Comments on: 5 Theories To Explain the Movie The Ritual

By: Morgan

Morgan — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 05:38:59 +0000

Super late to the game – 4-1/2 years later. I just finished watching The Ritual for the first time and while I found it to be entertaining, captivating, and horrifying, it definitely left me with a sense of WTF. I had this feeling that all of it was in Luke’s imagination – that they got lost in the forest, and that he kind of snapped and started murdering his friends one by one. To go a bit deeper, it would be his way of cleansing his life from the 4 people who truly knew what happened the night of Rob’s murder and Luke’s inaction. By removing those 4 friends from his life, it could give him a fresh start. Not in a psycho mastermind way, just in a fit of madness.

After reading the 4 theories, and director’s intent, I don’t think that any more. Glad to have other people’s interpretations! Thanks Taylor

By: Bleach

Bleach — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 01:17:23 +0000

In reply to Jon. Can't believe neanderthals like that are still roaming free.

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 01:54:27 +0000

What a load of shit. We do what our wives say because we don’t wanna hear them bitching all friggin day. Women want to be on top, then the bottom, hold the door, now empower me, look at how sexy I am, oh what a creep don’t look at me. Women are wussy’s

By: Taylor Holmes

Taylor Holmes — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 13:11:56 +0000

@Meatman – oh, nice. I would have dug that too. Would have balanced out the absurdity quite nicely. Interesting.

By: Meatman

Meatman — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 11:41:44 +0000

Would have preferred that it ended with Luke in the liquor store stopping the attack, with us not knowing which aspect was a memory/hallucination and which wasn’t.

By: Taylor Holmes

Taylor Holmes — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 04:19:21 +0000

In reply to Pamela Williams. Sounds like you have a wonderful sister. Not sure all siblings are half as nice as yours.

By: Pamela Williams

Pamela Williams — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 03:33:44 +0000

I like the movie, I like theory number 4 and number 5. Far as friends my best friend is my sister. I didn’t make that many friends in elementary school, or in middle school or up to high school. I didn’t go to collage, made some friends through my sister, her best friend she had since elementary school. She made friends when she went to collage her collage roommates, they still spend together when they have the time.
Since everyone works, now she her other two friends are married have children. Some people are able to make friends easy, while other people have a hard time making friends like me. I wouldn’t say I’m lonely because I have a very good, relationship with my sister and friends made through her.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 22:20:21 +0000

Hi! First of all, excuse me for the bad expression you might be about to read, as I’m a
French guy trying to explain some kind of psychological struggle. Wich is already a struggle I guess.
Anyway, Ned (comment above), I think it’s kind of sad not to dig a little more into the story. Obviously it’s not only the 10 000th horror movie we can see and say again « meh. Not that bad after all. ». There is definitely more in it.

And to dive maybe a little bit deeper, (sorry if it’s already been proposed before and I missed it but) I agree with the idea that it’s all those theories combined. At least it is about honour, confidence and self-respect. Following the path of Luke’s tourmented mind, another element seems to occur. What I’ve been thinking is that each of the 3 friends Luke is trailing with is an instance of his personality. Like the voices in your head when you’re fighting with your inner demons. Let’s see how it reveales to us through the story:

First, Hutch represents his strongest side, the voice that juts goes trough action, pragmatical, that keep going on. He makes the decisions, and solves every problem logically.
Hutch dies the first, and here we discover the awfulness of letting a friend die without help. It’s beyond what they can do, too much for the 3 others (maybe just like Luke in the shop thinking about his life).
So, obviously his fighting side has gone first, he is desoriented.

Then, Phil. The one guy that found himself waking up while kneeling in front of the totem/the monster’s représentation. The « weakest » part of him. As Phil said, « it’s in [his] head, [he can’t escape from it/run away ». It’s a moment the 3 remaining guys are beginning to face the horror they live accepting what’s after them (exept Dom). So, at this time no practical solution really exist, and after missing their friend, the weak part Luke has gone too, he has to find a way. At this time, we might understand (reading it twice) that this part of him can’t be in the game anymore,

Here we are, the last one: Dom. The one he really got a problem with. The one that is some kind of exaggerating little girl, always complaining about the pain, and also facing him by telling what he thinks: Their friend died in the store because of Luke. He says something like « we are here because of YOU! » wich means in Sweden, right, but also in the nightmare.
Dom is truly the part he’s got to struggle with, the more complex. Both strong and weak, capable of being naive and also clairvoyant. He is the last of his friends to see the monster and accept its existence — the beggining of the mental cure/healing?
This Character is all about Denial and guiltiness. That’s what is depicted at the time of his death: he sees his wife first, a figure of love, then the monster as he « really » is. Acceptance is finally there, as Luke has to accept that he won’t save Dom in the same time.

After Luke is no more in trouble with Dom, (both weak and strong part are gone), and promise him never to leave him behind, he has to leave all the hatred and shame for himself to reach the light.

Plus, if we consider the dreams, Hutch A.k.a Fighter Luke just never want to talk about the dream he had in the wooden house, nonesens and useless. Phil (running Luke) just says he has seen the monster and that it’s already taken him. And Dom, tells his dream at the end like it is necessarily about to come. Somehow, Luke finally understands he will have to fight the awful truth, wich he does in the end.

In the end, Luke understands he has to face the ugly monster in front of him, never kneeling before his fears again, cause that’s only when every part of his sadness is detroyed that he can clearly see it and fight it.

So maye this is a way we can see his trip as a purification represented by his demons and friends at the same time?

Does it seem logical to you or am I just having fun alone in my bed, building shitty theories no one fucking cares about? ^^

By: Liz

Liz — Mon, 28 May 2018 13:30:26 +0000

(Firstly, thank you for this discussion! All I could find were reviews of a straight up horror movie and nothing about the meanings behind it, about which I felt strongly enough to search the internet for in the first place.)

Not looking too much into it, I felt like it was about the survivor’s guilt Luke was feeling and his overcoming that. He keeps climbing and climbing what seems to be an insurmountable hill and at the end he literally sees the light. His triumphant scream at his demon starts his turning point and he keeps going, even if the road still seems so far. I actually shed a tear at the end, with this narrative in mind, at the utter resoluteness in human spirit. Everyone has their own struggles and people would do better to remember this. This movie hit me where a horror movie normally doesn’t, for sure.

(Also, it really isn’t just men who have trouble making friends as adults. But the typical societal idea that they are supposed to be firm and unemotional is just garbage, and maybe that’s why they become silent.)