Halloween started early for me this year. This past Saturday, I went to the Vancouver International Film Centre to see a film called Rituals, part of their current 'Terror on the Tundra - Canadian Horror Classics' series. It's the first time the film has been shown on screen since 1977 when it was first released. It's never been released on DVD and is nearly impossible to find on VHS. I still remember seeing it on TV way back when(maybe the early 80s) and that it scared the crap out of me. It's still very scary, despite some pretty dodgy choices for the soundtrack music (hey, it was the 70s) and some poor lighting in some of the night scenes.
The plot is pretty basic; five doctors go on a hike in the Canadian wilderness and are terrorized by an unknown maniac. What makes it so different from your standard horror movie is that the hikers are five intelligent middle-aged men, not your stereotypical group of hormone-charged teens. Apparently the whole shoot was a hell of an ordeal for everyone involved. They shot it chronologically to add more realism to the physical and psychological changes in the actors. Also, the actors did all of their own stunts - falling down mountains, floating down rapids, fighting off swarms of bees. You can see them getting dirtier, growing more stubble and deteriorating right before your eyes.
The movie owes a lot to Deliverance, but is much more of a psychological horror film. Like The Blair Witch Project, much of the horror comes from the wilderness around them and how their relationships slowly break down during their ordeal. A very effective and very Canadian movie, with some truly frightening and disturbing scenes.
By the way, I love the poster (see above) for this - there's nothing really 'GOTHIC HORROR' about it. It's Canadian eh?
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