Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

AaronCapenBanner Hal Holbrook stars as one of five friends(all doctors) who are taking their usual outdoor vacation, only this year they fly into a secluded wilderness, where their rest is disrupted by a sinister and unseen figure who first steal their boots, then escalates things with terror then murder...Well directed by Peter Carter in real Canadian locations, this film creates an effective atmosphere of suspense and fear, aided by a capable cast that really involve you in their plight, leading to a harrowing climax.Best to see this on the restored DVD, which has the best picture quality possible, since the original negative was damaged, which makes the ending quite(literally) too dark. Otherwise, this is much more than just a "Deliverance" rip-off, which isn't a fair description.Haunting final scene is memorable.

gavin6942 Five doctors on a wilderness outing are stalked by disfigured, crazed killers.The only purpose of my writing this review is to stress the importance of watching a quality copy of a film. While this movie sits at 6 out of 10 (a decent rating, especially by horror standards), I cannot commit to anything more than a 5 because I simply was not able to see the film. I would probably have only given it a 4 if it was not for Hal Holbrook in a starring role.I watched this on CrypticTV, which is an incredible service for catching horror movies free on the internet or through devices like the Roku. Unfortunately, the version they used (presumably public domain) was so blurry that more often than not the screen was filled with green or brown splotches.

Bezenby Properly creepy, grim, seventies stalk and slash film starring Hal Halbrook as one of five cantankerous old surgeons out in the Canadian wilds for a bit of recreation, only for all their boots to be stolen on the first night. One of them sets off for help, but when a deer carcass is displayed outside their camp, the other reckon that hanging around might not be a good idea, and head off themselves. They are followed (or perhaps even led on) by a mysterious figure, whose motives aren't clear, but not friendly for sure. I guess the slasher film hadn't fallen into the 'teen victims only' by this point in the genre, so instead of mouthy youngsters, you've got bitter middle aged men bickering, drinking whiskey, and having meltdowns while traps are laid for them and their friendship is tested to the limit. When I thought the film was beginning to tread water a bit (literally at one point) it actually started to get a bit nasty, what with the head on the stick bit and a nasty shotgun blast to a hand. There's an element of mystery to proceedings and the glimpses of the killer (reflected in water, standing on distant hill) was very effective. My only gripe isn't with the film but just the quality of the DVD I had, which made some parts of the finale a bit hard to see (but luckily I didn't seem to miss anything). Highly recommended.

Scott LeBrun "Rituals", written by Ian Sutherland and directed by Peter Carter, may owe a fair bit, like others of its ilk, to the now legendary survival-of-the-fittest yarn "Deliverance", but is still generally well done. It does accomplish one thing that any movie of its kind should: portraying the wilderness as a place of both beauty and danger. It has the kind of atmosphere one can only get from shooting in the real wilderness, as it was filmed on breathtaking Ontario locations. The story involves five middle aged doctors at the mercy of a determined stalker who creates one setback after another for them. So, as befitting this particular genre, we get such tried and true story elements as Man Against Nature, and Man Against Man - in regards to the latter, the victimized doctors are at odds with each other, as well, sometimes sniping at each other like children, and "Rituals" is believable in the way it shows how people can crack under pressure and can bring their own baggage to any given situation. The movie certainly begins in an interesting way, with some beautiful shots accompanied by equally beautiful music by Hagood Hardy, and if one didn't know better, they might not think there were a horror movie in store for them. Some of the best moments include some deliciously nasty severed head gags and the sight of the mysterious antagonist watching from a far away hilltop. However, there are equally impressive moments that illustrate the humanity of our main characters; for example, Hal Holbrook's character Harry having to come to terms with the legacy of his father (Holbrook, the big name in this cast, is as solid as he's ever been). Another of the men, Martin (Robin Gammell), turns out to be gay, but no big deal is ever made about this little detail. Co-star Lawrence Dane, playing Mitzi, also served as producer, and he, Gammell, Ken James as Abel and Gary Reineke as D.J. all do fine work. One of the testaments to the effectiveness of this movie is the way it shoots in continuity and we can see the toll taken on the victims evolve naturally as they struggle to survive. The finale is awfully murky, yet still fairly creepy and harrowing. The movie may be a little rough throughout, but this reviewer feels it actually adds to the experience; what with the lack of any slickness, it feels more real. Decent makeup effects by Carl Fullerton ("Friday the 13th" parts 2 and 3, "Wolfen", "F/X", "The Silence of the Lambs", etc.) are a plus. Incidentally, when I think of the "Unpleasant, to say the least!" condemnation from the annual Maltin paperback guide to movies, I can't help but think what was he expecting? Such a movie should never be a "walk in the park", and "Rituals" is convincingly, compellingly spooky stuff. Eight out of 10.