8 Intense Real-Life Stories Behind Famous Movies

What appears to be a simple film heavily inspired by The Blair Witch Project soon spirals out of control, with The Ritual pulling no punches as it devolves into norse mythological madness by the end of its runtime.

Whilst nothing can be said of the Jotunn lurking in the woods picking off his prey, The Ritual's premise is actually unofficially linked to a true story, one where five young men disappeared in the 70s whilst in Yuba County.

Described as being mentally handicapped, the five went into a forest and never came back out again. The night of their disappearance was before a big Special Olympics basketball game that each had expressly stated they were looking forward to, which made it all the more stranger that they'd gone that night.

Deciding to leave their car off a snowy mountain trail despite it being fully functional, four of the five men were found dead in a nearby cabin: their remains only discovered when the snow had melted four months later.

Even though there was ample supplies to keep them warm and fed, the men found had died of starvation and exposure. It's never been uncovered what happened to the last man, or why these people willfully starved themselves: but The Ritual perhaps speculates on what could be lurking in the woods.