In horror anthology Red Book Ritual: Gates of Hell, the driving emotional force that begets supernatural mayhem is loss. Robbie (Mario González Martí) is set to take a punt on a high-risk ritual in the company of friends at a forbidding manse, in the name of preserving earthly love. His girlfriend has tragically passed (the cadaver is shown at the start) and subsequent despair is what drives his willingness to flirt with the otherworldly in a bid to revive his departed amour. The titular ritual ultimately involves involuntary passage-reading and hand-moving, as well as the invocation of a (possibly shapeshifting) entity, that deals out deadly lessons. These lessons are shown via a series of grisly shorts intercut with the séance-immersed friends, and are what ultimately comprise the anthological format ahead.
The film greets the viewer with an ominous visual sheen, coating its shots in shadowy menace while ushering in a general, stubborn air of disquiet. From the opening titles, earnest early talk of “ritual” is suffused with an atmosphere of horrible grief, and the film is steadily inflated with burgeoning thematic potential as a result, laying the base for another potentially rewarding entry in the wounded-soul horror canon.
It seems the devious entity can torment people in a host of creepy ways, and like many anthology movies, some tales fare better than others. The most disturbing show up near the middle via Nathan Crooker’s “Midnight Delivery“ whose visuals recall 2022’s frightening The Harbinger, and “No Filter“ (a bonkers breakup/revenge parable with sharp effects to spare). Dawson Taylor’s Georgina Campbell (Lovely Dark and Deep) starring “Otherkin” also has an oddly disturbing energy about it. All in all, This Red Book entry looks good and has the feel and vibe of a determined Shudder offering, appealing to both visceral and psychological aspects of the genre.
“… Robbie flirts with the otherworldly in a bid to revive his departed amour …”
There are memorable set pieces such as the ghostly-hands-on-misted-windows sequence. Luciano Onetti’s score sets the tone, dominated initially by panicking strings that sound like violins squirming towards an emergency exit. Later, during the #Nofilter segment, the soundscape enters 80s territory, recalling the throwback-happy thrills of last year’s excellent Night of the Reaper or It Follows. But these isolated elements also point to the film’s occasional imperfections. Good ingredients abound, but the mixing could’ve been more through.
Good editing decisions have been made to create anxiety-inducing visual whiplash where the viewer is transported to nightmarish landscapes regularly via this patchwork of shorts, even if one strains at times to connect it all together. Maybe that isn’t the point. There are early echoes of The Hole in the Ground and A24-inflected foreboding too, with environment serving as a key character in the generation of mood. A folk horror undertaste lingers at the film’s edges and crevices. The primary helmers of Red Book Ritual: Gates of Hell are clearly savvy with the genre, and there are potential homages all over the place, including a brief shot of a wall-mounted deer head (Evil Dead II?)
Anthologies can be fun when effectively handled. In vogue during the post-Hammer era, but few and far between since, Red Book Ritual: Gates of Hell falls on the side of good often enough to warrant a watch for genre devotees. Hugo Cardozo and Hernan Moyano’s hodgepodge flick is a visual success. There’s more than enough here to induce scares, but it does have shortcomings in the narrative department. It’s more of a museum of disconnected, if interesting, exhibits than one cohesive whole.
Learn more at the official Red Book Ritual: Gates of Hell website.
"…a museum of disconnected, but interesting, exhibits..."
