The Ritual (2017)

The Ritual may be my favorite full-blown horror film, thanks in large part to the eeriness of its setting (a Swedish forest) and its folk-horror roots—few things scare me more than ancient evil, and this movie is full of that shit. The Ritual begins with four friends whose relationship is strained (to say the least) embarking on a hiking trip together in an effort to heal after they experienced an incredibly traumatic event. Horror loves trauma dumping, and boy does it just get worse from there.

Shortly after the foursome steps into the dense woods, one of them gets hurt (surprise) and they decide to cut through the forest to ostensibly get him help faster. A torrential downpour forces them to take shelter in a creepy old cabin, but when the men wake up in various states of panic and pain, it’s clear that there’s something wrong with these woods. Things only get crazier from there as they realize they’re not only lost, but being pursued by something. The acting is top-tier, the movie looks beautiful, and its perfectly balances the pace throughout its 94-minute run-time. The Ritual has it all: confronting traditional notions of masculinity, people impaled on trees, a cult worshiping an offspring of Loki, and, of course, a lot of moments that will make you scream. — Alyssa Mercante