‘The Ritual’ is a horror film steeped in Catholic imagery and familiar exorcism tropes. Al Pacino plays a Catholic priest of German descent who becomes the central figure in an exorcism that allegedly took place in Iowa in 1928. Though set in the past, the film feels oddly modern. Apart from the absence of smartphones, there’s little to suggest the era – it has a rough, handheld camera aesthetic that evokes present-day digital filmmaking more than the 1920s.

Pacino, often known for his theatrical flair, is surprisingly restrained here. In fact, in a film as subdued and derivative as this one, a more operatic performance might have elevated the material. Instead, he gives us a hunched, inward, almost reluctant portrayal. It’s intriguing to watch, but it feels mismatched with the tone the film might have benefited from. He is paired with Dan Evans, who plays a parish priest suffering from a crisis of faith – an echo of Father Karras in ‘The Exorcist’, whose spiritual doubts were compounded by personal grief.

The emotional heart of the film centres around Evans’s character’s brother, Joseph Steiger, whose own wavering faith is tested by the apparent possession of a young girl. The themes here are familiar: the battle between science and religion, faith and doubt, possession and mental illness. Does the girl need a priest… or a doctor? The film flirts with both interpretations but never fully commits to either. This lack of conviction becomes a weakness, especially in a genre that thrives on strong ideological or supernatural stances.

Visually and thematically, ‘The Ritual’ borrows heavily from earlier exorcism films. We see the expected tropes: levitation, guttural demonic voices, the possessed channelling the dead relatives of those present. Yet unlike ‘The Exorcist’, which made such imagery feel terrifying and theologically charged, ‘The Ritual’ recycles them without deep conviction.

It offers spectacle without substance, and in the end, this is a film caught in two minds. It wants to thrill with supernatural horrors, but it is hesitant to declare itself pro-faith, sceptical, or somewhere in between. That ambiguity might have been compelling in a more confidently made film, but here it feels more like indecision than nuance.