''Tales from the Crypt Presents: Ritual'' is a 2002 American horror comedy film and third and final film based on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

television series ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'', following ''

Demon Knight ''Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight'' is a 1995 American horror comedy film directed by Ernest Dickerson, starring Billy Zane, William Sadler, and Jada Pinkett. Brenda Bakke, C. C. H. Pounder, Dick Miller and Thomas Haden Church co- ...

'' and '' Bordello of Blood''. The film was released in select countries in 2002, the Philippines in 2003, and released

direct-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

in the US in 2006. It stars

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

Jennifer Grey Jennifer Grey (born March 26, 1960) is an American actress. She made her acting debut with the film ''Reckless'' (1984), and had her breakthrough with the teen comedy film '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986). She subsequently earned worldwide ...

, and

Craig Sheffer Craig Eric Sheffer (born April 23, 1960) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his leading roles as Norman Maclean in the film '' A River Runs Through It, ''Aaron Boone in the film ''Nightbreed'', Joe Kane in the film '' The ...

with

Avi Nesher Avi Nesher ( Hebrew: אבי נשר; born 13 December 1952) is an Israeli film producer, film director, screenwriter and actor. Biography Avi Nesher was born and raised in Ramat Gan, Israel. The child of a Romanian-born diplomat, and a mother w ...

directing. It is based on the film ''

I Walked With a Zombie ''I Walked with a Zombie'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Val Lewton for RKO Pictures. It stars James Ellison (actor), James Ellison, Frances Dee, and Tom Conway, and follows a Canadian nurse who trave ...

''.

Plot

Crypt Keeper intro

The Crypt Keeper is in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

wearing his hair in "

deadlocks In concurrent computing, deadlock is any situation in which no member of some group of entities can proceed because each waits for another member, including itself, to take action, such as sending a message or, more commonly, releasing a lo ...

" as he states that one of his favorite things about Jamaica are the "eye-popping honeys" as it shows different

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...

-clad women that are nearby. He then talks about how he just finished wrapping up his new movie in Jamaica. He introduces the movie and tells them "Don't worry, the beast is yet to come."

Story

Dr. Alice Dodgson (

) is fired from a hospital due to her involvement in the death of a patient. With few options, she decides to take a job as a nurse in Jamaica caring for Wesley Claybourne (

Daniel Lapaine Daniel Lapaine (born 15 June 1971) is an Australian stage, film and television actor, currently residing in London. He also works as a writer and director. Career Born in Sydney, New South Wales to an Italian father and an Australian mother ...

), a young man apparently suffering from

encephalitis Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. The severity can be variable with symptoms including reduction or alteration in consciousness, headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include seizures, hallucinations, ...

. Alice falls in love with Wesley, but she fears that she and Wesley are the targets of a

voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

. She befriends Caro (

Kristen Wilson Kristen Wilson (born September 4, 1969) is a former American actress, best known as Miranda DuBaer in '' Twitches'' and '' Twitches Too'' and as Lisa Dolittle in the films ''Dr. Dolittle'', '' Dr. Dolittle 2'', and '' Dr. Dolittle 3''. Early li ...

), a local girl. Caro advises Alice that any

recrimination In law, recrimination is a defense in an action for divorce in which the accused party makes a similar accusation against the plaintiff. To put it simply, it is the defense of "you, too." Recrimination was generally considered by family law exper ...

from the Voodoo community will only come as a result of her interference with their practices. Tension mounts as Alice suffers additional unexplained phenomena. Caro is revealed as the cause of the strange goings-on; she is seeking revenge against Wesley because their father Paul (

) killed Caro's mother and rejected Caro as his daughter, denying her an

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...

. Caro attempts to

paralyze Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 5 ...

Alice and turn her into a

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

, but Alice is only partially paralyzed. Alice causes Caro's plan to backfire, and Caro is turned into a zombie instead. Alice and Wesley abandon Jamaica and move back to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The local Police Chief takes Caro into his home and puts her in his bed. In the post-credits, there are

bloopers A blooper is a short clip from a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms o ...

of the Crypt Keeper's intro as the credits are shown.

Cast

as Dr. Alice Dodgson *

as Paul Claybourne *

as Wesley Claybourne *

as Caro Lamb *

Gabriel Casseus Gabriel Casseus (born April 28, 1972) is an American actor and screenwriter from Roosevelt, New York. Biography Casseus, born in New York City, is of Haitian descent. Casseus was nominated for the 1995 Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut ...

as J.B. *

as Matthew Hope * Ron Taylor as Superintendent Archibald *

Erick Avari Erick Avari (born Nariman Nariman Erach Avari; 13 April 1952) is an Indian-American actor whose roles in science-fiction and action productions include ''Stargate'' (1994), '' Independence Day'' (1996), and ''The Mummy'' (1999). Early life E ...

as Dr. Peter Winsford * Dorothy Cunningham as Violette * Kathy Owen as Dr. Shaba *

Jessica Collins Jessica Collins (born Jessica Lynn Capogna; April 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Dinah Lee Mayberry on the ABC soap opera '' Loving'' (1991–1994) and Avery Bailey Clark on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and t ...

as Jackie *

Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in ''Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television characters as ...

as Dr. Javitz * Natasha Budhi as Dori *

John Kassir John Kassir (born October 24, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as the voice of the Cryptkeeper in HBO's ''Tales from the Crypt'' franchise. He is also known for his role as Ralph in the off-Broadway show ''Reef ...

as The Voice of

The Crypt Keeper ''Tales from the Crypt'' was an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics from 1950 to 1955, producing 27 issues (the first issue with the title was #20, previously having been ''International Comics'' (#1–#5); ' ...

Production

A third ''Crypt'' movie was planned on the release of ''Bordello of Blood'', but due to the low box office take of that film, this film's references to the ''Tales from the Crypt'' franchise and Crypt Keeper intro and credits were removed until the DVD release.

Release

This movie was originally released for foreign countries in 2002. The movie saw release in the Philippines on September 18, 2002, and was also released in Japan on January 25, 2006. It was not released in the United States until May 2, 2006 on DVD. It was later released on Blu-ray in the United States on December 4, 2012.

References

External links

* {{Tales from the Crypt 2002 films 2002 horror films 2006 films 2006 horror films American comedy horror films Tales from the Crypt films Films directed by Avi Nesher Films scored by Shirley Walker American zombie comedy films Dimension Films films Films produced by Walter Hill 2000s English-language films 2000s American films