chand-suhas

Emma is possessed and needs help from the church to exorcise them. She is brought into a convent attached to a parish church where Father Joseph is a priest. He has recentlty lost his brother and this has pushed him into question his faith. Father Theophilus is requested to perform the exorcism and Father Josesh to assist him in documenting it. While Father Theophilus is fully committed to his belief and is aware of the threat, Father Joseph battles his own skepticism, seeking actual medical help for Emma. How do they work together to save Emma before time runs out, forms rest of the story.

David Midell's approach is more like a documentary without relying on any of the obvious jumpscares and mainly, the screenplay omits a lot of back story as well as possible subplots, to focus entirely on the time spent at the convent. This along with the decision to opt for handheld camera work, the film ends up lacking the emotional connect required. Emma is just introduced as the possessed girl and everything about her is just passed off as information. Father Joseph's pain of losing a brother too is not properly explored to establish his struggle. The church dynamics too is vaguely showcased be it the sisters or the Mother superior. The threat is there but not felt, the detailed exorcism lacks impact too. Al Pacino was the primary reason to watch this film and he doesn't bring anything substantial to the table. The Ritual ends up being an extremely dull watch.

Dani is married to psychiatrist Ted Timmis who doesn't believe in anything that cannot be reasoned with. While he is working, the night turns fateful to Dani as she is murdered. An year later, Dani's twin sister Darcy is doing her own investigation to get to the truth. Dani is a blind psychic and has an antique shop. She arrives at Ted's house where Dani was murdered. Ted's new girlfriend Yana welcomes her and Darcy has brought a wooden golem with her. She has deduced the deceasd accused in Dani's case was innocent and the truth she uncovers leads to another fateful night. Who is the real killer of Dani and does Darcy get her revenge, forms rest of the story.

Damian McCarthy's story is straight forward. There are no sudden twists in this tale as it is revealed earlier who the killer is and the narrative is all about Darcy stepping up to confront the truth herself. She is psychic but that's about it as her vulnerabilities are intact. The atmosphere Damian concocts is all too atmospheric and the effective jumpscares too are placed perfectly with no rush. Once the truth is revealed, it is all about knowing the culprit's reaction when confronted and the film does pay off with it the first time. The final act remains engaging leading to the obvious end which I did like but wanted to see more of the culprit's actual reaction to what has arrived. Overall it was definitely worth watching, with right amount of scares and the pace complimenting the narrative.

Dawn and her two sisters were raised by their grandmother. When she required medical treatment, Dawn had used her savings to help her out which the grandma doesn't approve of. Dawn who is an aspiring artist learns of getting accepted in an art school in Paris but due to her financial constraints, cannot afford to join the school without scholarship. Her sister Emily is a huge fan of the reality tv dating show The Honeypot and encourages Dawn to apply to be a contestant as the attendance fee would help Dawn fulfill her dream. She is told the show is scheduled to be shot in Paris. Dawn gets selected to the show but is lied to about filming in Paris, France while their budget only allowed to film in Paris, Texas. What happens when the legally obligated Dawn is forced to participate in the show, forms rest of the story.

The whole premise about setting up a love story against the backdrop of a reality tv dating show like The Bachelor with a small joke about Paris in Texas, this romantic comedy felt too artifical despite the various caricatures as supporting cast. The lead pair were decent and their first time meeting a bar was entertaining with Dawn owning the scenario. Sadly the story then moves to Paris, Texas and what could have been a proper satire on the reality show itself, the various supporting characters as fellow contestants get underutilized. The love story itself is undercooked and the narrative remains aimless. By the end of it, I felt like I was the wrong audience for this particular film.