The Red Book Ritual

I have to admit that I was initially lured into watching the 2022 horror movie "The Red Book Ritual" given the movie's cover and its title. Sure, I hadn't even heard about this movie from writers Ariel Luque and Daniel J. Phillips prior to sitting down to watch it.

However, I must say that "The Red Book Ritual" fell short of entertaining movie. The storyline was just too much of a scrambled and incoherent mess. So it was difficult to get submerged into the movie here. And even more so since the storyline was all over the place, and never felt like anything that was brought out on the screen ever got to be completed or brought full circle.

The acting performances in "The Red Book Ritual" were adequate. It was just a shame that the actors and actresses had so little to work with in terms of a properly written script and storyline. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in this movie, and that is usually something I enjoy when watching movies, but given the subpar script here, then I just found little enjoyment as the movie trotted on.

Visually then "The Red Book Ritual" was an adequate movie. However, the special effects just could do only so much to lift up an otherwise poorly written storyline.

If you enjoy horror movies, like I do obviously, then do yourself a favor and stay clear of directors Chris Beyrooty, Dean Law and Ariel Luque's 2022 horror movie.

My rating of "The Red Book Ritual" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

It's an Indie film not a big budget production so if you have high expectations you are going to be disappointed.

Overall, it's not a bad collection of stories, some better than others, and equally some of the acting is not going to win any awards.

Even so, it is perfectly watchable with some interesting twist and turns and enough to keep you engaged (with the occasional groan) for the near ninety minutes it is on screen.

It is certainly better than a lot of the American teen cabin in the woods films that have flooded the horror genre in recent years.

So if you happen to see it is available then it is worth watching.

Not any good at all? If I really have to think of something positive to say then I would like to point to the photography, which wasnt bad. Not great, but not bad either. So some kind of attention for detail went into making this movie, BUT...

The bad: these actors are incredibly terrible. They are so terrible at trying to come across scared or dangerous that it is really, honeslty laughable. While it is definitely not intended to be a comedy, but it has got that effect on me.

The story is gibbledigook nonsense. Well, a lot of stories in the movie business dont make sense, but there is a level of silliness that I do not like tot watch and this "movie" is guilty of just such a silliness.

What a waste of time and money.

Recommended to be avoided...

The Red Book Ritual promises an ominous occult game but delivers a grab-bag of shorts glued together with little care. Each segment feels ripped from better films-K-horror possession, desert-highway demon, witch-house clichés-yet none is given the space or logic to land. Performances range from wooden to outright comical, making it impossible to fear for, or even hate, the paper-thin teens at its center. Stylish lighting and a neat synth cue can't paper over cheap effects, sloppy dubbing, and lack of payoff. Even anthology devotees will struggle to stay awake through its cliffhanger endings. Skip the ritual; read a better book instead.

If I see one more lousy horror movie in 2022, I am going to move to New Zealand and raise potatoes. What an original plot! A group of morons go to a haunted house and perform a moronic ritual. The other 1000 films of this genre are also pretty horrific, but not in a good way. For every good horror movie, there are at least 100 that are pure crap. This is one of the crappy majority. Every line of dialogue and every scene is predictable. The only original thing in the film is the location of the bathroom, which I am sure was wll-utilized by the cast after severe drinking bouts. I saw this turkey for free, but you can't. So save your money.