Nerds That Geek Movie Review – ‘Tales from the Crypt’ Presents: ‘Ritual’

Written by Scott Edwards

Moving to a beautiful venue is a dream for many people. Getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city and going to a place that is always warm and near a beach seems to be the perfect scenario, that is why so many vacations are planned the same way. What people do not expect is to be moved to one of these venues just to keep their head above water as it is the only place that they could get a job. Sometimes fate just smiles down on some people.

Dr. Alice Dodgson has been dismissed from her medical practice for disobeying the advice of a tenured position that resulted in a patient's death. Being barred from practicing medicine in the United States for two years, Alice is looking for any job that could help her keep her head above water. Reading the want ads, she has found a listing for a medical professional down in Jamaica. Just having to keep an eye on the patient and attending to his needs seems to be the best fit for Alice as she is worried about causing another death.

When Alice arrives in Jamaica, she finds that the relaxed environment is just a show for the tourist trade and not everything is as easy as it seems. Finding out that her patient, Wesley Claybourne is not just sick, but believes that he is a zombie, Alice has to find out more about the local culture. Thinking that she is being given all of the power she requires from Wesley’s brother Paul, Alice finds out that Paul is trying to keep her away from making his brother any better. Being in a region that utilizes Voodoo, Alice is subjected to much more than she has bargained for.

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Without knowing who she should trust, Alice is befriended by a local woman named Caro who seems to know all of the ins and outs of the island. Believing that Caro is the just the person she needs to be friends with, Alice seems to be getting everything she needs as Wesley starts to show signs of getting better. Thinking that her life is about to make a change for the better as her patient is showing signs of progress and everyone in the house of Claybourne is warming up to her, Alice gets into a little bit of trouble as the local voodoo is directed towards her as well. Trying to figure out why she is being targeted, Alice turns to a local voodoo doctor and finds out that the power holding her patient and now her is more powerful then he or anyone can fight off.

Ritual follows Dr. Alice Dodgson as she is trying to get her life back together after losing her job. Moving to the warm confines of Jamaica and being welcomed with open arms, she feels comfortable in her decision and will do anything in her power to help her patient. With Paul Claybourne giving her anything within his power to save his brother, Alice thinks that everything is on the up and up, but when she tries to find out why Wesley believes that somebody else is controlling his mind, making him a zombie, she finds that the path she follows leads right back to the people whom she believed she could trust. Having to put her faith into her ailing patient and local driver J.B., Alice has to expand her beliefs to fight off her impending doom.

As only the Tales from the Crypt can do, Ritual delivers the perfect amount of scares, levity and although I hate to say it, skin. Knowing what makes some of the most intriguing horror stories, this movie falls right back into the classic formulas, by keeping you guessing at who your villain is until the very last second and that’s something that keeps you intrigued and at the edge of your seat. Being a very safe formula for a horror film, this needs to be practiced by many of the new filmmakers that give everything away in the first half hour and lose the audience. Although this movie stereotypes Jamaica a bit, it is still funny to hear all of the slogans coming to life once again. Stay Scared.

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