Rituals - 1977

 Horror movie people talk about slashers endlessly, and we all in our own way talk about proto-slashers as well.  Black Christmas and Psycho are some well known logical precursors to the genre that's now experiencing some re-investing, with the Halloween trilogy.

Rituals isn't really a proto-slasher, but I could see people pointing to it in some sort of "grab-bag" alongside other horror toned films from the 70's.  Rituals star Hal Holbrook and a few other guys in the slow, methodical story of men being hunted while on a camping trip.  Body count, unknown killer, thrills, darkness, there's a lot about this that has later slasher elements.

For me, and what I love about Rituals, the difference is what the focus is on.  There is no way to watch this alongside Halloween and compare.  The focus of Halloween is on the killer, and it's on the horror generated by the killer.  Rituals focuses on the characters, their relationship, and their reaction to the horror surrounding them.  It's a character piece with a horror edge, which of course is sorta like the first Halloween, but you see what I mean I hope.

Rituals begins with five friends going on a trip to a river.  The second morning, they wake up to find all their shoes are missing.  One of them packed extra shoes, and he heads off for a nearby dam, while the others are slowly hunted by an unseen killer.  One of them is an alcoholic, one of them steps in a bear trap, and there are plenty of other obstacles as they slowly fight to survive.

This film feels much closer thematically to Deliverance than Halloween.  It's about the interaction, and the psychological impact of the situation they're in.  It feels deeply, deeply human.  As the slasher genre evolved in the mid-late 80's, we saw our protagonists painted as unlikable; we wanted them to die.  Not so in the 70's man.  These films still care about the body that spills the blood, it's not just looking to spill it.

Rituals is a off-the-beaten-path slower burn character piece with a horror edge.  Although it is slow at times, it's really good, and it has truly remarkable moments.  I liked it a lot, and fuck you Tubi for making me watch ads and for not remembering where I left off in the film.