New horror movie The Ritual has debuted with a dismal score on Rotten Tomatoes after its first reviews.
The new movie from director David Midell, which co-stars Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens and Hollywood legend Al Pacino, tells the true story of a woman who underwent a series of harrowing exorcisms after her alleged demonic possession in 1928.
Stevens and Pacino play two priests who must "put aside their differences" to save the woman through "a difficult and dangerous series of exorcisms".
Other cast members include The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's Abigail Cowen, Twilight's Ashley Greene and Everybody Loves Raymond's Patricia Heaton.
Going by the first reviews, The Ritual may be one to miss despite its all-star cast. The film has debuted with a brutal 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 10 reviews at the time of writing, with Next Best Picture branding it "a nearly unwatchable experience that is a simmering stew of every horror trope that could exist".
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Here's what some of the other critics have been saying:
Collider
"It's painful to write it, but The Ritual will go down as one of the worst movies in both of Al Pacino's and Dan Stevens' respective careers — and Pacino's includes Jack and Jill."
Little White Lies
"With its insistence on truth even as it strays from the historical accounts it hinges on, The Ritual fails to scare, entertain or convert."
The Guardian
"Pacino doesn’t seem to be taking any of it seriously as he phones in an uncharacteristically low-volume performance."
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AV Club
"Eventually, The Ritual just becomes a bad possession movie that’s not pulling off its hokey scares, rather than a bad possession movie unable to fulfil its more down-to-earth ambitions."
Slant Magazine
"Like any number of Exorcist wannabes, David Midell’s film is a special kind of hell."
FandomWire
"This middling approach seems to be the nature of The Ritual. There’s nothing about it that’s obtrusively bad, but there’s little original about it either."
The Ritual is out now in UK cinemas, and arrives in US cinemas on 6 June.
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Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
