Rituals is a 1977 Canadian horror movie directed by Peter Carter and starring Hal Holbrook and Lawrence Dane.
Five doctors and longtime friends - Harry (Holbrook), Mitzi (Dane), Martin (Robin Gammell), Abel (Ken James), and DJ (Gary Reineke)- go on a ritual camping trip deep in the isolated Canadian wilderness. However, it quickly becomes clear that they're not alone when someone leaves a decapitated deer head at their campsite. The doctors quickly piece together that someone is hunting them, and they now have to battle both their mysterious hunter and the dangerous wilderness itself.
Rituals is a fairly obvious clone of Deliverance, but it's bolstered by a cast of talented character actors and for being genuinely scary in its own right. It's also notable for being one of Stephen King's favorite movies.
This film contains examples of:
- The Alcoholic:
- Harry became a heavy drinker while serving in the Korean War, only to quit after nearly getting himself killed with his drunken shenanigans.
- Martin's mental breakdown has led to him developing a drinking problem. It gets worse, as he begins compulsively drinking booze to cope with the pain of his broken leg.
- Mitzi develops into this as the pressure of the situation drives him into using alcohol to cope. He even winds up letting Matthew slip into their camp because he's too drunk to see straight.
- Ambiguous Situation: Right before Matthew burns him alive, Mitzi claims he had been trying to meet back up with Harry before he was captured. It's likely he was lying through his teeth to get Harry to save him, but the fact he had previously returned to Harry after abandoning him lends plausibility towards it.
- Asshole Victim: DJ is the most hostile and confrontational member of the group, though his death is undeniably horrific.
- Ax-Crazy: Matthew is unhinged from brain damage he received in World War II, and has a penchant for long, brutal kills.
- Big Bad: Matthew Crowley, a disfigured and unstable war veteran hunting the doctors.
- Butt-Monkey: Martin. He suffered a career-ending mental breakdown prior to the film, he has his leg broken by a bear trap, and he's finally left comatose after being slammed into rocks by rapids.
- Cain and Abel: Jesse is horrified at his brother Matthew's actions and tried to stop him, but his blindness makes him unable to.
- Cruel and Unusual Death:
- DJ is nailed to a chair, tortured, and left out in the wild to die of exposure to the elements. By the time Harry and Mitzi find him, it's too late to help him and Harry winds up killing him to put him out of his misery.
- Mitzi is set on fire by Matthew and slowly burns to death.
- Dirty Coward: Subverted by Mitzi. He frequently demands that Harry abandon Martin so they can make a break for it and abandons him at one point, but his friendship with Harry ultimately overrides his cowardice and he returns to continue helping him. When he finally does abandon Harry, it's not out of cowardice but out of horror over Harry mercy killing DJ.
- Driven to Suicide: Harry and Mitzi's friend Andy committed suicide a few years ago. Mitzi blames Harry for it, as Harry cutting Andy out of his life is what pushed him to do it. It's later implied Mitzi's father committed suicide as well.
- Dwindling Party: The doctors are all gradually picked off one by one until only Harry remains.
- Fatal Family Photo: Abel is a family man who frequently mentions his children. It's no surprises when he's the first to die.
- Freudian Excuse: It's heavily implied that Matthew is targeting the doctors because he believes that they are the army doctors who failed to properly treat his deformity or his brain damage.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: It's pretty clear that the only reason DJ was brought along is because he's Martin's brother.
- Insane Equals Violent: Matthew's brain damage has left him a violent madman out to kill the doctors out of a personal vendetta.
- Jerkass: DJ is confrontational and hostile, though at least some of this can be traced to him being well aware that the only reason anyone brought him along was because he's Martin's brother.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- Harry is gruff and unfriendly, but he proves to have a strong moral compass and refuses to abandon Martin until he physically can't carry him anymore.
- Mitzi is a whiny coward who unfairly blames Harry for Andy's suicide, but he shows deep loyalty to Harry and is depicted mostly sympathetically.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Mitzi repeatedly tries to convince Harry that they should abandon the injured Martin, pointing out that he's slowing them down and almost certainly going to die no matter what they do. He turns out to be right, as Martin ultimately dies of his injuries in spite of Harry's efforts.
- While he's a total jerk, DJ isn't wrong when he points out to Mitzi that they can't use a signal fire, as there's no way for a helicopter to land in the area as well as the risk of causing a forest fire.
- Mercy Kill: When Harry and Mitzi find DJ, he's already dying from the torture Matthew inflicted on him and exposure to the elements. Harry chooses to mercy kill him, which results in a horrified Mitzi abandoning him.
- Misplaced Retribution: It's implied that Matthew is targeting the doctors because he genuinely believes that they are the army doctors who failed to properly treat him after he was wounded in World War II, leaving him with severe disfigurements and brain damage.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Jesse's attempts to stop Matthew result in Harry fatally wounding him when Jesse mistakes him for Matthew and attacks him.
- Kill It with Fire: Matthew kills Mitzi by tying him to a tree and setting him on fire.
- Sacrificial Lion: Abel is killed both to make it clear to the others that they’re being hunted and to firmly establish Matthew's ruthlessness.
- Sanity Slippage:
- Martin loses it after his leg is broken. Admittedly, this is because of both the agonizing pain he's in and because he gets drunk out of his mind to cope.
- Harry gradually goes insane over the course of the film, finally snapping completely when Matthew kills Mitzi.
- Straight Gay: Martin confesses to Harry about a failed relationship with a male lover. Before this, there's no hints of him being gay.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Harry and Mitzi.
