Rituals

This Canadian variant on "Deliverance" proves to be a very potent and unsettling little shocker. Central premise about five doctors who are forced to fight for survival against an angry unknown assailant while vacationing in the woods acquires a deliciously bitter irony from the fact that said doctors are put in a dire situation in which they are made to take lives instead of save them.

Director Peter Carter ably crafts a creepy mood and generates plenty of nerve-wracking tension as well as takes time to develop the characters. Amongst the assorted middle-aged men in jeopardy, Hal Holbrook gives a strong and convincing lead performance as the most ethical and responsible of the bunch while character guy Lawrence Dane snivels it up superbly as a hateful abject coward. The moments of savage violence pack a vicious punch. The remote Canadian wilderness setting projects a harrowingly palpable sense of isolation and vulnerability. This movie takes a while to get going, but kicks into gripping and suspenseful gear once the doctors find themselves in danger. A gritty and quite effective backwoods survivalist thriller.

This movie was different. It’s usually college kids who go camping and get stalked. Theres a group of doctors in this movie. Their being doctors don’t help them that much to survive the woods. The killer is also a surprise. There’s lots in this movie that isn’t in other movies. This movie is pretty good.