Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- brooding
- disturbing
- paranoid
- dark thriller night
- rainy day
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Kiki's investigation links the canal crime to guilt belonging both to individuals and to Belgium's national past.
The discovery forces police diver Kiki Schelfthaut to confront deep guilt from her own past while pursuing the case.
The chopped-off hand found in a Brussels canal functions as the investigation's central clue and mystery trigger.
Kiki's work as a police diver and the canal discovery give the film an aquatic, claustrophobic visual identity.
Films like Ritual, and why
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
shares a dark investigative thriller structure, morally compromised institutions, and an oppressive urban atmosphere
The Snowman
shares a police investigation into disturbing crimes, bleak tension, and psychologically burdened investigators
The Silence of the Lambs
shares European crime-thriller conventions, grim subject matter, and a damaged investigator confronting institutional wrongdoing
Movie Details
- Director
- Hans Herbots
- Release Date
- 2022-09-07
- Runtime
- 120 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (88)
Cast
- Marie Vinck
- Geert Van Rampelberg
- Ériq Ebouaney
- Lukas Bulteel
- Willem Herbots
- Frank Onana
- Line Pillet
- Babetida Sadjo
- Stany Paquay
- Danny van Meenen
Common questions
- What is Ritual about?
- A Belgian police diver investigating a severed hand in a Brussels canal is pulled into a bleak mystery of personal trauma and national guilt.
- What is Ritual like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Ritual as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Ritual violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Ritual as graphic.
- Which films are like Ritual?
- Films with a similar feel include The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Snowman, and The Silence of the Lambs.
- How long is Ritual?
- Ritual runs 120 minutes.
