The Believers (1987)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

John Schlesinger

Writers:

Mark Frost (screenplay) and
Nicholas Conde (novel)

Release Date:

10 June 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Nothing Can Stop Them. No One Can Help You. They Know Who You Are.

Plot:

A New York psychiatrist finds that a voodoo cult, which believes in child sacrifice, has a keen interest in his own son.

Plot Keywords:

New York | Voodoo | Cult | Police | Death

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Martin Sheen	...	Cal Jamison
Helen Shaver	...	Jessica Halliday
Harley Cross	...	Chris Jamison
Robert Loggia	...	Lt. Sean McTaggert
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Kate Maslow
Harris Yulin	...	Robert Calder
Lee Richardson	...	Dennis Maslow
Richard Masur	...	Marty Wertheimer
Carla Pinza	...	Carmen Ruiz
Jimmy Smits	...	Tom Lopez
Raúl Dávila	...	Oscar Sezine
Malick Bowens	...	Palo
Janet-Laine Green	...	Lisa Jamison
Larry Ramos	...	Diner Counterman
Philip Corey	...	Calder's Assistant

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

New Zealand:R16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 (w) | Norway:18 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jessica and Cal are participating in the Santeria ceremony, Jessica is sprayed with chicken blood. The blood initially hits the edge of her shirt near her neck. In a following shot, that part of her shirt is completely clean.

Quotes:

Customs agent: [Arriving at the airport] Open this please?
Palo: [First Lines] Just personel items... no need to look in there
[Palo stares deep into the man's eyes]
Customs agent: [Now in a trance like state] All-Right.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Head Case (#3.15)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Patacon Pisas

A bit disjointed, but overall a good film

After his wife dies, police psychiatrist Cal Jamison (Martin Sheen) moves with his son, Chris (Harley Cross), from Minnesota to New York City. There, he quickly becomes embroiled in a bizarre string of occult-related murders of children and apparent suicides of adults.

If you enjoyed The Serpent And The Rainbow (1988), Angel Heart (1987) and Rosemary's Baby (1968), there's a good chance you'll enjoy The Believers as well, as it bears quite a few similarities (although it's certainly not a rip-off). In my view, it's not quite as good as those other three films, which are all 10s in my book, but it is well worth watching.

The principle flaw, which probably arises from trying to condense a novel--in this case Nicholas Conde's book, The Religion--into a screenplay, is that The Believers quickly brushes over some developments so that it's occasionally difficult to follow, especially towards the beginning. We can sense that there's much more to the story but that there just isn't time to show all of it to us.

However, a characteristic of the subgenre of occult/voodoo horror films is a prominent surrealism and dream-like narrative flow, so what might be more of a flaw in another kind of film can be more of an asset here. The Believers also benefits from a great cast--Sheen is a delight to watch (and listen to) as a psychiatrist who can fly off the handle in rage at the drop of a hat, and Jimmy Smits is wonderfully insane every time we see him.

The Believers is also worth checking out for its cinematography and set design. The set for the climax is a visual treat and integral to the plot. And the tag scene after the climax is remarkable for its visual change--beautiful, wide-open spaces and bright colors. It's just too bad that the sequel set up by director John Schlesinger never came to fruition.