10 Opening Horror Scenes NOTHING Like The Rest Of The Movie
6. The Ritual
In British folk-horror The Ritual, Luke and his friends get caught in a storm while in a Swedish forest, forcing them to seek shelter in a creepy cabin.
When Luke's mates become catatonic and begin chanting in tongues, he believes their presence has awakened some dark force. After stumbling upon wooden effigies and hearing distorted roars in the distance, Luke realises the group is in far more danger than he could've ever imagined.
Although The Ritual is an underrated gem, the first scene paints a very different picture of what we're about to see, starting six months prior with the gang having a laugh at the pub. When Luke and his mate, Rob, head to a local store, they get caught up in a robbery. Luke manages to hide in time, but Rob is left out in the open, catching the attention of the thieves. Despite Rob's best efforts to de-escalate the situation, the robbers batter him to death.
The scene catches everyone off-guard since nobody's expecting the kills to start until our core characters enter the woods. Even though The Ritual primarily deals with a supernatural antagonist, this scene highlights a danger that's grounded in reality, which is arguably more frightening.