The Ritual (2017)
The Ritual (2017) is a British supernatural folk horror film about four former college friends who reunite for a hiking trip in the Swedish wilderness after a tragic death in their group. A wrong turn leads them into a remote forest where they begin to encounter a sinister presence tied to ancient Norse legend. As tensions rise and the forest seems to close in around them, the men are forced to confront both a terrifying external threat and their own grief and guilt.
Narrative Score
Full Plot & Ending Explained
Intro
Five old university friends—Luke, Dom, Hutch, Phil, and Rob—meet in a pub and talk about taking a trip together. Rob proposes a hiking holiday in Sweden, but the others dismiss the idea until tragedy forces them to reconsider. During a late-night trip to buy alcohol, Luke and Rob are caught in a robbery; Luke hides, while Rob is beaten and killed in front of him.
Turning Point 1
Six months later, the surviving four friends go to northern Sweden to honor Rob’s wish and hike the Kungsleden trail. Dom has knee pain, so Hutch suggests cutting through the forest instead of staying on the marked path. Luke objects, but the others follow Hutch’s idea and enter the woods, where they find a gutted elk hanging from trees and strange runic carvings on the bark.
Turning Point 2
A heavy rainstorm forces them to shelter in an abandoned cabin. Inside, they find necklaces with the same symbols and a disturbing wooden effigy made from twigs, with antlers where hands should be. That night they are plagued by nightmares, and the next morning Luke wakes with puncture wounds on his chest, Hutch is terrified and humiliated, Dom is catatonic and calling for his wife Gayle, and Phil is naked and praying to the effigy.
Turning Point 3
The group tries to escape the forest, but the woods seem to shift around them and they become increasingly disoriented. They discover an abandoned tent and belongings left behind by people who died long ago, confirming that the forest has trapped others before them. Tension escalates as Luke argues with Dom about Rob’s death, and the friends split further under fear, guilt, and accusations.
Turning Point 4
One by one, the men disappear or are violently taken by the creature stalking them in the woods. Hutch is snatched and later found grotesquely displayed; Phil also vanishes and is found mutilated; Dom is eventually taken as well, leaving Luke alone and exhausted. Luke then awakens in a strange house, where he is tended by three masked young cultists who treat him like a chosen guest rather than a prisoner.
Turning Point 5
The cultists—who call themselves Loki, Fenris, and Surtr—reveal that they serve an ancient forest entity named Moder and that Luke has been selected to join their rites. They explain that Moder offers power and long life in exchange for worship and sacrifice. Luke is forced into a choice between submission and death, and he realizes the people around him are not Vikings but a fanatical modern cult.
Ending
Luke escapes his restraints, fights through the cult house, and kills the three cultists and Moder’s worshippers upstairs. He survives the encounter and leaves the forest, but the final image makes clear that the horror was real and that the cult’s influence and Moder’s threat still linger beyond the woods.
Cross-checked against Wikipedia and other public film references. View on Letterboxd ↗ The Narrative Score above is an experimental 5-axis rating, not a critic score.