The Ritual

"You must have faith."

2025 1h 38m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 308

HorrorDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Two priests, one in crisis with his faith and the other confronting a turbulent past, must overcome their differences to perform a risky exorcism.

“You must have faith.”

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Cast

Dan Stevens
Father Joseph Steiger
Abigail Cowen
Emma Schmidt
Al Pacino
Father Theophilus Riesinger
Patricia Heaton
Mother Superior
Ashley Greene
Sister Rose
Patrick Fabian
Bishop Edwards
María Camila Giraldo
Sister Camila
Meadow Williams
Sister Sarah

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Midell
Writers: David Midell, David Midell, Enrico Natale
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Midell, shot by Adam Biddle. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jason Lazarus. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Enrico Natale shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Dan Stevens and Abigail Cowen and Al Pacino carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You must have faith.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt32194932 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Midell directs. Adam Biddle behind the camera. Jason Lazarus scores. Enrico Natale cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released last year.
2Directed by David Midell, shot by Adam Biddle. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Jason Lazarus. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Enrico Natale shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Dan Stevens and Abigail Cowen and Al Pacino carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "You must have faith.".
7IMDB entry: tt32194932 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 9 themes, including "exorcism", "based on true story", "demon", "demonic possession".
9Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Adam Biddle
Original score: Jason Lazarus
Editing: Enrico Natale
Production design: Julie Toche
Costume design: Grizelda Garza
VFX supervisor: Michael A. Martinez
Sound: Lawrence He
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $3,195,869
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Ritual (2025)

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David Midell

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-06-04
★ 5/10
I’m guessing that Russell Crowe was busy for this latest exercise in priestly exorcism so an hardly recognisable Al Pacino decided to have a go. He is a Capetian father drafted in to help the reluctant Fr. Joseph (Dan Stevens) with a particularly difficult task. Fr. Theophilus must help rid the poor young Emma (Abigail Cowen) of an unwanted bodily guest. His methods do not impress the rather naive young father, nor the sisters in attendance as she increasingly resorts to involuntary bleeding, foul language, violent outbursts and even the usual hanging upside down from the ceiling lamp trick whilst under relentless assault from the repetitious bible verses being read across what I counted are at least seven of those ritual attempts at expulsion. Sound familiar? Well that’s because it is. Aside from Pacino turning in a slightly different style of performance from his norm, the rest of this hasn’t an original bone in it’s body. Indeed, its only claim to fame appears to be that it is based on the original, almost century old, transcriptions from Fr. Joseph of events that are really supposed to have happened but we’ve seen this all predictably play out so many times before that even the traditional collapsible bed doesn’t turn an head - spiritual or metaphysically. The one element that does provoke a little interest is, perhaps, the clear indication that Catholicism in the 1920s was riddled with incantations, superstitions and a degree of symbolism that probably hadn’t changed since much since there was a Borgia on the throne of St. Peter. This might work on the telly at Halloween of you’re full of Grappa, but as a cinema experience it is disappointing and entirely forgettable, sorry.
Dean2025-07-05
★ 6/10
I know we have seen a lot of exorcism movies which are copies of copies of copies, however this one wasn't that bad copy, lol. I think it was actually pretty decent. Not a best exorism movie, but not bad either.