The Ritual

Four middle-aged men walk a Swedish trail after a fifth is killed in an off-licence robbery, take a shortcut through a forest, and find something older than the trail.

For an hour it is about male friendship failing to process grief, and it is better at that than the premise deserves. Luke was in the shop and did nothing, everybody knows it, and none of them will say it.

The creature is the reason to stay. It is a striking design, kept off screen almost entirely until the last act, and when it does appear the film gives you a clear, well-lit look at it and it holds up completely. That is rare enough to be worth the ticket.

The Netflix release buried it. It deserved a cinema.