Patricia Heaton is no stranger to heartfelt roles and complex characters, but her latest film, The Ritual, takes the Emmy-winning actress into spiritual territory that’s quite sobering.
Set in a 1928 Iowa convent, the indie horror movie is rooted in the true story of one of America’s most documented exorcisms, and it confronts a subject Heaton believes many people, even within the church, are afraid to acknowledge.
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“People have no problem saying they believe in God, but they’re shy about saying they believe in Satan as if suddenly you’re a kook,” Heaton told The Christian Post. “But Jesus talks about Satan quite a bit. He was tempted by him in the desert. It’s a very real phenomenon.”
As reported by The Christian Post, The Ritual steers away from horror movie clichés and leans into something deeper: the insidious, often quiet, presence of evil that seeks to erode faith. Heaton was drawn to the script’s theological weight, referencing C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters as a profound lens through which to understand how spiritual warfare operates in modern life. “That’s how it works, quiet, small things, not always spinning heads. Sometimes it’s just noise, distraction, comfort.”
Heaton hopes viewers walk away not just rattled by the darkness but awakened to the reality that it still exists.
“There’s a lot of aggression, a lot of violence in the world right now. Hatred is no longer hiding, it’s on the surface,” she said. “I think it’s important for all of us to put on the full armor of God, not to be paranoid, not to see Satan around every corner, but to be aware.”
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Quoting Ephesians 6:12, Heaton emphasized the spiritual stakes behind the story: “For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
“It is finished. Satan has already lost. But that doesn’t mean we get to let our guard down,” she declared.
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
