The Ritual: Al Pacino, Dan Stevens exorcism film reaches theatres in June (2025)

Al Pacino has played the Devil before (in the 1997 filmThe Devil’s Advocate), and earlier this year we learned that he would be playing an enemy of the Devil in the exorcism horror filmThe Ritual. Taking on the role of a troubled priest, Pacino stars in the film alongsideDan StevensofAbigailandGodzilla x Kong, who also plays a troubled priest. We’ll get to see how well this troubled duo fares against Satan when XYZ Films givesThe Rituala theatrical release on June 6th (it moved back from its previously announced April release date) – and with the release swiftly approaching a pair of promotional videos have dropped online, along with a new poster. One of the videos embedded above, the other can be found at the bottom of this article, along with the new poster.

Based on a true story,The Ritualwill center ontwo priests —one questioning his faith (Stevens) and one reckoning with a troubled past (Pacino) — who must put aside their differences to save a possessed young woman through a difficult and dangerous series of exorcisms. The film is an authentic portrayal of Emma Schmidt, an American woman whose demonic possession culminated in harrowing exorcisms. Her caseremains the most thoroughly documented exorcism inAmericanhistory.Wikipediaconfirms that Emma Schmidt (March 23, 1882 – July 23, 1941) was “an American woman whose alleged demonic possession and exorcism occurred over several decades, culminating in an extensive exorcism that lasted from August 18 to December 23, 1928, in Earling, Iowa. Ecklund was said to have exhibited symptoms akin to possession beginning at age fourteen, and was forty-six years old during her final exorcism by Father Theophilus Riesinger, a Roman Catholic priest.” So, sure, we’ve seen exorcism movies before, but the exorcisms don’t usually last as long as the one in the Emma Schmidt case. To find out more about the real case, click over to TheRitualMovie.com.

Ashley Greene (Twilight) and Abigail Cowen (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) join Pacino and Stevens in the film’s cast.

David Midell directed the film from a screenplay he wrote with Enrico Natale. He previously directed the 2014 dramaNightLightsand the 2019 thrillerThe Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain. Natale is producingThe Ritualwith Andrew Stevens and Mitchell Welch.

Are you looking forward to seeing The Ritual in June? Check out the poster and promotional videos, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

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