Canuxploitation: Rituals

This mid-seventies horror film follows five alcoholic surgeons who go on a trip into the Canadian wilderness. Everything's fine and dandy until it becomes very apparent they're being hunted. But who (or what) is hunting them?


Rituals, also know as The Creeper (which is a FAR more fitting title), was marketed as a straight forward slasher, but it's more of a wilderness survival story. The campers are less tormented by whatever's hunting them and are more being forced to fend for themselves as they try to escape the wilderness. While trying to make their way to safety, they experience interpersonal conflicts, have to fight against nature, and are scared out of their wits, but almost none of that is due to their stalker intentionally striking fear into their hearts.



This film's initial script also differed drastically from what ended up in the film. The script left audiences not knowing the identity of the killer at all but, the end of the film gives us the full on slasher reveal of a madman with a thirst for vengeance. Knowing that, the disjointed film makes more sense. However without that tidbit, the film feels inconsistent in tone to say the least.



However, where this film lacks in a number of areas, it makes up for that in grit. Rituals was shot entirely in chronological order in the real Canadian wilderness, letting the actors use the wear and tear of shooting in the wilderness show through in their performances. Not only that, but essentially everything that happens to the characters actually happened to the actors on set: the campers were really swarmed by bees, the filmmakers used deer heads from previously living deer, they really drudged through swamps, and really fought in the shallow waters of a river. This Canadian film crew definitely veered away from a classic hollywood production and produced a really intriguing (though confusing) horror film.

Izzi Xiques is a regular contributor to the Tape Freaks blog, an illustrator, and lover of all things cinema.