Ritual

Ritual_720p(480P)

source: Ritual

One additional star for Kristen Wilson showing her great ass.

First it's a Tales From the Crypt film, then it's not. Then it is, then it's not. Finally this film was given a decent release and they used the Cryptkeeper to try and sell it. Sadly, this will be the only thing under the Tales From the Crypt banner that I will never own. Ritual just wasn't up to Crypt standards. Demon Knight was one of the best horror films on the 90's and Bordello of Blood was a laugh riot. Ritual is neither of these things. It's basically a retelling of I Walked With a Zombie. It has no surprises and it's rather straight-forward in it's direction. I'm also not big on voodoo movies. There's just something about them, and they all tell pretty much the same story. So not much stands out and the film is a bit boring. The pace could have been tightened up a bit. It's a shame too because the acting is quite good. Jennifer Gray leads the cast and is up to the task. The new nose must be working out for her because she looks to be in the best shape of her life. Daniel Lapaine and Kristen Wilson, both of whom I'm not familiar with, also are admirable. And Tim Curry and Craig "I need to fire my agent" Sheffer show up to lend their credentials. Seriously, Sheffer is a way better actor than his filmography would have you believe. Another plus is the effects. What little gore there is is done expertly. Gotta love the doctor getting microwaved.

Dr. Alice Dodgson (Jennifer Grey) gets her medical license revoked after the death of one patient. She's facing the possibility of not get any job when she accepts to be the nurse for one young man who suffers of encephalitis called Wesley Claybourne (Daniel Lapaine). The story is that those involved removed references to "Tales From the Crypt" after their second movie bombed. This was probably a wise idea, although the same sensibility and tone is obvious in this picture. I loved seeing Jennifer Grey in a leading role, and appreciated that they tried to update "I Walked With a Zombie". Not sure they actually succeeded, though. Despite a good cast and some decent scares and kills, I just did not find myself all that interested in this one.

I can barely find the words to describe how much this piece of trash offended me. Why is it that American filmmakers always go out of there way to portray Jamaicans as a bunch of backwards ass bush babies and worse yet, cast people to play Jamaicans who sound utterly ridiculous when they try to imitate the accent? We are not all extremely dark, we do not all walk around carrying machetes whether for work OR PROTECTION, we do not walk around naked in our homes and we do not practice VOODOO!! We are doctors, lawyers, architects, Businessmen and women, musicians, actors AND FILMMAKERS. I am sick and tired of watching all of these portrayals of Jamaicans as a bunch of dreadlock wearing Rastafarians who do nothing but sit around all day smoking weed on a beach or shooting guns in the air (When we're not living in our tree houses). YES, we wear clothes. YES, we have electricity. No, weed is not legal on the island AND CHANCES ARE WE SPEAK BETTER English THAN YOU! The worst part is, this isn't just me being angry and bitter, these are actual answers to questions that most Jamaicans who have traveled overseas have been asked at some point. Read a book before you assume what's it's like in another country and worse yet, decide to make a movie about it. WELCOME TO JAMAICA! The land where all we do is murder white people and beat our bongos drums...Tales from the Crypt has officially sickened me, along with the entire crew of people who worked on this garbage, especially the writer.

Alice Dodgson,a New York doctor gets her license suspended when she treats one of her patients with an unapproved drug,resulting in the patient's death.Without a job,Alice is forced to go to Jamaica,where she tends to the brother of a wealthy white landowner.The brother thinks he's a zombie and is deeply involved in the local people's voodoo practices and rituals."Ritual" is a mediocre horror flick.The action is pretty dull,the plot twists are silly and there is no suspense.There is a bit of gore as someone is killing off white people with a machete,but not too much.The cinematography is decent,however the acting is truly woeful.Definitely one to avoid.4 out of 10.

It is always interesting to see movies with voodoo. This one has Jamaican Voodoo combined with Haitian Hoodoo and, of course, zombies walk the Earth. In fact, the film is a remake of the 1943 film, "I Walked With a Zombie," which is in development to be remade again with the original title next year. Jennifer Grey is hot! She walks through the steamy Jamaican countryside with tight tees that show a very nice body. She does a very good job as a discredited doctor who takes a job that her employer really doesn't want to see her succeed at. Now, talk about hot, Dr. Dodgson (Grey) befriends Caro (Kristen Wilson), who appears in one scene totally starkers, and we see her bodacious booty when she turns around. Wilson is hot! In fact, I can state with some certainty that Dr. Doolittle is gay, as I wouldn't spend time talking to animals if Wilson was my wife! The only problem with the movie is that it moves too slowly and there is not enough Voodoo/Hoodoo action.

Tim Curry was the reason I wanted to see this film, and while of course his appearance is always entertaining, he's basically wasted in it. The rest of the cast doesn't fare too well either, in this remake of an early zombie movie that has extremely graphic effects that are totally unnecessary. To quote a popular axiom, sometimes less is more.

New York City Dr.Alice Dodgson (Jennifer Gray) finds herself a job after losing her patient and her medical license for two years. She travels to Jamaica, where her doctor license isn't needed. She's hired by a wealthy American (Craig Sheffer) to check on his younger brother (Daniel Lapaine), who's thinks he's a zombie. Alice quickly realized, there's an virus spreading in Jamaica and she also finds herself in the exotic rhythm of this foreign place. But since there's mysterious murders are happening in the middle, Alice has to uncover the truth and save her patient before it's too late. Directed by Avi Nesher (Doppelganger:The Evil Within) made an enjoyable horror film has some suspense, humour and an unexpected plot twist at the end. This third and probably last feature from the HBO Series "Tales from the Crypt". Which executive producers:Richard Donner, David Giler, Walter Hill, Joel Silver and Oscar-Winner:Robert Zemeckis were involved in this movie. Like they did on the HBO Series and two previous features from Universal. This was made for theaters but it got shelved for five years... finally released to DVD! DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an good Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD has no special features. This movie is actually an remake from the RKO Radio Pictures titled "I Walked With A Zombie". It's also the first film that "The Crypt Keeper" doesn't appear near the closing credits. Grey and especially Kristen Wilson looks great in it. "Ritual" is a modest horror film and it is the most coherent of the three "Tales from the Crypt" movies. Horror fans will certainly enjoy it. Nesher co-wrote the screenplay along with Rob Cohen (The Mummy:Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story, The Fast & The Furious). (*** 1/2 out of *****).