The Ritual (2025)
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Two priests must overcome their personal differences to perform a grueling exorcism on a young woman tormented by ancient spirits.
The story
In 1928, in the quiet farming town of Earling, Iowa, a young woman named Emma Schmidt begins to suffer from terrifying and inexplicable supernatural phenomena, including night terrors and violent outbursts. Her devout Catholic family seeks help from the Church, reaching Father Theophilus Riesinger, a seasoned priest known for conducting exorcisms. Riesinger travels to Iowa with a reluctant companion, Father Joseph Steiger, a younger priest who is skeptical of demonic possession due to his brother's recent suicide. Upon witnessing Emma's inexplicable actions, Steiger's skepticism begins to erode as they prepare to begin the ritual at a convent attached to a parish church.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1928, in Earling, Iowa, Emma Schmidt suffers from supernatural phenomena, leading her devout Catholic family to request an exorcism. Father Theophilus Riesinger, a seasoned priest, arrives with a skeptical younger priest, Joseph Steiger. The exorcisms occur at a convent over twenty-three days in three stages. During the ritual, the environment becomes supernatural, and Emma speaks in multiple voices, revealing spirits like Beelzebub, Judas Iscariot, and her own abusive father, as well as her aunt who practiced witchcraft. Emma levitates and speaks various languages while Steiger finds renewed purpose in the task. In the final stage, the priests locate Emma in the catacombs and drive out the demons by demanding they obey Christ. Emma is delivered from the demons, returns to a normal life, and Riesinger is featured in the media while Steiger's journals are studied.
- First release year
- 2025
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- David Midell
- Writers
- Enrico Natale · writer; David Midell · writer
- Cast and characters
- Al Pacino · Theophilus Riesinger; Dan Stevens · Joseph Steiger; Abigail Cowen · Emma Schmidt; María Camila Giraldo; Meadow Williams; Patrick Fabian; Patricia Heaton
- Genres
- horror; religious horror; supernatural drama
- Themes
- faith; possession; grief; religious devotion
- Tone and mood
- supernatural; reverent; unfavorable
- Setting
- Earling, Iowa, 1928
- Premise and plot tags
- true story; exorcism; Catholicism
- Source material / true-story basis
- Begone Satan! (1935 book)
- Content notes
- spirit possession
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews from critics, with a Metacritic score of 33 out of 100, indicating 'generally unfavorable' reviews. However, it received some positive notes for its faithfulness to the exorcism formula and its reverent treatment of the topic.
- Reported review scores
- Collider · score: 3 · scale: 10; IndieWire · score: D; Bloody Disgusting · score: 1 · scale: 5
- Production trivia
- Al Pacino and Ben Foster originally signed on to star in the film.; Dan Stevens replaced Ben Foster in the production.; The film was originally scheduled to release on April 18, 2025.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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