The award-winning lost-in-the-woods spookfest is coming to Netflix on February 9.
Mark your calendars. This looks like it’s going to be a good one! Netflix won a bidding war to purchase the international distribution rights to this promising indie horror flick back at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. The film, which premiered last year in England, is an adaptation of the Adam Nevill novel which won the August Derleth Award for best horror novel of 2012. Scary pedigree? CHECK!
The official synopsis:
“Reuniting after the tragic death of their best mate, four old friends from university set out to hike through the Scandinavian wilderness. But a wrong turn leads them into the dark and mysterious forests of Norse legend, where an ancient evil still exists and stalks them at every turn. The Netflix film will premiere on February 9, 2018.”
The film is directed by V/H/S helmer David Bruckner, and it appears from this trailer that he has filled the story with lots of paranoia and will test the bonds of these four good friends to the limits. Andy Serkis has stepped out of his motion capture suit to produce this film, and it would appear that his contacts and knowledge of film effects craft came to good use here, as this movie earned a British Independent Film Award for Best Effects.
The Ritual is rated R, and can be seen, of course, on Netflix.