AllMovie

The wrong book in the wrong hands turns out to have terrible consequences in this independent thriller. Eric Peterson (Scott Seegmiller) is a college student is who just wrapping up his degree in psychology. With a solid job offer on the table from a hospital, Eric has only to complete one final paper before he can leave campus life behind forever. Eric is packing up his belongings at the fraternity house he calls home when he notices one of the rooms is filled with candles, and he discovers a book titled The Ceremony. Eric begins leafing through the book and is quickly drawn into it, imagining that its description of bizarre gothic rituals might be just the right subject for his last paper. But the more Eric becomes absorbed in the book, the less he realized the effect it's having on him -- or that following its instructions is leading him down a dangerous path towards evil. The first feature film from writer and director James Palmer, The Ceremony received its world premiere at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival.