith, while Father Theophilus strives to retain focus on the unreal. Investigative elements are present as well, finding Emma’s case file filled with secrets to uncover, putting Father Joseph on a mission to truly understand what he’s experiencing, extending to notes from Emma that require analysis.

The Ritual Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The image presentation (2.00:1 aspect ratio) for "The Ritual" offers a muted palette throughout, exploring this world of demonic doom with emphasis on grays and blacks. Whites are also defined throughout the viewing experience, found on costuming and church events. Skin tones are natural. Detail is acceptable, finding skin particulars on the cast, exploring displays of age and physical harm as violence increases. Costuming is passably fibrous, with heavier religious uniforms. Room dimension is acceptable, fighting chaotic cinematography to provide some understanding of domestic and church areas. Exteriors do acceptably with depth. Delineation struggles with some mild solidification. Compression issues are common, with banding a regular sight, and some posterization is encountered. Blockiness is present as well.

The Ritual Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix deals with the mayhem of the exorcism event at the center of "The Ritual," but the listening experience isn't too powerful. Dialogue exchanges are clear, helping listeners navigate some heavy accent work at times. Scoring supports with acceptable instrumentation and dramatic emphasis when necessary, but mostly remains frontal. Surrounds are sparingly used, handling some mild atmospherics and more active sound effects during demonic events. Low-end perks up with horror stings and ritual rumbling.

The Ritual Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "The Making of 'The Ritual'" (10:56, HD) features interviews with producers Mitchell Welch and Andrew Stevens, writer/director David Midell, writer Enrico Natale, advisor Father Aaron Williams, and actors Al Pacino, Dan Stevens, Abigail Cowan, Ashley Greene, and Patricia Heaton. The interviewees share their thoughts on the "true story," responding to the emotional complexity of the screenplay. A celebration of Pacino is provided, finding the producers basically admitting his participation is the only reason the movie got made. Characterizations and locations are also shared. Of more interest are glimpses of BTS footage, offered a chance to see the production in motion.

• "Keeping the Faith" (1:51, HD) features interviews with producers Mitchell Welch and Andrew Stevens, and actors Al Pacino and Ashley Greene. The subject of the featurette is Father Aaron Williams of St. Mary Basilica in Mississippi, who permitted the production of "The Ritual" to use the church for filming, also fielding questions from Pacino, who was curious about God's command over evil.

• "The Script" (1:37, HD) features interviews with writer/director David Midell, writer Enrico Natale, and actors Al Pacino and Abigail Cowen. The interviewees discuss the nature of the material, providing a journey into faith and the unknown. Pacino admits he liked the script, which is definitely a topic that requires a deeper inspection than this featurette is willing to allow.

• "Based on a True Story" (1:27, HD) features interviews with producer Mitchell Welch, writer/director David Midell, and actors Al Pacino, Patricia Heaton, Ashley Greene, and Abigail Cowen. The cast and crew celebrate the true exorcism tale that inspired "The Ritual," hoping such authenticity will help the feature stand out from so many other exorcism pictures. Heaton even suggests this isn't a "Marvel" take on evil.

• "The Buzzfeed Interviews" (7:29, HD) collect short promotional conversations with actors Ashley Greene, Abigail Cowan, and Dan Stevens. The gang are in salesperson mode, exploring the mood of "The Ritual," characterizations, and the true story that inspired the screenplay.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included on this release.

The Ritual Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you've seen an exorcism film before, you've seen "The Ritual," which has little to offer the subgenre beyond the usual in lackluster scares and religious intensity. Not helping the cause are technical choices, including the mission to cover most of the feature with handheld cinematography, going zoom-happy to generate a documentary feel for the offering, and that only manages to expose budget-minded filmmaking limitations. Acting isn't exactly sharp either, but there's not much for the cast to do here but look pained and frightened, though Cowen deserves some credit for fully committing to Emma's macabre transformation. "The Ritual" doesn't have mystery or any intimidation factor, and Midell seems perfectly happy to recycle moves from other productions as the movie crawls its way to a forgone conclusion.