The real-life exorcism of Emma Schmidt in 1928, which lasted over four months in Iowa, has been the unholy gift that keeps on giving to horror fans throughout the years. You may recall the classic, award-winning film “The Exorcist” (1973) and the thematic tropes it established from that point forward. Having an evil spirit inhabit a person continues to challenge our concepts of faith, perhaps even making us cover our eyes and rinse our hands in holy water. David Midell’s “The Ritual,” which serves as a truncated retelling of Schmidt’s ordeal, feels dated in its narrative approach and strangely modern in its cinematography style. Cinematographer Adam Biddle elects to borrow from the mockumentary purview of “The Office,” which clashes with the 1920s time period. It feels like watching a nesting doll of reinactments coupled with the tricks of the trade you’d expect from these types of films.
“The Ritual” / Photo Credit: XYZ Films
Priest Joseph Steiger (Dan Stevens) helps oversee a small church and has been wrestling with his faith ever since his brother committed suicide. Before he has any time to rest and make sense of his feelings, Steiger is informed that Schmidt’s (played by Abigail Cowen) family believes she is under the control of the devil and needs an exorcism post-haste. This would require Steiger to partner with the older and much-traveled father, Theophilus Riesinger (Al Pacino), who specializes in this type of assistance. If there is one thing to say about Pacino’s portrayal of Riesinger in this film, it’s that he is very steadfast in this mission despite what happens.
Other than the usual “speaking in unknown languages” and unnatural contortionist horror you’ve come to expect in exorcism stories, co-writers Midell and Enrico Natale do a back-and-forth between medical science and faith. Throughout the seven rituals over 24 days, the film displays that Steiger is at odds with Riesinger’s methodology. As Emma’s condition worsens and more unexplainable things happen, Steiger feels she needs medical attention and/or a psychiatric doctor.
Riesinger doesn’t even consider that as an option – rather, he elects to stay the course as an unwavering pillar to his belief system. Faith versus practicality, especially in exorcism films, is not a particularly new theme. It feels as if “The Ritual” falls into the repetition of showing something shocking or frightening, and then focusing on Stevens’ and Pacino’s characters as the post-game commentators. Stevens tries to add emotion and gravitas as a man of the church being torn apart emotionally because of losing a loved one in the manner he does.
What Stevens doesn’t quite mesh with the resolute and monotonous way Pacino plays his character. The mix of fury and lucid assuredness doesn’t serve as a great balance. In the first part of the film, Middel peppers in a lot of supernatural phenomena as a slow, elevating burn. The film’s second half kicks into overdrive, ending up in a predictable place where you’ll wonder why two points of view were even presented in the first place.
2005’s “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” took the case of Anneliese Michael and, at the very least, presented the views of both skeptics and believers, allowing the audience to make their own deductions. “The Ritual” shows its cards early on, suggesting a disinterest in that method, despite the film alluding to the possibility of doing so. The film serves as a completionist’s manual for those who may have an inkling of the actual story that inspired a wildly popular subgenre of horror. Otherwise, the sums of its parts are out of time and ten steps behind the path it helped to pave.
