THE RITUAL Interview: Director David Midell Leads Me Through the Horror

Hello! It’s Dave Canfield, your Creature Feature Preacher here with another conversation.

Director David Midell has made a hell of a debut. His first feature, The Ritual, not only stars Al Pacino but the always ascendant Dan Stevens. The pair play clerics called upon to perform an exorcism but the story goes in a different direction than most such pics.

This film dives less into special effects than into the personal psychology surrounding a phenomena steeped in unknowables. The fact that the context here is Catholic no doubt brings other baggage into the narrative room worth discussing.

But like the under-appreciated Requiem (2006) or Deliver Us From Evil (2014). this film offers a look at exorcism beyond the boundaries of Christian propaganda even as it attempts to create tension around the characters. The end result is less horror movie and more a look at what horror really is in such instances.

When the psychologists and doctors have given up, what does spirituality have to offer the afflicted and what, if anything, do acts of faith have to do with providing comfort or deliverance from suffering in such extreme cases? Based on a true story that has often been called the most documented possession case in modern church history, this a film that offers much to think about and discuss for those willing to engage with it as a horror-drama rather than a simple collection of special effects and jump scares.

I was super pleased to have the chance to talk about the film and it’s spiritual point of view, the tension between true faith and Christian nationalism and what it was like working with such an outstanding cast.