It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Absolutely the worst movie.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Properly creepy, grim, seventies stalk and slash film starring Hal Halbrook as one of five cantankerous old surgeons out in the Canadian wilds for a bit of recreation, only for all their boots to be stolen on the first night. One of them sets off for help, but when a deer carcass is displayed outside their camp, the other reckon that hanging around might not be a good idea, and head off themselves. They are followed (or perhaps even led on) by a mysterious figure, whose motives aren't clear, but not friendly for sure. I guess the slasher film hadn't fallen into the 'teen victims only' by this point in the genre, so instead of mouthy youngsters, you've got bitter middle aged men bickering, drinking whiskey, and having meltdowns while traps are laid for them and their friendship is tested to the limit. When I thought the film was beginning to tread water a bit (literally at one point) it actually started to get a bit nasty, what with the head on the stick bit and a nasty shotgun blast to a hand. There's an element of mystery to proceedings and the glimpses of the killer (reflected in water, standing on distant hill) was very effective. My only gripe isn't with the film but just the quality of the DVD I had, which made some parts of the finale a bit hard to see (but luckily I didn't seem to miss anything). Highly recommended.

The excellent Hal Holbrook leads a fine cast of relative unknowns in a fight for survival against a deranged killer amidst the natural dangers of the Canadian wilderness.Holbrook plays Harry, one of a group of five middle-aged surgeons who take to the 'great outdoors' for a spot of fishing and hiking, but wind up being hunted by a mysterious killer with a grudge against doctors. Rather than spending a relaxing six days away from the sight of flesh and blood, the guys see just as much as ever—only this time it's their own!Featuring credible acting throughout, natural dialogue, a well developed sense of dread, great use of stunning scenery, and some disturbing scenes of visceral violence (including a particularly gruesome severed head on a stick), little known Canadian horror Rituals is one of the best that the backwoods slasher/survivalist sub-genre has to offer—not quite rivalling the brilliance of John Boorman's Deliverance perhaps, but deserving of a much wider audience than it currently has (as I type, the film has only 29 reviews on IMDb, compared with Deliverance's 283).One could reasonably complain that the film's lack of exposition leads to confusion about the precise motive of the killer, thus detracting a little from the film's overall effectiveness, but even taking this into consideration, Rituals is still a tense, gruelling, eerie, and atmospheric chiller well worth hunting down.

I'd heard about this one for years, and it just happens to be on youtube as of this writing. And like many things that are built up by others in your mind over time, this one fell a little short of my expectations. The basic plot premise had been used before, and many times since. In Rituals, we have five doctors who take a camping/hiking/fishing trip deep in the wilderness. They've barely put up their campsite, when a mysterious killer starts making their lives miserable. First by taking their boots, making the task of walking to find help virtually impossible what with the rugged terrain. Later by setting various traps and whatnot that make a journey for help only more difficult. Lives are lost along the way, and clues are left indicating that the killer is not just doing this for fun. He has an ax to grind, and it seems as if doctors are high on his list of those he hates.The acting is quite good in this film. I could watch Hal Holbrook read the morning paper and comment on the stories. He always brings such a dignity to his roles. Here, he plays the only member of this group who seems interested in ethics of their profession. This leads him to have to make some gut-wrenching choices as the action unfolds, and more members of the group become injured or incapacitated. It looks like this was a painful and difficult shoot for all involved. First having to work with lush and dense forest, and then a rocky and fire-scarred landscape resembling a battle field. Holbrook looks absolutely spent by the movie's climax, and I don't think he was "acting".My biggest gripe with this film is the villain. The guy, who is apparently a disfigured war veteran, seems to be everywhere at every time. He just happens to be close enough to listen to these doctors talk about their profession on their first night in camp. He can travel for miles in all directions setting up traps, spying on them, and leaving clues when his presence should have been easily detectable. Also some of the banter between the doctors seems redundant, as they continue to hurl accusations and bring up a past which really has no bearing on their current predicament. The conclusion is far-fetched as Holbrook is forced to use that age-old means of stopping the bleeding where gunpowder is set ablaze to instantly cauterize a wound. Well, maybe all the other movies I've seen that in copied it from here. 6 of 10 stars. If you can find it, watch Hunter's Blood instead. Much more action and definitely more colorful bad guys!!! The Hound.

Five doctor friends go hiking in the wilderness where they are stalked and terrorized by an unseen killer.Rituals, also known as The Creeper, is a rather forgotten and underrated early slasher flick. While the premise may seem like the formula, stereotype backwoods killer story this film actually came along before the time of Friday the 13th and its countless followers. Rituals really owes its inspiration in part to Deliverance, but it is hardly the rip-off of that classic movie that some critics would have you think. It has a gritty, low budget atmosphere and some effectively nightmarish moments in its plot (head on a stick, anyone?). The film is also rather gruesome, particularly in the rare uncut version of the film. It has plenty of creepy mood to keep it from being the routine slasher outing.However there are a few flaws. First, in all versions of the film that I've ever seen the lighting in the climax of the movie is so dim that it's difficult to understand what is happening. Second, the plot is very thinly written and the characters aren't sympathetic in the slightest. Also, the editing is very rough.Never the less, the effective atmosphere and chills come to the rescue and save this woodsy slasher. Not bad, but best enjoyed by the dedicated horror fans.** 1/2 out of ****