O Ritual

The approach in the opening forty-five minutes is pleasant, but foiled the screenplay which doesn’t manage to get anything extra from it, or anything at all, for that matter. In other words, the change in style from the bracelet scene onward is a release. All of a sudden it’s a sort of “initiation adventure for not-yet-father Lankester Merrin", although not even that can free it of the waters of mediocrity. P.S.: I have probably never seen a dumber and more senseless use of CGI; why not leave it up to the actors? (07/05/2011)

Hafström é um bom artesão. Com atores de qualidade, consegue sempre preparar um petisco de thriller decente a partir de um argumento promissor. Mas o argumento de O Ritual, que punha um cavalo de olhos vermelhos drogado a dormir com a sua natureza desinteressante, não lhe permitiu fazê-lo desta vez. É como se a produção estivesse a apostar em Hopkins com maquilhagem espetacular, a mostrar energeticamente todas as tonalidades de sorrisos de Hannibal, para elevar uma banalidade monótona a um assustador percurso de thriller. Isso não aconteceu, e o O'Donoghue sem brilho não ajudou em nada. O Ritual não tem um único momento realmente forte, e ao tema do exorcismo, primeiro brilhantemente desenvolvido pelo Exorcista e por último interessantemente variado por Emily Rose, não traz absolutamente nada de especial. Até Assombrados - Uma História Americana foi mais interessante, pelo menos com a sua colocação num cenário histórico e com o seu aparecimento delicioso visual. O Ritual é fraco, brando, desnecessário. Está sempre a apontar para algo maior, que acaba por não vir. (11/03/2011)

Mikael Håfström deveria ter abandonado a linha psicológica abaixo da média e concentrar-se nos elementos de horror, que funcionam bem no filme. Desta forma, muitos dos motivos (rãs, cascos) tornam-se desnecessariamente repetitivos e perdem o seu poder. Apesar da atratividade do tema, O Ritual continua a ser um espetáculo medíocre, salvo pelo excelente Anthony Hopkins e pelas cenas assustadoras do exorcismo. (12/03/2011)

The most average from the averagely average. Mikael Håfström is not a bad director, but this time he got a not very good script. It’s not that it’s stupid, illogical or chaotic, but the story never escalates and doesn’t have any higher ambitions. Anthony Hopkins shines in the climax, but it’s a pity that he is not given more space than the bland apprentice (meaning the “likeable” hero we are supposed to root for). Otherwise, a couple of the jump-scares did scare me, the images of Rome were nice, so, considering that I had free time at the cinema, I don’t regret going :-D If you are not too anti-Catholic, The Rite won’t offend you. A more important question, however, is who it is trying to appeal to. Nobody, I’m afraid. (18/03/2011)

"What did you expect? A spinning head and vomit?" Mikael Håfström hinted at it with 1408, and with The Rite he confirmed it - the guy is hugely talented and his next film should definitely be a horror again. Give us more of it. The Rite is has a great atmosphere, which is all the more pleasing because it doesn't just rely on the flawlessly excellent Hopkins, but relies on skillful direction, cinematography and unobtrusive, but impressive music. There simply hasn't been a better exorcism movie since The Exorcist. Four pure stars.__P.S. Only Anthony Hopkins can really afford to answer his mobile phone during the ceremony (although maybe it's because in Max von Sydow's time there were only landlines). A great scene. (28/04/2011)

Incredibly dull and clichéd, with an unimaginative and utterly boring script and an atmosphere that wouldn't scare even a five-year-old afraid of thunderstorms and the dark. A completely useless film that tries to impress only with the terrifying idea of exorcism, while somehow neglecting the basic elements of horror, such as thick suspense, stunts or the horrific appearance and speech of the possessed. The only ting The Rite offers is a priest muttering something in Latin while furiously waving a crucifix. That one star is only for Hopkins, whom I respect immensely and have him in my top list, and whose acting potential is unworthy of this ugly piece of shit, which only devalues his career. (24/08/2011)

A pretty solid exorcism genre film that fears nothing and dives headfirst into everything. Mikael Håfström is a skilled director who knows what he’s doing, and The Rite succeeded in almost every aspect, in my opinion. The film is greatly enhanced by the locations where it was shot, whether it’s Rome or Budapest, as these places themselves feel quite mysterious and, most importantly, atmospheric. Yes, the atmosphere here is phenomenal, you could almost cut it with a knife. The cast is fairly standard, except for one person. Of course, I’m talking about Hopkins. In the first half, he played a Welsh priest, but what came after the devil entered his body was an unimaginable performance, one you don’t see often. There aren’t many jump scares, but when they do appear, you’d better be on guard, or you might have a heart attack. The story isn’t bad, it has a decent plot, but it’s missing something to reach the very top. You’ll find a few boring parts here and there, but the moments involving exorcism are worth it. You might find better films on this topic, but just for the final exorcism of Hopkins (which is woven with amazing dialogues), you can’t afford to miss this one. I give it 74%. (07/08/2017)