Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Charming and brutal

The Creeper aka Rituals is a surprisingly good slash adventure-horror film. The movie is easily comparable to the 1972 movie "Deliverance". And really would make a great double feature together.Five men on a simple fishing and relaxation trip turns into a deadly game of survival. Although the film has a basic and typical plot, the way the movie plays out is actually makes for a really good thriller.The Creeper does have quite few thrilling and chilling moments to keep the viewer engrossed. It does have some gore in the film but it is done a way that it's not a total blood-and-gore-fest. As I mentioned, the film is more like "Deliverance" - it's less like Friday the 13th or similar slasher flicks.9/10

A low budget thriller that doesn't even apologize for being a cheap rip off of "Deliverance." Five doctor buddies (played by Hal Holbrook and four unknown actors) go camping in the wilderness and are set upon by someone or something who begins to track and terrorize them. The threats are at first not much more than fairly harmless if mean-spirited practical jokes -- their boots are stolen, a dead deer is strung up in their campsite while they sleep. But things escalate, one of them dies, another suffers from a broken leg, and the men soon find themselves in a primal fight for their survival. Along the way, the aggressor drops clues that help the dwindling group of men form a notion of who he is and why he's chosen to terrorize them.There's a lot of raw potential in "The Creeper" that only served to make me wish it had been a better movie. The film is in such a hurry to get the men in peril that it only cursorily outlines who they are and what role each plays in the group dynamic. The ragged edges of the film's production value actually helps to contribute to its visceral brutality, but they're a liability during all of the scenes set at night -- and there are many of them. Indeed, I couldn't even follow the last confused 10 minutes of the film because the screen was literally too dark to make out anything.The acting, though, is pretty decent, especially from Holbrook, and the film invokes images of Vietnam to what I have to believe is intentional effect. By the end, Holbrook's character looks like he stepped right out of the "The Deer Hunter." I can see a movie like "The Creeper" having a cult following.Grade: B-

A bunch of guys going hiking in the woods. Boy, does that sound familiar. Cue the banjos. Oops, this movie takes place in Batchawana Bay, Ontario, Canada, so I guess no banjos.I never could understand why people would work hard all year so they could go in the woods to pretend they are homeless, but I am glad they do or we would not have a good slasher movie to watch.It starts with a prank. Someone stole their boots. D.J. (Gary Reineke) brought tennies, so he goes off for help. While he is gone, a bee hive gets thrown into the camp. One camper (Ken James) gone.The rest start off to find D.J. I'm not sure I would want to depend upon Martin (Robin Gammell), the alcoholic, and Mitzi (Lawrence Dane). What kind of name is Mitzi for a guy anyway? Thongs just keep getting harder as one man gets injured and the other have to carry him. Who is stalking them? OMG! A head on a stick.Hal Holbrook was magnificent in this gripping tale.

Extremely adored among the true genre fanatics, but sadly still too obscure and underrated among wider audiences, "Rituals" is one of those rare films that hold the power to genuinely make your skill crawl. The special effects and make-up tricks may be kept to a minimum, but this low-budget production thrives on atmosphere and – especially – a downright sublime use of isolated outdoor filming locations. Like few other horror movies ever accomplished, "Rituals" makes terrific use of a menacing type of evil that is continuously omnipresent, yet remains unseen for the largest part of the film. The story is so much more involving and effective this way, because there are no images of over-the-top grotesque madman killers or ridiculously masked killers undermining the tension or needlessly affecting the credibility. Instead, we only witness a shadow moving rapidly through the trees and magnificently eerie POV-shots of someone slinking through the grass whilst breathing heavily. Another reason why this "slasher" stands a class above the rest – and particularly its 80's colleagues – is due to the choice of main characters. There are no drunken teenage-campers or obnoxious cheerleaders being slaughtered here, but the protagonists are a five-headed group of middle-aged and eloquent doctors who're out on a (supposedly) relaxing trip in the Canadian forests. After only one night, their boots are stolen and the group is forced to split up and continue barefooted. The group of inexperienced hikers rapidly decreases in numbers as the games of the unnoticeable maniac(s) become more and more sadistic. The comparisons between this "Rituals" and "Deliverance" aren't coincidental and certainly not exaggerated. It's at least as intense and haunting as John Boorman's classic film and the use of natural scenery is perhaps even better! Several sequences, including the infamous (among fans) decapitated-head-on-a-pole moment and the live burning – are extremely disturbing and unforgettable. The five main actors, among which Hal Holbrook, give away respectable performances and manage to make their characters come across like believable victims or a crazed evil. The denouements near the end of the script could have been a little better and slightly more elaborated, in my humble opinion, but still this is definitely a terrific film from start to finish. Highly recommended to watch and to own, especially since a brand new and fancy DVD version just got released in Europe. I think it a German distributor who brought it out, and the box alone is worth the purchase.