10 Worst Horror Movies Of 2025 (So Far)
3. The Ritual
The Exorcist was so revolutionary, almost every possession film since runs the risk of coming across as a derivative rip-off. For this reason, filmmakers should only make an exorcism movie if they have a riveting story to tell.
Which brings us to The Ritual (not to be mistaken with the 2017 folk-horror of the same name). To be fair, the paranormal drama tries to have a fresh take on the subject matter. In this story, two priests, Theophilus and Joseph, are tasked with performing an exorcism on a young woman. However, the procedure is jeopardised when Jospeh suffers a crisis of faith.
Even though this could've been a great idea to explore,The Ritual decided to focus more on, you guessed it, imitating every aspect that defined The Exorcist. Unsurprisingly, none of the dramatic moments work, since it's all been done before. The cast give it their all, but their talents can't save the by-the-numbers script and dull pacing.
However, nobody is wasted more than Al Pacino, who portrays the lead exorcist. Despite fully committing to the role, The Godfather star himself can't stop this dialogue from sounding dumb.
There may be worse exorcism flicks out there, but The Ritual is among the most forgettable.