The Ritual Killer movie review

MOVIE TITLE: The Ritual Killer

This action thriller movie will be released in theaters and on Video on Demand on March 10, 2023.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 31 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: C+

IN A NUTSHELL:

A detective (Hauser) hunts an international murderer committing ritualistic killings in a small Mississippi town. The only person who can help him is Professor Mackles (Morgan Freeman), an anthropologist who is an expert on the ancient African rituals being performed. The line between sanity and madness thins as they delve deeper into the killer’s world.

George Gallo directed this dramatic thriller. He has written and/or directed numerous films that span many genres from Action Comedies such as “Midnight Run” and “Bad Boys” to heartwarming tales such as “29th Street” and “Local Color.” Gallo sees himself as a journeyman filmmaker, always attempting to broaden his scope as a storyteller. He has won several awards for both writing and directing, including “The Writer’s Guild 101 Funniest Screenplays Award” for “Midnight Run.”

THINGS I LIKED:

Most people will watch this movie simply because of the presence of Academy Award-winning Morgan Freeman’s face on the movie poster. He ranks within the Top 10 worldwide top-grossing actors of all time, with his films having earned over $5 billion in cumulative ticket sales. Whether a role requires an air of gravitas, a playful smile, a twinkle of the eye, or a world-weary, yet insightful soul, Freeman’s ability to delve into the core of a character and infuse it with a quiet dignity has resulted in some of the most memorable cinematic characters committed to film.
Cole Hauser also stars in this movie. He can also be seen starring in the award-nominated, #1 hit show on television, Yellowstone, for Paramount Network. People Magazine named him Sexiest Man Alive in 2020 for his role in the show. He starred opposite Morgan Freeman in another movie called The Minute You Wake Up Dead.
Other cast members include Vernon Davis, Peter Stormare, and Giuseppe Zeno.
We get to travel to lovely Rome. I adore Italy.
The film’s original title was “Muti”, an African word that is filled with terrifying meaning in this story.
The ending is unexpected, disgusting, and interesting.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Act 1 is a jumbled mess. There are characters racing around, shooting at each other, but we don’t know who they are or why we should care about any of them. Things slowly come together by the end.
Two of the characters talk about mutilation and murder while eating at a restaurant. Gross.
There are quite a few, bad-acting moments.
It drives me nuts when characters do really dumb things that make no logical sense. There are several of those moments in this film.
Some viewers will roll their eyes that Morgan Freeman accepted a role in this movie as an obvious money grab. It seems like a lot of our old, favorite actors lately have been doing just that. Disappointing but understandable, I guess.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

This is not appropriate for children.
We see several bloodied, mutilated, dead bodies.
Talk of torture
Profanity, including F-bombs
Violence with guns and knives

THEMES:

Death
Sorrow
Tribal divisions
Sacrifices for power and success
Belief systems
Insanity
Witch doctors

INTERESTING LINES:

“ There is an impossibly fine line between sanity and madness and it’s not always possible to know which side of that line we’re standing on.” Professor – Dr. Mackles (Morgan Freeman)
“We are, again, tribes.” – Professor – Dr. Mackles (Morgan Freeman)
“There comes a day in everyone’s life when they realize they don’t matter much.” – Italian detective