31 best Netflix movies to watch for Halloween 2019

29. The Ritual

Release Year: 2017

Directed By: David Bruckner

Cast: Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, Sam Troughton

The 2017 British supernatural horror was based on the 2011 novel written by Adam Nevill. David Bruckner was at the helm as director, having previously worked on other horror movies such as The Signal, V/H/S, and Southbound.

The Ritual begins with five friends drinking at a bar as they plan a trip so they can catch up with one another. One of the men suggests hiking in Sweden before he was beaten to death during a robbery later that night. The four remaining friends decide to honor their friend six months later so they go on that trip to Sweden.

While on the hike, one of the men injures his knee so they go off course to make the trek in half the time. The group then gets lost in the deep woods where they find strange markings and a dead elk hung in the trees. They take refuge in an abandoned cabin where they encounter even stranger phenomena as well as nightmares. The group eventually falls victim one by one by something sinister in the deep Swedish forest.

The horror film premiered at TIFF before Netflix purchased the distribution rights. It premiered within the UK in 2017 before it was widely released in early 2018 on Netflix.