The Ritual portrays exorcism accurately, but is stuck in genre cliches

The new exorcism film The Ritual, starring Al Pacino and Dan Stevens, is based on the famous 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt, which also partially inspired The Exorcist. The Ritual is touted as more realistic and meticulously researched than most exorcism films, and it does seem to portray the rite of exorcism accurately (as the title indicates, most of the film is focused on the ritual itself). The film avoids many of the worst pitfalls of exorcism movies, such as fascination with the glamor of evil, sadism, etc. It is a Catholic-approvable treatment of the subject in that it avoids theological error, the liturgy is accurate, and God is clearly shown to be more powerful than demons. However, the film is still sensationalistic, not because its extraordinary demonic manifestations are fabricated, but because they are excessively centered at the expense of more interesting and edifying aspects of the real-life case. Those details which would have made the treatment unique and thought-provoking are too often filed down to fit the genre’s cliches or to avoid alienating a non-Catholic audience.

The Ritual will be in theaters starting June 6.

Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

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