This low-budget production could go on the list of mediocre home movies that are meant to be watched once without having anything to do. But oddly enough, it is an anthology film with an interesting concept and you have to admit that there is a certain level of genius behind its flaws. It could perhaps be one of the few low-budget movies that manage to offer something interesting. It consists of 5 short films made by different directors and are linked by the ritual of the red book. A trio of young people decide to play something quite similar to Ouija, but using a book that contains the stories they must tell until the end. Although the editing is quite simple, at least they knew how to give it a successful setting and make good use of photography. The short films have interesting ideas, although only 2 of them manage to be the most notable. The first short film offers an interesting idea, but it is never fully clarified where the mysterious cat came from and how it affected Bonnie. It leaves questions that are not answered. The second short film is shorter and has no beginning or end. It doesn't explain who the couple is, what their conflict is, and the ending isn't fully explained either. This ends up being the most inferior short film in the movie. The third short film offers more intrigue and is the one that manages to capture the attention the most. It has an influence towards Takashi Miike's Audition and although it doesn't have a clear conclusion either, it helps to improve the movie. The fourth short film has a story with a beginning and an end that manages to be fascinating in its short duration. The dark atmosphere of the hospital manages to offer a good atmosphere of terror without detaching itself from the atmosphere that the other short films and the main film have. This is a rather scary segment that is worth watching. The fifth short film has a very good story about religion as the cause of the stigmatization of homosexuals. It is an ingenious segment that knows how to perfectly capture how religious dogmas have been used as an excuse to justify discrimination and what happens afterwards with the religious antagonists is something fair. The movie doesn't leave a very clear explanation about the origin of the book and the witch who wrote it, so it still leaves some questions open. The short films still had a lot to offer as well and it would have been ideal if the stories in these were longer. More than anything the first three short films should have developed their stories more so that they didn't feel so incomplete. Despite this, The Red Book Ritual manages to be a decent to average low budget film that may be worth watching out of curiosity. My final rating for this film is a 6/10.
