Alondro
Ok, I'm currently watching this on Comet Channel... I don't know what's supposed to be scary about this. I'm about half-way through and finding it very hard to force myself to watch any further. It's slow-paced, exaggerated, with too may scenes of just people blabbering on about things we don't see. Plot points just jump around, the tone is inconsistent as hell. It's often silly and the overacting is the only thing that elicited any emotion from me aside from boredom. It often throws in symbolism no one outside of whatever this belief system is would understand in the least. As such, there's no impact. There's no dread or tension when we have no clue why spooky music plays in response to a kid dropping a cowrie shell. What the heck? I suppose people who believe in this nonsense in reality find it frightening. For those who live in the 'real' world, it's just dull and dumb.
videorama-759-859391
By it's shock start, involving horrific misfortune, in which Martin Sheen's wife is electrocuted due to a faulty appliance, in which the little son, Chris (Cross) horribly witnesses it, it has you thinking, could this be linked to the rest of what about is to ensue. Or is it, just a family tragedy. I'm not really into supernatural thriller horrors, with religious themes, though I did love Angel Heart, and I didn't mind The Seventh Sign too much, and I did love The First Power. The Believers though, I did take a liking too, though initially, I wouldn't go out of my way to see in it's showing. Of course child murder isn't something to be taken lightly, but when it's child sacrifice, it's much worse. It's disturbing, and nasty and The Believers oozes out a lot of creepy and in some cases, some truly disturbing and bloody moments. You can see, a lot has been poured into it, to make it so, including a lot of witchcraft/voodoo paraphernalia. In other words, an enthusiastic effort. Cal Jameson, (Sheen) a psychiatrist, and son, (Cross) make a new knife in a new city. It doesn't take long for Sheen to find a new love either, (hot Helen Shaver) who provides the final twist frame moment, in this pic, that never makes you lose interest. Sheen gets called in after a child sacrifice murder, where an irrational crazed suspect, and cop (L.A Laws's Jimmy Smits) is taken in. Days later, another worse child murder, involving ritual sacrifice surfaces. What's disappointing I guess, in what is an otherwise good supernatural thriller/horror with religious themes, is the story behind this particular practice/sacrifice known as Santeria (hope I've spelt that right) is that it doesn't delve enough into it, as it should, which is a quite a shame, but the flipside of that coin, that less is more approach, what have you, makes it more intriguing amidst some murky plot points. The movie succeeds in it's attempt to creep and disturb, mostly throughout, where Sheen too with his role, gives a less is more realistic performance that pays off to an extent, where Cross, just a gifted young actor, as his son, Chris, displays so many different and genuine emotions, it's like he really isn't acting. He's a natural. Helen Shaver lends fine support, while Sheen's initial wife in it's starting, does briefly. The black guy with the eye whites who creep out security baggage handlers, will remain a haunting memory, should you watch this thriller a couple of times. The third act is really good, intensifying when Chris, becomes the new one up for sacrifice, with the help of trusted/possessed parties, an old trick in these sort of films, this one, I recommend to you.
Lee Eisenberg
John Schlesinger was best known for movies like "Darling", "Midnight Cowboy", "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "The Day of the Locust" and "Marathon Man". But now he directs something totally different.To understand what happens in "The Believers", it helps to have foreknowledge of Santería, a syncretic religion practiced widely in the Caribbean. It is based in the Yoruba culture (in present-day Nigeria), but includes influences from Roman Catholicism and the indigenous American cultures. The movie depicts a satanic offshoot of Santería mixed with brujería (Spanish for "witchcraft"), that is sacrificing children in New York, and is now targeting the son of Martin Sheen's character.If you expect a slasher movie, this is nothing of the sort. There is some violence, but no guts getting torn out or anything -- only one scene can truly get called shocking (you'll know it when you see it) -- and there's limited sex/nudity. I'd say that the movie's strength is its depiction of how Sheen's character slowly but surely learns about a culture with which he was previously unfamiliar. The movie does make clear that the religious cult is not Santería, but a different group. After all, every religion is bound to have its wackos.Does the movie have any downsides? Well, Robert Loggia's cop came across as a little silly, but I'd call that the only true downside. Otherwise, this is a good one. Also starring Helen Shaver, Richard Masur, Jimmy Smits and Harris Yulin (who I at first mistook for Richard Jenkins, aka Nate Sr. on "Six Feet Under").
