The Ritual Killer, a crime movie directed by George Gallo, follows Detective Lucas Boyd as he investigates a string of bizarre and horrifying murders in Clinton, Mississippi. Boyd asks Dr. Mackles, an expert on Africa, for assistance in solving the case because the killings are being carried out as part of African ceremonies. The movie, starring Morgan Freeman as Mackles and Cole Hauser as Boyd, moves forward as the two try to identify the malevolent entity responsible for the shocking fatalities. We have examined the same in great detail because the movie leaves us with a number of unclear developments. Let’s discuss our ideas! Spoilers follow.
The Ritual Killer Plot Synopsis
In the opening scene of “The Ritual Killer,” Italian police detective Marco Lavazzi is looking into a grisly murder that was perpetrated in Rome. Randoku, who kills many police officers to elude capture, is found by his inquiry. He meets with Shelby Farner, a businessman, who hires him for an unidentified task. Detective Boyd’s career as a policeman in Clinton, Mississippi is on the line because he cannot separate the death of his daughter Jessica from his job. He discovers the body of a young woman who had her genitalia removed and was found in a river. Randoku kidnaps a ten-year-old from the same city as he is trying to figure out who committed the crime.
Boyd and his partner Maria are soon summoned to the deserted building where the ten-year-old boy’s body is discovered along with a number of objects used in African rites. Boyd brings the same to Dr. Mackles, who is reluctant to speak with the policeman. Boyd eventually gets Mackles to admit that the policeman is looking into a sangoma, which is a witch doctor in South Africa. According to Mackles, the killer is using the organs from his victims to create potions that will help his clients develop and grow. Randoku is informed by Farner that his next target will be a young, intelligent person. The police discover the sangoma as he searches for one.
Boyd and his team are thwarted by Randoku by Maria, the detective’s partner, who is seriously hurt. Boyd phones the Italian policeman after obtaining Lavazzi’s business card from Randoku’s apartment, who informs the detective that Fernan is the serial killer. Boyd confronts Farner and says he’ll get injured. In order to fulfil his client’s request to have his “medicine” created using the organs of a young, intelligent person, Randoku catches Katie and kills her while on the run. Boyd discovers the assets owned by Farner’s business beside the river after Katie vanishes. He locates a property and meets Mackles there.
The Ritual Killer Ending: Why Does Dr. Mackles Disappear? Why Did He Meet With Randoku?
Farner attacks Boyd from behind as he tries to save Katie from Randoku. The businessman is subsequently struck by Mackles, who then confronts Randoku. The professor succeeds in stabbing the sangoma despite the latter’s attempts to murder him. Boyd eventually succeeds in rescuing Katie. Later, he gets a call from Lavazzi, who informs him that Randoku visited Rome nine months prior to hear Mackles talk there and had multiple encounters with the professor. When Boyd finally gets in touch with Mackles, the professor has already left his office and is on an extended leave of absence.
Randoku, who evades capture after being stabbed by the professor, gets to flee after Mackles appears to vanish in search of him. The potential of muti, the South African tradition of medicine used by sangomas, may have been made known to the world criminal by the African academic. The speech Mackles gave in Rome may have been tied to the specific practise, and it may have helped Randoku recognise that he could market it to foreign merchants like Farner. He might have met Mackes as someone who was fervently interested in the topic, and the professor must have been sufficiently enthralled by his “enthusiasm” to arrange for them to meet and appear to debate the technique.
Only after Boyd works with him to catch the ritual killer did Mackles perhaps comprehend that he had trained a cold-blooded killer how to make a life by killing innocent people. It’s possible that the professor felt bad about indirectly contributing to the deaths of several people, including a youngster of ten. The same remorse may have compelled him to pursue Randoku after the latter eluded capture in order to put an end to the murders carried out in accordance with the information he likely provided to the murderer. Randoku chooses not to kill Mackles even after realising that the latter is aiding Boyd in capturing the former, probably as a result of the professor’s contribution to the former’s success as a sangoma.
Is Randoku Dead?
Boyd runs into a wall after Randoku and Katie are saved and are able to flee. When he learns that Mackles and Randoku were once friends, the professor’s abduction prevents him from taking any action. At that point, he gets a mysterious package. A letter written by the professor with the words “I GOT HIM” is found when he opens the same. Mackles obtained Randoku, according to his message. It’s clear the professor hasn’t been gentle to the ritual killer because the package also includes a pair of eyes that appear to be Randoku’s. Given the likelihood that Mackles unintentionally taught Randoku the African ritual of muti, the professor had to kill the ritual killer to put an end to the killings carried out using the information he probably provided.
Boyd is not the only one to get an unidentified box, though. One is also given to Marco Lavazzi, an Italian police officer. It is safe to presume that the package brought to Lavazzi contains another organ that belonged to Randoku given what is inside the one that was delivered to Boyd. If that’s the case, the ritual killer must have perished from bleeding to death just like his victims. The professor must have slain the ritual killer in remembrance of the deaths of the latter’s victims while Mackles hunts Randoku probably to deal with his guilt of causing multiple deaths.
Mackles may have even dressed in sangoma garb to execute Randoku in the same manner as he executed his victims. It is plausible to conclude that the professor has given Randoku a taste of his own medicine since Mackles distributes his victim’s organs to Boyd and Lavazzi in the same way that Randoku has provided human organs to his clients. It wouldn’t have been simple for Mackles to catch and kill Randoku because sangomas are thought to be extremely strong beings. The professor’s mission to assassinate the ritual killer must have benefited from his unmatched understanding of African culture. If so, Mackles must have utilised the same information Randoku did to commit murder in order to kill the latter.
Why Does Detective Boyd Eat Randoku’s Eyes?
Boyd picks up the pair of eyes in the gift and places them in his mouth after reading Mackles’ note. Boyd succeeds in eating the eyes that allegedly belonged to Randoku despite his significant struggles. When Boyd looks into the ritual killings, Mackles gives the detective an explanation of muti. The lecturer describes how sangomas target particular human organs for their clientele because they each have different effects. According to Mackles, the brain is the aim for knowledge and political power, but the genitalia are harvested for virility and good fortune. Those who eat the same substances for their eyes should become farsighted and have clear vision.
Mackles must have reasoned that Randoku’s organs shouldn’t be wasted after killing him in accordance with muti custom. It’s possible that the professor is metaphorically sending Boyd a pair of eyeballs so that the detective might gain clarity of vision and farsightedness. Boyd does not necessarily need to be physically able to have the farsightedness and clarity Mackles intends to give him. Even though his superior dismisses the discovery of a few dead bodies, the professor may be referring to the detective’s ability to recognise the seriousness of the situation. So that he may stop murderers and other criminals like Randoku before they cause a catastrophe, Mackles may want Boyd to improve such a vision to foresee crimes.
Boyd believes that devouring Randoku’s eyeballs will help him express his rage at the ritual killer. Boyd might have wanted to murder Randoku himself after he almost kills his partner Maria, but that doesn’t happen when Mackles kills the international criminal. Boyd might be committing an act of retaliation in his imagination by devouring Randoku’s eyeballs.
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