Al Pacino Just Made His Worst Movie – It's a New Horror Flop With Shocking 8% on RT

The Ritual, based on the Emma Schmidt exorcism case, recently hit theaters – David Midell's movie explores the boundaries of faith, doubt, the supernatural, and the personal.

But what is particularly intriguing is the cast with Al Pacino as the lead. The actor seems to be a guarantee of quality, and his participation in a horror work has only fueled interest.

However, The Ritual failed to rethink William Friedkin's classic or become a worthy representative of the occult horror subgenre.

What Is 'The Ritual' About?

One morning, Joseph (Dan Stevens), the head of a rural parish, receives unpleasant news: a girl possessed by the devil will soon be brought to him.

The priest initially refuses to perform the ritual but relents when he learns that he only needs to provide a room for the rites and that the exorcism sessions will be conducted by a visiting holy father, Theophilus (Al Pacino).

Once everyone is in one place, it becomes clear that things are not as simple as they seem. However, it is too late to back out, and the only option left is to save an innocent soul.

'The Ritual' Has Al Pacino, but The Actor Has Nothing to Perform

The Ritual became one of the most disastrous projects in the careers of Al Pacino and the other actors who participated in filming the movie.

The main problem with The Ritual is that the creators attracted the star of The Godfather, Scent of a Woman, and Scarface to their production, yet he had nothing to play.

'The Ritual' Is a Run-of-the-Mill, Typical Exorcism Movie With No Interesting Takes

The exorcism horror genre is conservative but still leaves room for experimentation – just look at the worldwide sensation that Na Hong-jin's The Wailing was.

Of course, not every movie about possession should be groundbreaking, but David Midell doesn't even attempt to do anything innovative.

The exorcism rites follow one after another; Father Joseph begins to doubt and tries to call a psychiatrist; Father Theophilus insists on continuing the exorcism; Emma Schmidt speaks in a creepy voice.

The Ritual does not offer anything that would interest a viewer who has seen at least one exorcism movie.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'The Ritual'?

Variety critic Dennis Harvey said:

“The Ritual merits some appreciation for not being merely another cheesy exploitation of familiar themes. But that doesn't redeem the fact that, in the end, it's a bit of an earnest slog – an exorcism movie more tame than bedeviled.”

• The Ritual has 8% from critics and 63% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the horror movie has a score of 4.7/10.