The Believers is one of those 'they're all in on it' movies where, at the end, it is revealed that 'they're all in on it'. In this case, 'they' are the friends and acquaintances of police psychiatrist Cal (Martin Sheen) who, unbeknownst to him, belong to a religious cult that achieve great power and personal reward by sacrificing their own children.
Cal gradually becomes aware of the sinister Santeria religion after he is called in to help with Lopez (Jimmy Smits), a New York cop suffering from delirium after discovering the mutilated body of a child on a sacrificial altar. The terrified Lopez tries to warn Cal of the dangers he will face if he investigates the case, but Cal is sceptical, at least until Lopez takes his own life, with an autopsy revealing snakes slithering in the man's guts. After further strange occurrences, including the cheek of his girlfriend Jessica (Helen Shaver) erupting with spiders, and police chief McTaggart (Robert Loggia) losing all control of his body, Cal starts to believe what his housemaid Carmen (Carla Pinza) has been telling him all along: his young son Chris (Harley Cross) is in mortal danger!
Taking its cues from such films as Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, and Race With The Devil, John Schlesinger's The Believer's isn't the most original of horror movies, but coming from the man who gave us Midnight Cowboy and Marathon Man, it's still a slick, well-directed, well-acted piece that should satisfy fans of all things supernatural. Sheen is excellent in the lead, looking suitably distressed by the shocking events, and he is given able support from Shaver and Loggia, as well as a commendable turn from Cross.
I get the feeling that Schlesinger's intention was to make a stylish horror, so his film is more about atmosphere than sex and gore; that said, Shaver appears totally nude in a scene that proves she's Shaver by name but not by nature, there's a decapitated cat, the spider scene is pretty cool, and we get an impalement on metal poles at the end which is nice and bloody.
A little too long at almost two hours, and let down somewhat by a silly and unnecessary twist ending, The Believers could have benefitted from a little judicious trimming, but it's still a passable time-waster, largely thanks to the more than capable cast and Schlesinger's assured direction.
Cal gradually becomes aware of the sinister Santeria religion after he is called in to help with Lopez (Jimmy Smits), a New York cop suffering from delirium after discovering the mutilated body of a child on a sacrificial altar. The terrified Lopez tries to warn Cal of the dangers he will face if he investigates the case, but Cal is sceptical, at least until Lopez takes his own life, with an autopsy revealing snakes slithering in the man's guts. After further strange occurrences, including the cheek of his girlfriend Jessica (Helen Shaver) erupting with spiders, and police chief McTaggart (Robert Loggia) losing all control of his body, Cal starts to believe what his housemaid Carmen (Carla Pinza) has been telling him all along: his young son Chris (Harley Cross) is in mortal danger!
Taking its cues from such films as Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, and Race With The Devil, John Schlesinger's The Believer's isn't the most original of horror movies, but coming from the man who gave us Midnight Cowboy and Marathon Man, it's still a slick, well-directed, well-acted piece that should satisfy fans of all things supernatural. Sheen is excellent in the lead, looking suitably distressed by the shocking events, and he is given able support from Shaver and Loggia, as well as a commendable turn from Cross.
I get the feeling that Schlesinger's intention was to make a stylish horror, so his film is more about atmosphere than sex and gore; that said, Shaver appears totally nude in a scene that proves she's Shaver by name but not by nature, there's a decapitated cat, the spider scene is pretty cool, and we get an impalement on metal poles at the end which is nice and bloody.
A little too long at almost two hours, and let down somewhat by a silly and unnecessary twist ending, The Believers could have benefitted from a little judicious trimming, but it's still a passable time-waster, largely thanks to the more than capable cast and Schlesinger's assured direction.