Ritual (2002) Online

Can't remember where I got this movie from, but it suddenly appeared off my DVD shelf, as it had been there for months and I always skipped over playing it. Anyway, moved by the hand of huge laziness, I decided to give it a chance and feed my tray with what I thought was a slice of pure digitalized boredom. The result was a nice surprise. Obviously, this is not the flick of the century, but the plot line is consistent enough to keep you in for the whole runtime long. Atmosphere is particularly dense and thrilling (3 phone calls during the viewing didn't manage to kick me off it !), highlighted by a really efficient soundtrack. The cast is just right as it should be, and the breathtaking beauty of Caro (Kristen Wilson) will do anything but spoil it. The machete/drums/ceremonial scheme, usually utterly heavy in this kind of film, is always kept on a due balance, which, I figure out, must be quite a challenge for the editors. I gave it a 6/10 which means, in my opinion, frames this movie as (at least) advisable/worth watching.

This film was meant to be the third & final film in the Tales From The Crypt movie trilogy. Why it wasn't made official? None of us may ever know. In my opinion though it definately had the Tales From The Crypt feel to it. It had all the right elements & I had a great time watching it. As with all Tales movies & episodes don't watch it expecting to get the crap scared out of you, expect some good ole fun. The main element missing that would've made this a complete Tales movie however is The Cryptkeeper. If you're a fan of Tales From The Crypt, you like zombie/voodoo films like The Serpent & The Rainbow, or you like horror in general then I definately recommend giving this film a look. That is if you can find it.

This movie was so different from anything I've ever seen. It was a welcome reprieve from what's being offered in the way of movies. Also, it is rare indeed, to see a movie these days that hasn't been re-made. It's as if Hollywood has nothing left to offer, no imagination. Whoever wrote this movie, needs to make many more movies! It was well-written, well-acted, and full of surprises. I've always been able to figure out the "who-done-its" in movies. This one was totally cryptic. An excellent,excellent movie. Everyone needs to see this one. Parents, it does contain some naked women. Of course there aren't any naked men for us ladies to enjoy. Nothing new there. I'd say that's the only bad thing about it.

i rarely give a 9 but at a B film, this film ROCKS! by straight to DVD standards this is a must see. i did not see some things that happened coming at all. Jennifer Grey is a vision in this film. TIm curry was underutilized but with the exception of his last scene his acting was GREAT. i was very surprised by this film. it is not a typical tales of the crypt film, but don't hold that against it. i thought the locale was great. the cinematography was top notch. not everyone gave a stellar performance but overall most of the actors were believable in their roles. no one seemed to be sleepwalking through their act. i recommend this for fans of horror and thrillers.

I have mixed feelings about this movie as I recently saw the newly released R1 edition. FIRST IT DOES HAVE THE CRYPTKEEPER IN IT!!! I was surprised that it didn't feature the all out action of Demon Knight or trashy fun of Bordello of Blood. Instead, it was a smartly written and even somewhat classy by "Tales" standards as it never goes for the over the top gore or even sex for that matter. It does have the TFTC feel and any fan most likely won't disappoint. It is truly a fitting end, if the series has to go. I just wish the TFTC feel was more prevalent in the CryptKeeper scenes. If you are a fan buy this and we can hope to see more from the Cyypt in the future.

New York City Dr.Alice Dodgson (Jennifer Gray) finds herself a job after losing her patient and her medical license for two years. She travels to Jamaica, where her doctor license isn't needed. She's hired by a wealthy American (Craig Sheffer) to check on his younger brother (Daniel Lapaine), who's thinks he's a zombie. Alice quickly realized, there's an virus spreading in Jamaica and she also finds herself in the exotic rhythm of this foreign place. But since there's mysterious murders are happening in the middle, Alice has to uncover the truth and save her patient before it's too late.

Directed by Avi Nesher (Doppelganger:The Evil Within) made an enjoyable horror film has some suspense, humour and an unexpected plot twist at the end. This third and probably last feature from the HBO Series "Tales from the Crypt". Which executive producers:Richard Donner, David Giler, Walter Hill, Joel Silver and Oscar-Winner:Robert Zemeckis were involved in this movie. Like they did on the HBO Series and two previous features from Universal. This was made for theaters but it got shelved for five years... finally released to DVD!

DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an good Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD has no special features. This movie is actually an remake from the RKO Radio Pictures titled "I Walked With A Zombie". It's also the first film that "The Crypt Keeper" doesn't appear near the closing credits. Grey and especially Kristen Wilson looks great in it. "Ritual" is a modest horror film and it is the most coherent of the three "Tales from the Crypt" movies. Horror fans will certainly enjoy it. Nesher co-wrote the screenplay along with Rob Cohen (The Mummy:Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story, The Fast & The Furious). (*** 1/2 out of *****).

First it's a Tales From the Crypt film, then it's not. Then it is, then it's not. Finally this film was given a decent release and they used the Cryptkeeper to try and sell it. Sadly, this will be the only thing under the Tales From the Crypt banner that I will never own. Ritual just wasn't up to Crypt standards. Demon Knight was one of the best horror films on the 90's and Bordello of Blood was a laugh riot. Ritual is neither of these things. It's basically a retelling of I Walked With a Zombie. It has no surprises and it's rather straight-forward in it's direction. I'm also not big on voodoo movies. There's just something about them, and they all tell pretty much the same story. So not much stands out and the film is a bit boring. The pace could have been tightened up a bit. It's a shame too because the acting is quite good. Jennifer Gray leads the cast and is up to the task. The new nose must be working out for her because she looks to be in the best shape of her life. Daniel Lapaine and Kristen Wilson, both of whom I'm not familiar with, also are admirable. And Tim Curry and Craig "I need to fire my agent" Sheffer show up to lend their credentials. Seriously, Sheffer is a way better actor than his filmography would have you believe. Another plus is the effects. What little gore there is is done expertly. Gotta love the doctor getting microwaved.

Suspended from practicing medicine, a doctor takes a position giving care for a man's brother who lives in Jamaica where she finds that he's suffering from the effects of a powerful voodoo curse that turns them into zombies forcing her to put an end to the evil forces once and for all.

This one here is a rather fun and enjoyable voodoo film. One of the best parts of this one is that it builds up an incredible atmosphere in here through the effective use of it's supernatural overtones. This is one of the few films that manages to really use the mystery and magic of voodoo and does this spectacularly, making it appear to be quite dangerous and something to be feared. Due to this, the first half is incredibly suspenseful with the mysterious actions around them which are done through a series of rather freaky ideas. The set of hallucinations that occur here are marvelous, with the jungle coming alive and attempt to destroy the car the two are traveling alongside being one of them, and a later scene where a hallucination of the collapsing roof falling onto them, despite being the only one to see it, is a fantastic scene as well. As these grow in stature throughout the film, there's plenty to like here with the way these cause an enhancement of the supernatural threat that constantly runs in the film. That starts with the opening, with the wedding ceremony giving way to the confrontation in the lab which is a nice way of getting this going, the increasingly strong supernatural attacks that are used to build a strong mystery in the meantime and the freak-outs done by the possessed victim are just plain fun. The ending confrontation in the fields during the voodoo ceremony is really good as well, using more voodoo charms, a tense buried alive sequence and a suspenseful standoff that is pretty intense. The last big part of the film is the gore, which here works quite well for the film. These here are all that work for the film as this one didn't have many flaws, and there really is only one which does affect the film somewhat. This is that the film is slightly overlong and somewhat dull at times. This one really shouldn't have been that much over an hour and a half at all, and really should've been trimmed in certain areas as there's several scenes which go on for much longer than they should. The middle section of this is the most apparent, featuring several scenes that aren't that important. The trip to the beach to frolic in the surf and the family visits to the shack for no reason being the main exceptions, and the exposition in the beginning to get the story involved could've been done a little quicker, as it really could've had the same impact it does now with a little time removed. Since there's no titular connection to the series, including the Crypt Keeper wraparounds are unnecessary as well, and since there's hardly any dark comedy or humor to come from it, it's just pointless. All of these make the film feel longer than it should, and give the film it's one true flaw.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Brief Nudity and a mild sex scene.

If you've read any of my other reviews you will know that I am somewhat partial to the Tales From the Crypt movies.... who am I kidding?..... I LOVE THEM!

Way back when Demon Knight came out it was apparent that there would be a series of three movies. Bordello of Blood followed on shortly after and then there was a massive lull.... nothing. Finally after a couple of years it was made official that the third movie was ready! And it was going to be a 'Voo-Doo' movie...... Hmm, I dont really like Black Magic movies but the excitement remains!!

So then I saw it...... WTF? Hmmm, yes sure it was a good movie. I really did enjoy it. It had all of the key eliments of a "Tales from the Crypt" movie.... all except for the one VITAL factor.... The Crypt Keeper??....... No sight of Him.

I can only wonder why the hell these guys (Gilbert, Zemekis, Silver, Donner etc etc) would have the audacity to release this movie without The Crypt Keeper? Surely they know that they are cheating the audience. What is the point of calling it a 'Tales' movie when there is no obvious connection?

With that massive qualm aside, this is a good movie. It seems to me that they may not have had much of a budget, and if that is the case... then they pulled it off excellently. It is not entirely gory or gruesome but it is still packed with the typical comic relief that makes a 'Crypt' movie so fun to watch.

So come on guys.... make us some MORE Tales From the Crypt movies!! We can't get enough of them. And bring back the 'Keeper'... pleeeeease??

I give this one 6.5 out of 10.

This turned out all right and looks interesting. However, as it goes on the attempts at creating emotions between the characters is so inept that it really turns the horror off and is an insult to serious viewers. The story this is based on "I walked with a zombie" is probably much better although unfortunately I haven't seen it yet. "Ritual" looks so exciting and could have been a great movie about zombies and voodoo but in reality it has turned out very poorly which is a shame. It's hard to say what is wrong with it. I guess there are just too many inept scenes and it is hard to believe, for example, in the lovestory between Alice (who is called Alice Dodgson like the girl who supposedly inspired Lewis Carrol to call his heroine Alice) and the younger brother. Absolutely nothing has been built up between them and then in the end they get married. Anyway, this looks great, and it was worth a look - but the movie is just so poorly performed. 3/10.

The third and last Tales horror flick which is a bit disappointing but judging by this effort I can see why. This time we are introduced to the Crypt Keeper with a Jamaican flavour complete with dreadlocks and bikini clad women at his beck 'n' call. Already the whole feel is wrong.

Good cast for the film can't deny that, a solid quirky trio including Tim Curry, Jennifer Grey and Craig Sheffer. There are just a few problems, firstly you know who the bad guys are in the film right from the start, since when does Sheffer ever play the good guy?. Curry who is a marvellous character actor has nothing to do here in any way, complete waste, whilst Grey looks cute but doesn't quite seem comfortable in this genre.

The plot is pretty damn near dull as hell actually, its all about voodoo and creating zombies naturally, what else seeing as its set in Jamaica. The thing is nothing much happens in this, lots of flashbacks/dreams with Grey walking around looking all serious trying to find out what's causing an illness that drives people loopy (zombies).

I really was quite bored during the entire film, no action, no gore, no monsters or mutants etc...It is also played as a semi serious thriller with no laughs or comic horror like the previous two films. Easily the worst of the trilogy despite the nice cast and nowhere near as cool as the last two films.

2/10

Stars: Jennifer Grey, Craig Sheffer, Tim Curry, Daniel Lapaine, Ron Taylor and John Kassir as the Cryptkeeper.

I am glad that when this was theatrically released it didn't have the Cryptkeeper segments, because this film wasn't good enough to hold the Tales from the Crypt name. It's a movie about a nurse who travels to Jamaica to watch a patient and all kinds of weird, voodoo-y, gross stuff happens. It had some OK effects, but the camera work really isn't very good. It might amuse you, as it did me. The DVD includes a pretty stupid Crytpkeeper opening and outtakes with the Cryptkeeper. See it if you enjoy Crypt, but it really has nothing to do with it.

My rating: 2 out of 4 stars. 107 mins. R for Violence.

Dr. Alice Dodgson (Jennifer Grey) gets her medical license revoked after the death of one patient. She's facing the possibility of not get any job when she accepts to be the nurse for one young man who suffers of encephalitis called Wesley Claybourne (Daniel Lapaine).

The story is that those involved removed references to "Tales From the Crypt" after their second movie bombed. This was probably a wise idea, although the same sensibility and tone is obvious in this picture.

I loved seeing Jennifer Grey in a leading role, and appreciated that they tried to update "I Walked With a Zombie". Not sure they actually succeeded, though. Despite a good cast and some decent scares and kills, I just did not find myself all that interested in this one.

Tim Curry was the reason I wanted to see this film, and while of course his appearance is always entertaining, he's basically wasted in it. The rest of the cast doesn't fare too well either, in this remake of an early zombie movie that has extremely graphic effects that are totally unnecessary. To quote a popular axiom, sometimes less is more.

Although this is a V movie, but it's better than many cinematic ones. (Ritual) is a small movie yet fine whether as sexy or as horror.

First of all, the "sexy" part : The image was bright, the colors were enticing, and (Kristen Wilson) was unbelievable! Since a small role in a series I hate (The District), and then a smaller role in a movie many hate (Doctor Dolittle) I felt that she's an exceptional beauty. This time she made that clear, being one of the hottest girls I've ever seen in a movie. I can't forget her in that rosy short skirt, she was dazzling like a rare gem. Or answering her house's door all naked.. This is matchless, giving (Ritual) the quality of "unforgettable" apart! I was amazed how she perfected her accent too. It makes you ask where is such a queen in Hollywood so-called blockbusters ? Here's another mystery, else the movie's one, for you!

The long-time absentee (Jennifer Grey) wasn't bad herself. The (Dirty Dancing)'s heroine has turned, with not many movies after, into a memory from the 1980s. Here, with the serenely colored clothes, the plain outfits, the curly hair, the short coiffure and her presence (which didn't differ much) she looked really like a memory from the 1980s! (Grey) delivered convincing performance with slight sexy moments. Obviously the makers wanted to exploit their movie's babies well since there was no budget; so let's put the 2 female leads (one blond, and one brunet) in skimpy clothes for most of the time. However when it comes to acting, and being too hot, simply Kristen Wilson wins.

The movie was moving as the same as sexy. It managed to be mysterious, a bit scary and most of all unpredictable. I loved the exciting unexplained events, the end's twist, so the last shot. The directing tried to be as exotic as the story. You might see that the movements of the camera were idiot, the using of the lenses was cheap, but anyway.. it worked. The landscapes seemed beautiful and wild. All in all it managed to be a journey into seductive and dangerous world. And despite the low budget I didn't feel any TV-ish moments.

Very few times when I put "entertaining" right before "horror" in one sentence, so how about a "V" movie too! But this time it deserves that. And surprisingly not for Kristen Wilson only. Lovely voodoo both ways.

Alice Dodgson,a New York doctor gets her license suspended when she treats one of her patients with an unapproved drug,resulting in the patient's death.Without a job,Alice is forced to go to Jamaica,where she tends to the brother of a wealthy white landowner.The brother thinks he's a zombie and is deeply involved in the local people's voodoo practices and rituals."Ritual" is a mediocre horror flick.The action is pretty dull,the plot twists are silly and there is no suspense.There is a bit of gore as someone is killing off white people with a machete,but not too much.The cinematography is decent,however the acting is truly woeful.Definitely one to avoid.4 out of 10.

I can barely find the words to describe how much this piece of trash offended me. Why is it that American filmmakers always go out of there way to portray Jamaicans as a bunch of backwards ass bush babies and worse yet, cast people to play Jamaicans who sound utterly ridiculous when they try to imitate the accent? We are not all extremely dark, we do not all walk around carrying machetes whether for work OR PROTECTION, we do not walk around naked in our homes and we do not practice VOODOO!! We are doctors, lawyers, architects, Businessmen and women, musicians, actors AND FILMMAKERS. I am sick and tired of watching all of these portrayals of Jamaicans as a bunch of dreadlock wearing Rastafarians who do nothing but sit around all day smoking weed on a beach or shooting guns in the air (When we're not living in our tree houses). YES, we wear clothes. YES, we have electricity. No, weed is not legal on the island AND CHANCES ARE WE SPEAK BETTER English THAN YOU! The worst part is, this isn't just me being angry and bitter, these are actual answers to questions that most Jamaicans who have traveled overseas have been asked at some point. Read a book before you assume what's it's like in another country and worse yet, decide to make a movie about it.

WELCOME TO JAMAICA! The land where all we do is murder white people and beat our bongos drums...Tales from the Crypt has officially sickened me, along with the entire crew of people who worked on this garbage, especially the writer.

It was one of 8 films on a spooky movie collection on 2 discs. I never knew it existed until just now. After I watched it I visited this site and seen quite a lot of high scoring reviews. This puzzled me.

It's a horror movie about voodoo oriented zombies. Who could be responsible for such evil? Just how in the world could anyone be so cruel? (....money might have something to do with it). There is two main stars. Both are hot babes. One is Jennifer Grey who plays the Doctor seeking answers, the other is a Jamaican Playboy bunny who may as well remain nameless (.....although it's questionable as to whether or not she's really Jamaican). Since it is Jamaica the blazing heat demands the least amount of clothing as humanly possible from both chicks.

I personally thought Jennifer was the hottest of the two since the biggest "spoiler" in the whole movie is that unlike her Jamaican co-star she proudly teases every male viewer with just panties and a tight shirt.

Now, back to the horror. There's lots 'n' lots of voodoo stuff going on that are all hallucinations like Jennifer being tied up and tortured by spiders crawling on her. A bunch of tree branches attacking some dude in a car. A ceiling caving in on a guy. Definitely sure fire acts of voodoo (.....or they're smokin' too much dope). Oh yeah, I almost forgot, every Jamaican carries a machete and stares at Jennifer with clearly the intent to KILL. All of them carrying a machete is verbally mentioned so of course you get the idea that it will be difficult to figure out who's responsible for the voodoo zombies.

The shocking elements that will be testing your courage as a horror movie fan so boldly displayed here climaxes sweetly with Jennifer getting married to the American guy that the film centered around that was voodooed.

My favorite scene that made me feel more relaxed because I was so scared was when Jennifer did her voodoo dance.

As a kid, I was rabid for all things tales from the crypt. I collected all the old issues if the comic book, and the reprints, and would stay up past my bedtime to watch the series in HBO. I even remember watching ABC'S Saturday morning cartoon version, and the game show that was based on it.i loved demon knight and bordello of blood, and had all seven seasons of the series on DVD. Hell, I even liked the old 1970's movie version. I was at the grocery store a year or so ago, digging thru their five dollar bin, and became excited when I saw this in it, because I hadn't seen anything with the tftc logo in years. I bought it, went home, popped it in My DVD player....and was horribly disappointed. It was BORING. Nothing of tales from the crypt remained of what I remembered and loved as a kid. No suspense, no horror. Just boredom. The cryptkeepers intro was less then a minute long, and even he looked like he had seen better days. (even for an undead rotting corpse). A HUGE disappointment, and waste of my time and five dollars.

This is the last chapter of Tales from the Crypt. There are two ways to watch this movie: You can watch it as a simple horror movie or you can watch as a Tales from the Crypt episode. If you watch it as a single movie you will find it empty, completely empty: No gore, No sex, No black humor and no explicit crimes. And if you watch it as a Tales from the Crypt episode you will find that this is an absurd, poor and empty chapter "based" on the series.

I think the beginning was good and interesting, when you see the amazing island of Jamaica and its traditions and culture. But then after a few killings the movie gets boring and then more and more boring, in the end you realize that you are watching something like a fairy tale. As a Tales from the Crypt fan I really expected more from this movie, but I just got disappointed because of its poor content, as I said before the only thing that I enjoyed from this movie was the beautiful Jamaica.

There isn't anyway to describe the painful intervention of the Cryptkeeper, even the voice of John Kassir wasn't as good as it was in the series. The puppet of the Cryptkeeper looked more animated in the series than in this movie. It's a shame because the series was released in the 90's and was better made than this movie that was made in 2001.

It is always interesting to see movies with voodoo. This one has Jamaican Voodoo combined with Haitian Hoodoo and, of course, zombies walk the Earth. In fact, the film is a remake of the 1943 film, "I Walked With a Zombie," which is in development to be remade again with the original title next year.

Jennifer Grey is hot! She walks through the steamy Jamaican countryside with tight tees that show a very nice body. She does a very good job as a discredited doctor who takes a job that her employer really doesn't want to see her succeed at.

Now, talk about hot, Dr. Dodgson (Grey) befriends Caro (Kristen Wilson), who appears in one scene totally starkers, and we see her bodacious booty when she turns around. Wilson is hot! In fact, I can state with some certainty that Dr. Doolittle is gay, as I wouldn't spend time talking to animals if Wilson was my wife! The only problem with the movie is that it moves too slowly and there is not enough Voodoo/Hoodoo action.