Ritual was made in 2001 and it's been around the block in other countries, but not here — until now. It's making its North American debut this month by going straight to disc. The flick definitely doesn't look or feel like a big screen release, so DVD is perfect; this is a fun movie to sit back and watch on the boob-tube (and those viewers who enjoy boobs will get an eyeful).
You might find it surprising — I did — that Ritual is a remake of the classic 1943 film, I Walked With A Zombie. In fact, I was still surprised after the end-credits rolled. There are very basic similarities to Curt Siodmak's screenplay, but not enough to credit him.
The voodoo-steeped story starts off with a customary introduction by a dreadlocked (or "dead-locked") Cryptkeeper, who gives us the general gist of the story, then it segues into the jungles and sugarcane plantations of Jamaica, where magic meets medicine and a terrible secret is buried. Flash forward a couple of decades, and meet Dr. Alice Dodgson (Jennifer Grey), a New York physician who loses her license for scribbling the wrong prescription.
Desperate for work, she takes a position in the West Indies, working for the Claybourne family. Paul (Craig Sheffer) and Wesley (Daniel Lapaine) are the sole heirs of the family fortune, but fortune doesn't smile on them equally. Wesley is seriously sick with a mysterious illness, and he needs 'round-the-clock medical attention — who better to give that attention than a lovely lady doc with nothing to lose?
Shortly after Alice's arrival, she learns about the strange religion that the locals follow and the transplants respect: Voodoo. At first it seems like harmless fun, but the more Alice questions the validity of Wesley's malady, the more she is plagued by nightmares that are so real they seem capable of actually killing her.
The CGI is truly terrible and the nudity is beyond gratuitous, but for an installment of Tales From The Crypt, Ritual isn't half-bad. Part of the fun lies in the likeable actors. The aforementioned are all competent, but the standouts are Tim Curry as a disgraced medical doctor who has turned to veterinary work for solace, and Kristen Wilson as a free-spirited sculptress who dabbles in voodoo for sexy fun.
Lightweight and just this side of mediocre, Ritual is still worth a look if you enjoy the voodoo angle and you've missed the Cryptkeeper's creaky puns.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson
