XYZ Films has released to featurettes for the exorcism horror film The Ritual, which stars Al Pacino (The Devil’s Advocate) and Dan Stevens (Cuckoo, Abigail).
The movie is said to be “based on a true story.” The story “follows two priests — one questioning his faith (Stevens) and one reckoning with a troubled past (Pacino) — who must put aside their differences to save a possessed young woman through a difficult and dangerous series of exorcisms.”
The Ritual is described as “an authentic portrayal of Emma Schmidt, an American woman whose demonic possession culminated in harrowing exorcisms. Her case remains the most thoroughly documented exorcism in American history.”
These videos focus on the actual story that inspired the film. The original Exorcist film set the bar for these kinds of movies, and since them most of the exorcism films made are just more of the same. This one looks like it could be decent, though.
XYZ’s partners said: “David Midell’s grounded aesthetic is terrifying, authentic and leaves you incredibly uneasy that these events actually happened.”
I hope that the movie is good and does something different and unique, but most exorcism films are pretty much the same. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.
David Midell directs the movie from a script written by Enrico Natale, and it also stars Ashley Greene (the Twilight franchise).
The Ritual is set to be released in theaters on April 18, 2025.
