The Believers (1987)

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

Director:

John Schlesinger

Writers:

Mark Frost (screenplay), Nicholas Conde (novel)

Stars:

Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver, Harley Cross

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

After the death of his wife, police psychiatrist Cal Jamison moves to New York. There he has to help in the investigation of the murder of two youths, who seem to have been immolated during a cult ritual. Jamison believes it's been Voodoo and, ignoring the warnings of his housekeeper, enters the scenery and soon gets under their influence. They try to get him to sacrifice his own son.

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Plot Keywords:

child sacrifice | ritual | female rear nudity | female nudity | animal sacrifice | 

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Taglines:

They exist. Fear them.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 June 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Ritual

Filming Locations:

Magder Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,342,732, 14 June 1987, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$18,753,438

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The address shown on Lt. McTaggert's (Robert Loggia) business card is 220 E. 113th St New York, NY 10001. The phone number is 212-557-7081

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Goofs

Camera operator reflected in bathroom mirror when Jessica opens it.

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Quotes

Robert Calder: He forgave me... my son, he looked into my eyes... and forgave me

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Predator/Million Dollar Mystery/The Believers/Salvation (1987)

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Soundtracks

Flute Concerto In G
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Aurèle Nicolet (as Aurele Nicolet) and Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, Amsterdam
Courtesy of Philips Records, a division of Polygram Classics

User Reviews

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.