The Ritual’s Creature Jötunn & Norse Mythology Origins Explained

Netflix’s The Ritual has delivered both Norse mythology and a terrifying premise to streaming audiences since 2017, but what exactly is the Jötunn?

The Netflix original horror movie, The Ritual, channeled some of the darker, more terrifying elements of Norse mythology through its introduction of a terrifying creature known as the Jötunn. Directed by David Bruckner, The Ritual premiered in 2017 to strong critical consensus, which praised the pervading sense of dread throughout the film. The Ritual’s all-star British cast of Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, and Sam Troughton were also given plaudits for their compelling portrayal of a strained group of friends’ increasingly frayed decision-making.

Drawing elements from The Blair Witch Project, and The Witch, The Ritual fits easily into the folk horror space, which has gone on to see more success with hits like Ari Aster’s Midsommar and 2020’s Gretel & Hansel. The folk horror arena is certainly an intriguing film space, traditionally led by haunting cinematography, slow-burn terror, and an interesting story. These elements seamlessly blend into The Ritual, which follows a group of friends’ hiking trip in Sweden to memorialize their recently murdered friend.

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While certainly not a traditional creature feature, The Ritual explores traditional elements of Norse mythology through its Jötunn, which grants a spooky, ethereal feel to proceedings. Rather than conjuring the giant monsters typically produced by films like Troll or even more B-list hits like Anaconda and Lake Placid, The Ritual trades these overt beasts for taut exposition that slowly feeds into the Jötunn mythology. While this approach is perhaps more typical of folk horror, it certainly begs the question of the myth’s roots and how it differs from the tale presented by Bruckner’s movie.

The Ritual: What Is The Jötunn?

As the friends make their way into the woods for their hiking trip, they stray from the marked trails and venture into unknown territory. Soon after, they start seeing strange markings on trees and dead animals that have been ravaged and hung. These bone-chilling images certainly do not provide any semblance of security for the viewer, instead granting The Ritual a layer of dread-fascination as the group begins experiencing odd phenomena such as nightmares, visions of a strange, horned figure in the trees, and eventually physical harm that leads to death.

In The Ritual‘s penultimate scene, the surviving men discover a creature in the woods that, perhaps unsurprisingly, is connected to the macabre effigy they had previously discovered. This horrifying tribute of a decapitated person built from branches with antlers for hands is revealed to be worshipped by a cult and given sacrifices so they can sustain immortality in return. According to the cult, the being they worship is the Jötunn, a bastard son of Loki. While it’s certainly not uncommon for Gods throughout various pantheons to engage in behaviors that result in any number of strange offspring, Loki is particularly well-known for being a trickster in Norse mythology as well as a shapeshifter. Because of this, it’s no surprise that his offspring would be odd and even malevolent, as Loki is often depicted as working against both Gods and humanity as it suits him.

The Jötunn’s Role In Norse Mythology Explained

In Norse mythology, a Jötunn is most commonly known as a species of giant who are marked with having superior strength and the advantage of massive size to tower over their mythological rivals akin to the western image of a troll or dwarf. While this description of the creature differs from The Ritual‘s interpretation, the film’s adaptation does align with their mythology as nature spirits who are set apart from the Vanir and Æsir. Despite this tendency not to side with the traditional Gods of the Norse pantheon, some of the Gods are said to be descendants of the ancient Jötunn, including Odin and Thor himself. The Jötunn, therefore, are some of the oldest beings in the Nine Worlds, and the stories about them frequently represent man’s often tumultuous relationship with nature, a common theme in folk horror like The Ritual, as it is a place where legend, tradition, and the modern world often collide.

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