Produced shortly after Tales From the Crypt's less-successful entry Bordello of Blood, this would-be sequel sat on the shelf for almost five years, only to make its official premiere on DVD as an afterthought -- which considering it's subpar quality, might have been a good idea after all. While this voodoo tale has the feel of the Crypt series written all over it, Ritual suffers from an overinflated plot and a general disregard for the gruesome fun inherent in these stories. Save for one brilliantly over-the-top melting-man scene, the red stuff is nowhere to be seen in more than two thirds of the flick. While it works well on its own mystery/thriller merits, with Jennifer Grey adding a bit of B-list class to the proceedings, as a whole, the film just does not seem to fit in with the Crypt Keeper's stable of ghastly horrific cinema. Speaking of the pun-filled horror host, he appears in an apparently newly shot intro for the DVD release that finds him bustin' lame Jamaican rhymes poolside while wearing a ridiculous dreadlocked wig -- easily the most memorable part of this forgettable flick, if you don't count Grey's revealing tank tops.