8 Disturbing Horror Movie Monsters (And What They Represent)

The Ritual's impressive original creature design is one of the most bold efforts from a Hollywood horror movie that's been released in years, taking inspiration from Norse legend and ancient mythology to create something both bizarre and terrifying. Appearing as a giant elk with a humanoid entity settled in where its face should be, the combination of strange limbs, organic matter, and insidious darkness sets the tone for something completely unique.

But what exactly is it, and what does it represent? In the movie, we're given a sliver of information by a cultist:

"A god. Ancient. One of the Jötunn. A bastard offspring of Loki... We worship it. It keeps us here. Let us live beyond natural life."

The Jötunn are perceived as giants, related to Gods in Norse mythology in a way that aligns with this perception of the creature in the woods. Combining animalistic appearance with a human intelligence was key for director David Bruckner, amalgamating the visuality of a predator with something dark and calculating under the surface. With horse and human elements, it also seems derivative of the Nuckelavee, a foul demon that poisons crops and is generally a bad egg.

The duality of sacrifice and eternal life, of animalistic hunting and human intentions, that are within this creature reflect Luke's internal struggle with the perceptions of his own experience after his friend die in front of him. He lived where his friend died, and now he hunts for redemption.

It's persistent hunting of him is also an extension of the guilt he can never escape. It's monstrous, massive, and rules over him with malicious intent: the literal form of his own terrible emotional struggle that he doesn't understand fully.

Defeating it at the end and escaping into the light all allows him to be free more than just physically.