“The Ritual Killer” Movie Review: Not all Morgan Freeman movies are good ones

The Ritual Killer is a thriller movie directed by George Gallo starring Morgan Freeman and Cole Hauser.

One of those movies that make us appreciate other good murder thrillers: simplistic, incoherent and only made to bring in money.

Movie Review

A movie written from clichés and which hopes that those clichés, all stuck together, work. They have worked a thousand and one times, and in addition, we have a starring actor who specializes in thrillers. But, no – it doesn’t work and it doesn’t work in the slightest, with its telefilm photography and its unimaginative scenes, and a script which is quite simply incoherent and created from chunks grabbed from other, more intelligent, offerings in the genre.

We love Morgan Freeman and celebrate each of his performances, but the films he appears in have not always been the best and nor have they flattered his brilliant resumé either. This is certainly not one of the best and there is nothing in it that can be salvaged at all – except for him, who is there wearing his trademark expressions and doesn’t exactly have to put much effort into it, just adding yet another film to his very long (and brilliant) career.

It’s disappointing with its intended discourse about psychological motivations that makes you want to deal with the scriptwriters in a ritualistic way, it disappoints in terms of narrative conception (that’s if anyone involved actually even contemplated such a thing) and specifically falls short in the treatment of the scenes, which are especially sloppy.

Once it got to the editing room, there wasn’t much of a way to fix the incoherencies, nor the gobbledygook voodoo along the way.

It would have been necessary to do voodoo – and highly potent voodoo at that – to repair the idea, one which is weighed down from the beginning by it’s intention of making another easy killer thriller that, by making it so facile, fails from the outset.

The Ritual Killer
The Ritual Killer

The Cast


Morgan Freeman / Dr. Mackles
cXWSwW2rP6ICcTeYKHiZ2ydt8QZ
Cole Hauser / Detective Lucas Boyd

Vernon Davis / Randoku

Peter Stormare / Captain Marchand
f6LAFP8CMEB0wiYOHVS58QFdV0X
Giuseppe Zeno / Inspector Mario Lavazzi
7tiqNBSSGOu6ey7ToBcirTlnkAf
Murielle Hilaire / Detective Kersch
iYRht7FbwRlHPdhs6eMYRscIggE
Luke Stratte-McClure
1SPP2LQZc3Zp3WLXWCZADPZhDLv
Julie Lott / Doctor Mannheim

Virginia Dru Bramblett / Jesse Boyd
Brian Kurlander / Shelby Farner

The Ritual Killer

The Ritual Killer

Movie title: The Ritual Killer

Movie description: Unable to process the death of his daughter, Detective Boyd embarks on a hunt for a serial killer who murders according to a brutal tribal ritual: Muti. The only person who can help Boyd is Professor Mackles, an anthropologist who hides an unspeakable secret. The line between sanity and madness thins as Boyd goes deeper into the killer’s world.

Date published: March 11, 2023

Country: United States

Duration: 1h 32m

Director(s): George Gallo

Writer(s): Bob Bowersox, Jennifer Lemmon, Francesco Cinquemani, Giorgia Iannone, Luca Giliberto, Ferdinando Dell'Omo

Actor(s): Morgan Freeman, Cole Hauser, Vernon Davis, Peter Stormare, Julie Lott

Genre: Thriller, Horror

Our Opinion

It would have been necessary to do voodoo – and highly potent voodoo at that – to repair the idea, one which is weighed down from the beginning by it’s intention of making another easy killer thriller that, by making it so facile, fails from the outset.

Overall

2
Martin Cid
Martin Cid
Writer, pipe smoker and founder of MCM
Related Articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Articles